Late Saturday Night Contest Sees Braves Over Gens
In a ball game that didn’t get started until 8:30 due to wet field conditions, the Braves outlasted the Generals in a tightly contested Saturday night showdown.
Both teams started their offensive nights with runs in the first frame. In the top of the first, Cole Swiger singled to center to start the night for Staunton. After a walk to the next hitter, Staunton elected to play small ball early on and sacrifice the runners to second and third with one out. After a Braves strike out, Will Simoneit hit an infield single to the hole at shortstop to bring in the first run of the game.
The Generals would answer right back. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) singled to start the night. Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) drew a walk to create a carbon copy of the top half of the inning. Chase Cheek (Duke) then went to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but placed it so perfectly that he was able to beat the throw for a bunt single. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) was able to bring in the first General run by taking a pitch off his back for an RBI hit-by-pitch. The bases were still loaded with nobody out when the next hitter rolled into a double play. It did, however, give the Generals the lead at 2-1.
Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) was the starter for the Generals on Saturday night. After giving up a run in the first, he was able to settle in a bit. With 4 hits and 2 walks, he did have to pitch himself out of some jams, but was able to do so masterfully with 6 strikeouts. It was after his 5 innings were up that trouble set in for the Generals. With the new pitcher in the game, the Braves struck for runs in each of the next 3 innings.
In the 6th, the Braves were able to work their first two on by a walk and HBP. They decided to go with the small ball route again and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Justin Beyer (Wagner) was the new pitcher in the game and tried to force a throw into third base, but ended up throwing the ball into left field, allowing a run to score and runners to second and third. After Beyer walked the next hitter, his night was done. The left-handed Bryan Wilcox (FGCU) came into the ball game to try and get out of the jam. He did just that by getting a shallow fly ball to left for out number one and a 4-6-3 double play for outs 2 and 3 to not allow another run to score. The score was now tied at 2-2.
Unfortunately, the 7th didn’t go as smoothly for Wilcox. After a leadoff single, the runner came all the way around to score on a double into the left field gap. Wilcox managed to strike out the next hitter, but that would be the end of his night. He would give way to Matt Nickles (Randolph-Macon). Nickles wouldn’t be able to strand Wilcox’s last runner as he surrendered a two-out RBI single to Brycen Thomas. The score after 7 complete was 4-2.
In the 8th, there was more of the same. A leadoff single started things out for the Braves. Nickles then got what looked like a 6-4-3 double play ball to delete the runner from first. Umpires came together and ruled that the throw pulled the first baseman from the bag. Cole Swiger would make the Gens pay for the mistake by ripping a double into the left center gap for an RBI. After a groundout to second base to move Swiger to third, he came in to score on a wild pitch. That put the Braves on top by 4 and they were never threatened in the late innings.
The Generals were only able to muster 6 hits total in the game. This marks the 8th time in 14 games that the Gens were held to 4 runs or less.
Key Performers for Staunton:
- Cole Swiger: 4-5, RBI 2B, 2 R
- Eric Conner: 1-4, RBI 2B, R
- Braves Bullpen: 4.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K.
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): ND, 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, R
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2-4, 2B
The Generals will have to sleep fast as they take on the Purcellville Cannons at home on Sunday night at 7 PM at Kate Collins Field.
Generals Take Down Turks In Rain-Shortened Game
Friday night in Harrisonburg, the Generals scored at least one run in 6 out of 8 innings. The game got a later start than normal due to rainy conditions. When the rain set in for good in the bottom of the 8th inning, the game was called in favor of the Generals.
The Generals scored in the first frame on an RBI triple by Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) to start the scoring off at 1-0. In the bottom half however, the Turks put up a three spot on the strength of an RBI double by Zach Little, a wild pitch to bring in another, and then an RBI single by Elian Marejo to get the lead to 3-1 for Harrisonburg.
The score was tied up quickly in the second inning. After a Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) stolen base to put runners on second and third, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) delivered a 2-out RBI single to tie the game at 3.
The third inning kept the consecutive innings scored streak alive. Chase Cheek (Duke) led off with a single and then stole second. He was brought in to score on a single by Dalton Wingo (UCF) to take the lead. The Turks then induced a double play to clear the bases with two outs. What seemed to be a harmless single from Andrew Orzel (Wofford) then turned into chaos. With a host of wild pitches and passed balls, Orzel went station-to-station all the way home for another tally to make the score 5-3.
The 4th inning continued to show the relentlessness of the Generals with a leadoff walk to Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary). Two batters later, Wrighte stole second and third base. Wrighte then came around to score on a passed ball by the Turks catcher. The score after 4 innings was 6-3.
The Turks would mount a comeback in the bottom of the 5th inning. They had finally kept Waynesboro off the scoreboard in the top half of the inning and were looking to build off that momentum. The second batter of the inning was hit by a pitch. That was followed by a single to put runners on first and second with only one out. Zach Little, the Turk that delivered on an RBI double in the first inning, came through again with an RBI single this time. He advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Two consecutive passed balls allowed the Turks to score again in the inning to tighten the score up at 6-5 with the Generals still leading.
The 6th inning is where the Gens would start to distance themselves. Kyle Wrighte would work himself on with a hit-by-pitch and a steal of second base yet again. Tyler Bielamowicz continued to have a good day at the plate by singling and putting runners on second and third after Wrighte drew a throw to the plate that Bielo moved up on. Chase Cheek delivered one of his 4 hits on the night to bring in Wrighte and Bielo. Dalton Wingo followed that up with another single to continue to threaten the Turks with only one away in the inning. After a pitching change, Wingo and Cheek executed a double steal to get into scoring position. With the infield in at this point, the Turks got a ground out that Cheek had to hold for. Andrew Orzel got himself on base again with a HBP to load the bases. Jackson Webb (UCF) worked a bases loaded walk for an RBI and Bruno Teramoto was hit by another pitch to officially bat around in the inning. The Generals struck for 4 runs, all told, to get their lead to 10-5.
They weren’t quite finished scoring yet, however, as they scored 2 more in the 7th. Alex Webb (Chipola) diminished the hopes of the Turks this time with a 2 RBI single. The score after 7 ended up being the final at 12-5. The General bats finally exploded for 14 hits and 12 runs in the ball game.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Caleb Walls: 2-4, 2 R
- Zach Little: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): 2-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 4-5, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 3 R
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2 R, 3 SB
The Generals will be back in action Saturday night when they take on the Staunton Braves at Kate Collins field.
Waynesboro Tops Staunton On the Road
There wasn’t much hitting going on Wednesday night at John Moxie Stadium at Gypsy Hill Park. However, the hitting that did happen was in timely situations. The teams combined for 7 hits all night.
The Generals struck quickly with a 2-out homerun from Chase Cheek (Duke) to move the score to 1-0 early on.
The story of the ball game came from Waynesboro starting pitcher Nathan Schneider (St Mary’s). He threw 5 innings of no-hit baseball while striking out 3. The one runner that reached base on him was via the walk in the third inning. Schneider has now put together some impressive outings. In his last 9.2 IP, he’s only allowed 1 hit.
The 5th and 6th innings are where the Generals did most of their damage. In the 5th, one-out back-to-back walks to Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast) and Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) started the inning. Two batters later, a walk for Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) loaded the bases. Jackson Webb (UCF) came through with a 2 RBI single. Gabe Montenegro also scored in the inning on a wild pitch. The score moved to 4-0 through 4 ½ innings. As mentioned, Schneider continued his dominance in the bottom of the 5th to set his team up for another good inning in the top of the 6th.
A walk to Dalton Wingo (UCF) with one away in the inning was the only baserunner on for Alex Brait, who unloaded on a full count pitch for his first homer of the year to move the score to 6-0. The Generals seemed to be in complete control.
The Braves managed to manufacture a run in the bottom of the 8th with a lead-off walk moving to second on a wild pitch, advancing to third on a long fly ball to center field, and scoring on a single. Through 8 innings, the score was 6-1 and the Generals had held the opposition to only 2 hits.
The Braves also tacked a run on in the 9th to make the final 6-2, but never really threatened the lead of Waynesboro.
Key Performers for Staunton:
- Dean Hermanson: 2-2, RBI
- Ryan Flores: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Jackson Webb (UCF): 1-4, 2 RBI
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 1-4, Solo HR (1)
- Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast): 1-3, 2-R HR (1), BB
- Nathan Schneider (St Mary’s): W (1-0), 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K
The Generals were rained out on Thursday night at home vs. the Strasburg Express, but will be back in action Friday night on the road in Harrisonburg. The Generals will be looking to avenge the loss they took at the hands of the Turks a week ago.
Generals Snap 3-Game Skid In Win Over Front Royal
The Generals had lost 3 straight games to drop under the .500 mark coming into the game Sunday night against the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium. The bats came alive for 13 hits to propel them to a win over the North Division leaders.
The scoring started in the top of the 3rd. With one out in the inning, Dalton Wingo (Central Florida)
Dalton Wingo: 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 R
connected on his 2nd homer of the season to begin his fantastic night at the plate. Then in the third inning, Jackson Webb (Central Florida) led off the inning with a single, stole second, and was brought into score on a Chase Cheek (Duke) grounder that couldn’t be handled by the second baseman. The lead after 4 complete innings was 2-0 in favor of the Generals.
Once again, the 5th inning began with a lead-off single. This time it was Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) getting things started. Dalton Wingo then doubled off the wall in left field to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) came through next with a single to score Bielo. After the RBI single, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Wingo. Going to the bottom of the 5th, the Generals led 4-0.
The Cardinals wouldn’t go away quietly. Evan Gillespie (Faulkner U) was throwing a gem, but would stumble just slightly in the 5th. After getting the first hitter of the inning to fly out, Gillespie gave up a walk and 2 doubles to the next three hitters. However, he would do a nice job working out of the inning with the last double being left stranded at second base. The lead was still intact at 4-2 Waynesboro.
In the top of the 6th, the Generals would make it 4 straight innings with a run. Tyler Trovinger (Oakland) would start the inning off with a single to left. 2 batters later, Dalton Wingo would contribute his third hit in as many at bats. That brought Kyle Wrighte to the plate with runners at first and second with 2 outs. After going down 0-2 in the count, Wrighte scorched a double off the wall in right field to bring in both runners.
Matt Nickles (Randolph-Macon) would sub in for Gillespie in the 6th. He worked a perfect two innings, facing the minimum 6 batters. After 7 complete innings, the Generals led 6-2.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Generals ran into some trouble. The inning seemed to be all but over after recording outs on the first two hitters of the inning. However, Spencer Packard drilled a home run to start a string of 5 straight 2-out hits. Christian Avant hits a double 2 pitches later, followed by Kendall Small hitting a no-doubter to right field. The Generals would then bring in Patrick O’Shea (St Mary’s) for the struggling Jacob Weirich (Southern Miss). O’Shea would surrender 2 straight singles and his night would be finished as well. So with 2 outs in the inning, Coach John Jeanes (Chipola) would turn to his closer Gio Soto (Florida International) for a four out save.
Soto came on, got out of the inning, and then threw a dominant 9th inning to lock down his 3rd save of the year.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
- Andrew Burden: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Spencer Packard: 1-3 HR (1)
- Kendall Small: 1-4, 2-Run HR (1)
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, 2 SB(3)
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
- Dalton Wingo (Central Florida): 3-3, 2B, HR(2), 3 R
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner U): W (1-0), 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- Gio Soto (Florida International): SV(3), 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The Generals (5-5) will be looking for back-to-back wins tomorrow, Monday June 18th, when they take on the South Division leaders, the Charlottesville TomSox (8-3). Come out this week and support your Generals. They will have home games Monday and Tuesday (Charlottesville both nights), Thursday (Strasburg), Saturday (Staunton), and Sunday (Purcellville).
Bring your friends and family to Kate Collins field for some high-quality baseball this week. Hope to see you there!
General Bats Continue to Struggle In Loss to Turks
Waynesboro allowed 4 unanswered runs en route to their 4th loss in their last 5 games on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Park when they took on the Turks. Saturday made it 6 out of their first 9 games with 4 runs or fewer.
The Generals started out with a big inning right away in the top of the first inning. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) started things out with a single up the middle. 2 batters later, Chase Cheek (Duke) hit a chopper to the second baseman, who proceeded to throw the ball into left field trying to force a play at second. This moved both Montenegro and Cheek into scoring position. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) delivered a 2 RBI triple into the right field gap and then came around to score on a groundout to second to make the score 3-0.
The Turks would answer in the bottom of the second. After singles by Whelton and Castillo, Brycen Braswell hit a two RBI single, but was put out trying for second base. Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay), the starting pitcher for the Generals, was able to maneuver his way around further trouble in the second. However, Harrisonburg went right back to work in the bottom of the third. After a one out single, Thompson became a bit wild, delivering a few wild pitches. The last of his wild pitches was on a dropped third strike that allowed the tying run to score. That would be the end of his night after just 2.2 innings.
Bryan Wilcox (Florida Gulf Coast) came on in relief of Thompson to finish the 3rd. He threw a relatively clean 4th with only a two-out single given up. Wilcox began the 5th with 3 out of the first four batters being put on via the free pass or hit-by-pitch. Even though he had loaded the bases, he managed to strike out David Craan for the second out. The next hitter was Paul Castillo. In a 2-2 count, Wilcox induced a short pop fly in foul territory that was destined to get him out of the inning. A bit of miscommunication set in and the ball dropped for a foul ball. His next two pitches were balls to walk in the eventual winning run. Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken) then came in for Wilcox and was masterful in his 3.1 innings.
The Generals struggled to figure out Turks starter Kyle Arjona who moved to 2-0 on the year by pitching deep into the ball game. Only 3 Generals tallied hits and the lineup tallied 11 strikeouts throughout the night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Kyle Arjona: W (2-0), 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
- Cameron Irvine: 2-4
- Paul Castillo: 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-4, 2B, R
- Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
The Generals will be back in action tomorrow night when they go on the road to take on the North Division leading Front Royal Cardinals (9-2) at Bing Crosby Stadium.
Duo From Southern Miss Headed to Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Gabe Montenegro and Jacob Weirich will be joining the Waynesboro Generals for the 2018 summer from the Southern Mississippi Eagles. Montenegro and Weirich are two key contributors for the nationally ranked Eagles as the outfielder, Montenegro, has been a staple in the Southern Miss batting order and the left-handed pitcher, Weirich, has been a key arm out of the Eagles bullpen early into the season.
Gabe Montenegro – Outfielder
A native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, the 5’7 175-pound redshirt-freshman has been a consistent bat in the Southern Miss order early in their season. Montenegro currently sits with a .371 batting average, 2 doubles, 1 triple and 6 RBI’s through 11 games. Following a redshirt freshman campaign, Montenegro played during the summer for the Acadiana Cane Cutters of the Texas Collegiate League, as he earned second-team league honors by finishing with a .276 average with 12 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 28 RBI’s along with 31 walks and 6 stolen bases. He also helped Guatemala to a bronze medal in the 2017 Central America Games in Managua, Nicaragua in December as he follows in his fathers’ footsteps, a former member of the Guatemalan national baseball team.
Jacob Weirich – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Jefferson City, Missouri the 6’0 160-pound freshman has been one of the Southern Miss Eagles’ top relievers early in their season. Weirich boasts a 1-0 record with a 4.91 ERA and 8 strike-outs in 5 appearances and 7.1 innings pitched. Prior to his collegiate career, Weirich registered a 9-0 record with a 0.70 ERA and 117 strikeouts over 79.2 innings pitched during his senior campaign, leading to Second-Team All-America Honors by MaxPreps and National High School Coaches Association All-Midwest Team.
Waynesboro Amateur Athletics Inc is a 501(c)(3) corporation. Your donation is greatly appreciated. Visit waynesborogenerals.net for more information and game schedules.
