Generals Out-Blast Express for 21st Win
The Generals turned four double plays in a game that saw plenty of home runs. The double plays all turned out to be key in the victory in a game that every batter was a threat for a home run.
The scoring got started in the bottom of the second with the first of five home runs hit on the night. This time for the Express, it was Tyler Johnson. Johnson was the winner this past weekend in the Valley League Home Run Derby. He continued his ways in Strasburg to put the Express out to an early 2-0 lead.
The Generals responded in the top of the third with a pair of back-to-back two out doubles. The first was a shot by Kobe Lopez (Florida International) down the left field line that got past the diving third baseman. Connor Norby (East Carolina) followed it up with a double into the right centerfield gap. The Gens cut the lead in half by making the score 2-1.
After a clean bottom of the third, the Generals put up three runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead. A walk by Wes Clarke (South Carolina) and a double by Gunner Peterson (Illinois State) had runners at second and third with nobody out. After a strikeout, it was up to Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) to try and get the runs in. He was extremely successful in his attempt. He got a good pitch to hit and sent it over the wall in centerfield for his first home run of the summer. The three run shot put the Generals ahead 4-2 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
In the top of the fourth, Nick Proto connected on his first home run in his first game for the Express. It was the first run that Christian Dearman (Florida International) had given up all summer. The solo shot made the score 4-3 and gave the Express a bit of momentum.
The biggest momentum swing of the game came in the bottom of the fifth. The first hitter of the inning popped out to Wes Clarke at first. After that, things got a bit tough for the Generals. Three straight singles had the bases loaded with one out. Christian Dearman was still out there trying to find his way out of the inning. Strasburg’s dugout was very involved and chirped quite often at Dearman. However, when the Generals turned a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the jam with the lead intact, the dugout was quiet while Dearman was fired up.
From there, the Generals capitalized on the momentum. They scored four runs in the top of the sixth to break things open a bit. A double by Jackson Tate (Alabama) that glanced off the arm of the third baseman got the rally started for the Generals. The throw into second base got away and allowed Tate to move into third base with just one out in the inning. Strasburg elected to pull the infield in but Eli Quiceno came up large again. This time he shot a single up the middle to get the lead to two runs. After a stolen base and a fly ball to right field, Quiceno found himself at third base. He was able to score on a well hit ball by Brad Burckel (Houston) that was ruled as an error. Two pitches later, Kobe Lopez connected on his second home run of the summer to put the Gens on top 8-3.
The Express would add a run in the bottom of the ninth on Tyler Johnson’s second homer of the game. But ultimately, it was Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State) that shut the door with two strong innings to finish the game. The final score was 8-4.
Key Performers for Strasburg:
Tyler Johnson: 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Nick Proto: 2-4, HR
Josiah Ortiz: 3-4
Hunter Blalock: 2-4, 2B
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U): 2-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 3-5, 2B, RBI
The Generals (21-9) will be back in action Thursday night at home vs. the visiting Harrisonburg Turks. First pitch at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field is set for 7 pm.
Gens Sweep Three Game Set With Second Place Charlottesville
Waynesboro opened up a lead in the South division over the second place Tom Sox with three wins in five days. Two wins on the road and another at home has the Gens leading the South division by four games.
Game One
The first game of the three game set was the annual Independence Day clash between the Gens and the Tom Sox.
Waynesboro got off to a hot start with two runs in their first frame in front of a crowd announced at over 2,000 people. Connor Norby (East Carolina) worked his way on to start the inning. He got moved to third two batters later on a single by Kobe Lopez (Florida International). After stolen bases by both Norby and Lopez on separate pitches, Norby came in to score on a balk by Charlottesville’s starting pitcher. Kobe Lopez scored on the single by Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) to give the Gens an early 2-0 lead.
Charlottesville wouldn’t allow the home fans to worry long. They put up six unanswered runs over the next three innings, including a four run first. A walk by Kirby McMullen got things started in the first inning. Thomas Francisco continued his hot hitting with a triple to left center field to drive in McMullen. Trey McDyre ripped a single to drive in Francisco. Finally, Christian Hlinka provided the big blow in the inning with a two-run homer deep to right field.
The Tom Sox added a run in the second on a two-out RBI single by Thomas Francisco to make the score 5-2. In the third it was Christian Hlinka picking up another base hit, this time just a leadoff single. Dan Harwood came up with a double two batters later to drive in Hlinka for what turned out to be the last run the Tom Sox would be able to muster. The score after three complete was 6-2 in favor of the Tom Sox.
The Generals, however, have had the uncanny ability to pull themselves back into ball games this year, and Thursday night was no different. They added runs in the fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth innings to get themselves back into the game. After Connor Norby homered Wednesday at home vs. Front Royal, he made it back-to-back nights with a homer with his solo blast in the top of the fifth to make the score 6-3. In the sixth, Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) doubled to lead things off. Jackson Tate (Alabama) walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Jackson Greene (Florida State) laid down a safety squeeze to pick up another run. The score now read 6-4. In the eighth, the Gens pulled a bit closer. It was Jackson Tate working a one out walk, moving to second on a wild pitch, and to third on a groundout. Jackson Greene came up big again with a single to center field with two outs in the inning. However, the Generals would strand Greene and would head to the ninth still down by one.
In the ninth, the leadoff hitter Connor Norby singled through the left side. After a deep fly out and a slow roller to shortstop, the Gens would have Norby at second but with two outs. The Generals called on Brad Burckel (Houston) in a pinch hitting opportunity to get the runner in from second. Burckel was coming off the previous night where he picked up three hits, three RBI, and was named “Valley League Hitter of the Night” by AllThingsValleyLeague. Burckel continued his hot hitting in this key situation with a single up the middle that tied the game. After the game-tying single, Charlottesville’s pitcher became a bit rattled. He gave up a four pitch walk to Jack Murphy and hit Jackson Tate with a pitch. After a pitching change, Gunner Peterson (Illinois State) came up with the go-ahead run on another four pitch walk. The Gens took their one run lead into the bottom of the ninth with Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State) on to try and record the save.
With it being the fourth of July and the game getting started a bit late due to rain, the fireworks display that is set up for Charlottesville High School started while in between innings. So Christian Edwards would have to try to work through the ninth inning only up one run with +2,000 fans, a good part of the lineup for the Tom Sox, and fireworks going off so close to the field that Coach Cole was quoted as saying they could feel the concussion from the field. Edwards managed to do so beautifully. He got a ground out to third, a strikeout, and after a two-out walk, another strikeout to shut the door for his second save of the summer.
Key Performers for Charlottesville in Game One:
Thomas Francisco: 3-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, R
Christian Hlinka: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Dan Harwood: 2-4, 2B, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro in Game One:
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-4, HR (2), RBI, 3 R
McLain Harris (Young Harris College), Jan Figueroa (Florida International), and Deven Judy (Gannon U): Combined for 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K to hold the Tom Sox down.
Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State): SV (2), 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Brad Burckel (Houston): 1-1, Game-tying RBI single
The Generals moved their record to 18-8 and would have a night off Friday before taking on the Tom Sox again Saturday night at home.
Game Two
Charlottesville entered game two having made a huge comeback over South division foe Staunton in the ninth inning on Friday night. The Generals were well rested after having their first true day off in over two weeks. The Generals defended their home territory and made it known quickly that they were ready for the second game with Charlottesville.
In the bottom of the first, Connor Norby started things with a chopper over the pitcher’s head for an infield single. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Kobe Lopez hit a grounder to third and the Tom Sox third baseman delivered a throw that was a bit high to the second baseman that ended up bounding out into right field to allow Norby to score from second base. The Gens were out to a 1-0 lead after one complete inning.
The Generals got right back on the board in the second inning. Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) singled to right field with one out. Two batters later, Wes Clarke drilled a double to the warning track in right center field. It brought Kinker all the way around to score. The Gens made it 2-0 after two innings.
The game fell into a bit of a lull. Tyler Shuck (Florida Gulf Coast) worked through five shutout innings while scattering nine base runners. He allowed five hits and four walks, but picked up some key double plays as well as three strikeouts to work through danger. He left the game with a 2-0 lead and Jan Figueroa (Florida International) came in for relief. Jan tossed two more shut out innings while the General offense provided some breathing room.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jack Murphy got a ball to drop in perfectly down the left field line and hustled his way into second for a double. Two batters later, his host brother Jackson Tate ripped a single into left to allow Murphy to score. In the seventh, the Generals provided the pitching staff with more breathing room after another shutout inning by Figueroa. Back-to-back singles from Norby and Clarke had runners at first and second. Kobe Lopez dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put both runners into scoring position. Jack Murphy took advantage with a single up the middle to score Norby and move Clarke to third. Eli Quiceno (Gannon U) followed things up with an RBI infield single to bring in another run and push the score to 5-0.
The Generals turned to Christian Dearman (Florida International) for the top of the eighth. As he’s done all year, he threw up yet another zero for the opposing team. He tossed a scoreless top half while allowing just one hit. As teams were switching from offense to defense and vice versa, the skies opened up with some of the hardest rain and wind that the area had seen in awhile. This soaked the field beyond its playing point and the Generals walked away with a 5-0 win in eight innings.
Key Performers for Charlottesville in Game Two:
Cayman Richardson: 2-4
Cal Greenfield: 1-2, BB
Kirby McMullen: 1-1, BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro in Game Two:
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-4, 2 R
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s): 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Tyler Shuck (Florida Gulf Coast): W (2-0), 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K
Jan Figueroa (Florida International): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Christian Dearman (Florida International): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
The Generals moved their record to 19-8 the night before the Valley League All-Star Game. They knew they would have to face Charlottesville one more time this week on Monday. First pitch at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark was set for 7 pm for a makeup game from a previous rain-out.
Game Three
The Generals had a three game lead going into Monday night with an opportunity to sweep the three game set with Charlottesville and take a four game lead over the Tom Sox.
The Tom Sox opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first with two quick runs. A single by Cayman Richardson and a double by Thomas Francisco had runners at second and third with just one out. Trey McDyre had an RBI groundout and Christian Hlinka sharply singled to right to bring in both runners. The Gens had once again fallen victim to those first inning runs.
But as they do so often, they responded quickly with a run in the top of the second. A fielder’s choice on Jackson Tate put him on first. Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) singled through the right side to put runners at first and second. A walk to Joey Kinker loaded the bases for Brad Burckel. Burckel was able to bring in the run on a fielder’s choice to second base. The score was 2-1 after two innings of play.
The Generals tied the game up with another run in the third inning. Connor Norby singled to get things started. However after two outs, the Tom Sox looked like they had things under control. Gunner Peterson singled to center and brought Norby to third. A couple pitches into the next at-bat, the catcher mishandled a ball at the plate and with heads up base running, Norby was able to slide in safely at home. The score was tied at 2.
The Tom Sox bounced back to with a run in the bottom of the third to retake the lead. Cayman Richardson started things out with another single. Kirby McMullen followed up with a single to put runners at first and second. Thomas Francisco singled through the right side that brought Richardson around to score. The Tom Sox held their lead until the top of the fifth.
The fifth is when the Generals would bust out with five runs to take the lead. After three straight walks loaded the bases to begin the inning, Gunner Peterson ripped a single to right field. The ball scooted under the glove of McMullen and ran a good bit past him. This allowed all three runs to score as well as getting Peterson to third base. Jackson Tate doubled to right to bring in the fourth run of the inning. Tate wasn’t content with second base, so he decided to steal third with still nobody out in the inning. Ethan Cady came up with an RBI ground out to put the score at 7-3 in favor of the Generals.
This put Zach Kirby (East Tennessee State) in line for the win if he could work through the fifth inning. Kirby seized his opportunity with a three up-three down inning in the fifth. He allowed six hits and three earned runs over his five innings, but held the Tom Sox down for the most part. He also scattered six strikeouts over his five innings to pick up his first win of the summer.
The Gens blew the game open in the seventh inning with four more runs to suck the life out of the sparse already sparse crowd at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark. After a couple of walks and a single by Jackson Tate, the bases were loaded with nobody out in the inning. After a pitching change, Joey Kinker ripped a two RBI single to right field to drive in Peterson and Tate. Ethan Cady later came into score on a wild pitch and Kinker was brought home on a sacrifice fly to center by Kobe Lopez. This got the score to 11-3.
The Tom Sox would add a couple of runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the game was well in hand for the Gens. They took home the win with a final score of 11-5.
Key Performers for Charlottesville in Game Three:
Thomas Francisco: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
Cayman Richardson: 2-4, 2 R
Christian Hlinka: 2-4, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro in Game Three:
Gunner Peterson (Illinois State): 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 3-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R
Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State): 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast): 2-3, RBI, R
Zach Kirby (East Tennessee State): W (1-2), 5 IP, 6 K, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
The Generals moved their record to 20-8 after the three game sweep of the Charlottesville Tom Sox over the last five days. Overall, the Gens have won 11 out of their last 12 games and five games in a row. They hold a four game lead over the rest of the division and will host the Winchester Royals on Tuesday night at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Gens Take Advantage of 17 Free Passes to Route Cardinals
In a game that the Front Royal pitching staff gave up 12 walks and 5 hit batsmen, the Generals put up 19 runs to win the season series over the Front Royal Cardinals.
Front Royal got on the scoreboard first with a run in the very first frame. After the first batter of the game was retired, the Cards put two on with a walk and an error. Dylan Menhennett brought one of the runners in with a two out double to put Front Royal on top 1-0.
The Gens would respond with three runs in the bottom of the second and wouldn’t surrender the lead the rest of the night. The rally started with a one out walk to Gunner Peterson (Illinois State). After Peterson stole second, Brad Burckel (Houston) doubled into the left centerfield gap to bring in Peterson to tie the game at one. The very next pitch, Connor Norby (East Carolina) unloaded on his first homer of the summer to put the Gens out in front by two.
Luke Short (St. Mary’s) pitched out of his long relief role and flourished once again. He held the Cards at bay over his four innings of work. He allowed just one hit and one unearned run in his time on the mound. He scattered four strikeouts in as many innings. This helped Luke pick up his second win of the season to move his personal record to two wins and no losses.
The bottom of the third is when the game finally broke open for Waynesboro. The first five batters of the inning were either walked or hit by a pitch. Eli Quiceno (Gannon U) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in a run, and Gunner Peterson followed with a walk to bring in another run. Jackson Tate (Alabama) hit into a fielder’s choice to pick up the third run of the inning. Brad Burckel would be responsible for the last three runs brought in with his triple to right center for two more RBI and later scoring on a wild pitch. After three innings, the Gens led 9-1.
A third consecutive inning saw the Generals scoring runs. In the fourth, Waynesboro was able to tack on two more runs. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) continued his hot hitting with a single to right. Wes Clarke (South Carolina) followed with a double to send Jack to third. Eli Quiceno came up with an infield single to bring in Murphy, but the throw to first was as wild as it was late. This allowed Clarke to score from second. The score after four innings was 11-1 in favor of Waynesboro.
The Cards would take advantage of an error with two outs in the fifth to score another run. After the error, Matt Cooper drove in a run with a double. This brought the score to 11-2 after five complete innings. However, the Gens would score eight runs over their final three frames to make things a bit ugly.
In the sixth, the Cards would load the bases with walks and hit by pitches. Jackson Greene (Florida State) ripped a single to right to drive in two runs and put runners at the corners. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) drove in a run next with a fly ball to centerfield that the center fielder dropped. After a walk to Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) loaded the bases, an RBI walk was dished out to Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) to make the score 15-2.
In the seventh, the Gens added three more. Jackson Tate led things off with his team-leading fourth home run. Brad Burckel followed the homer with his third hit of the night. After the two hits, the Cards went back to dishing out free bases. Norby was hit by a pitch, Greene was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Worrell brought in a run with a bases loaded walk. A double play ball brought in another run but the inning ended directly after with a strikeout.
The Cards tried to make things close in the top of the eighth with five runs in the frame, but the score was still 18-7. The Generals added another run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the score to its final place of 19-7. The run in the eighth was courtesy of Jackson Tate once again. He tripled down the line in right. The throw from the cutoff man was a high one that got out of play. That allowed Tate to come home for the score.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
Trey Fields: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Tre Dabney: 1-4, 3B, R
Dylan Menhennett: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jose Hernandez: 2-3, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Brad Burckel (Houston): 3-4, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 2-5, HR (4), 3B, 2 RBI, 4 R
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (2-0), 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
The Generals (17-8) are back in action on July 4th when they play the first of three straight games with the second place Charlottesville Tom Sox. First pitch at C-Ville Weekly Ballpark is set for 5 pm.
Generals Fall to River Bandits
The Generals had their six game win streak snapped on the road in Woodstock. The River Bandits out-hit the Gens 13-9 and out scored them 8-3.
The River Bandits jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on Sunday night. In the bottom of the first, Aidan Nagle, the team’s leading hitter, started things off with a single. He moved to second on a walk to Lael Lockhart, and two batters later, Nick Holesa drove in Nagle with a single up the middle.
Woodstock scored two more in the bottom of the third before the Generals could answer back. This time, the River Bandits used a couple of two-out extra base hits to bring in their runs. Lael Lockhart doubled to left center. Caleb Ward followed that up with a two-run home run to centerfield. Woodstock now had their lead at 3-0.
The Generals finally got to Woodstock’s starter in the fifth inning for their first run. It was one of the newest Generals that was almost solely responsible for getting the run on the board. Gunner Peterson (Illinois State) singled to lead off the inning. He later stole second, moved to third on a grounder to the right side, and scored on an errant throw by the catcher that was trying to pick off Peterson on a throw behind him at third base. The score was 3-1 going to the bottom of the fifth.
Woodstock saw the Gens trying to make a comeback and responded with two more runs. Aidan Nagle doubled to get things started. Two batters later, he stole third and Caleb Ward would drive him in from there. The battery for the Generals started to struggle a bit. Ward moved to third on two wild pitches and would end up scoring on a passed ball. The River Bandits had a 5-1 lead now.
The Generals again tried a comeback in the seventh. Brad Burckel (U of Houston) tripled to get the inning started. He scored on the very next play on an error by the Woodstock third baseman. The Gens couldn’t get any more runs in from there, so the score was 5-2 headed to the bottom of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, the River Bandits finally broke things open with three more runs. Four straight singles by Escala, Nagle, Lockhart, and Ward put a run on the board and had the bases loaded with nobody out in the inning. A ground ball to the first baseman with the infield drawn in looked as if it would stop the bleeding for the Generals. However, the Waynesboro first baseman decided to try and step on first before throwing home and that allowed another run to score. Finally, Warnner Rincones hit yet another single to drive in the final run of the inning. The score after seven complete was 8-2 in favor of the River Bandits.
The Generals would make one last attempt for a big comeback in the top of the ninth. The past week would lead people to believe that Waynesboro is never out of a game, no matter how late, no matter what the score. They would load the bases with nobody out in the ninth to stir up those thoughts yet again. Two batters were hit by a pitch and in the middle of those two, a Wes Clarke (South Carolina) single happened. However, when Woodstock made a pitching change, they went to their all-star reliever, Seth Comer. Comer induced a pop fly to left that allowed a run to score but then got a double play ball to get the River Bandits out of any further trouble. The final score was 8-3.
Key Performers for Woodstock:
Caleb Ward: 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Nick Holesa: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Lael Lockhart: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Ryan Mitschele: W (1-0), 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Seth Comer: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GIDP to end the game
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 3-4
Connor Norby (East Carolina): 2-4
Gunner Peterson (Illinois State): 2-4, R, SB
Brad Burckel (U of Houston): 1-2, 3B, R
Daniel Casto (Memphis): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
The Generals (15-8) are back in action on Monday night in a makeup contest with the Harrisonburg Turks. First pitch at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field set for 7 pm.
Gens Post Another Comeback In Ninth With Win In Extras
The Generals were down to their last out needing more runs for the second straight night. Tuesday night, it was at home vs the Woodstock River Bandits needing 5 in the ninth. Wednesday it was on the road in Staunton needing three in the ninth.
The game got off to a bit of a slow start for both teams. For Waynesboro, they had just come down off their high from winning over Woodstock in thrilling fashion in a game that lasted well over four hours. Coach Cole admitted after the game that, “We were dead. Everybody was still tired from last night, including me. We had community service early this morning. We were all exhausted.” However, the first run of the game was scored by Waynesboro in the top of the third. Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) started things off with a single. After two straight hit-by-pitches, the bases were loaded with nobody out. After a strikeout, a wild pitch allowed Murphy to come in and score. Unfortunately, the Gens couldn’t muster up any more offense in the inning.
The Generals scored again in the top of the fourth to make the score 2-0. A double by Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) got things started. An error on the Braves’ shortstop put runners at the corners with nobody out. The Braves then made another error that allowed Kinker to come in and score. Again the Generals offense stalled with a good situation in front of them. They had runners at first and second with nobody out after the run scored, and they weren’t able to bring anyone else in.
It was in the bottom of the 5th that the Braves struck for all six of their runs in the ballgame. A single by Pastore, a walk to Selden, an RBI double by Brown, and a two RBI single by Brophy put three runs on the board. A pitching change was made for the Generals, but it really didn’t slow down the Braves offense. Two walks loaded the bases before a single brought in another run for the Braves. Finally, it looked like the Gens were going to settle in on the mound. A huge strikeout of the league’s leading RBI man in Andrew Czech gave the Gens their first out of the inning. After a tapper back to the mound looked like it could be the double play the Gens were looking for, an errant throw on the back end sent the ball into the right field corner and allowed another run and gave the Braves another out to work with. Another error by the Gens allowed the sixth and final run to score. The score after five complete innings read 6-2 in favor of the homestanding Braves.
One of the biggest strengths of this General team is that they take the opposing team’s best punch, and always seem to have an answer back. They continued that with Joey Kinker continuing his great night in the very next half inning. He doubled to instantly put a runner in scoring position. Jackson Tate (Alabama) worked a walk to put runners at first and second. After a wild pitch, both runners moved into scoring position with nobody out. Jack Murphy came up with a sacrifice fly to center to bring a run in, but that would end the General rally. The score after six complete was 6-3.
That score would remain until the top of the ninth. In that inning, things seemed to just be on the Braves side. After a walk, the next hitter would hit a ground ball to the shortstop. The ball came up on him, glanced off his chest right into the glove of the second baseman who turned the double play to clear the bases with two outs in the inning and the Generals still needing three runs. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) reached on an error by the Braves’ third baseman to keep things alive. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) then singled to center to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of the hot hitting Joey Kinker. Two pitches into the at-bat, Joey drilled one high and deep to right centerfield that disappeared into the pines beyond the right field fence. TIE BALLGAME courtesy of Joey Kinker’s first homer of the summer.
The Braves tried to respond in the bottom of the ninth to pick up a walk-off win. After a walk, Andrew Czech came to the plate again. He ripped a ball that seemed to be destined for center field that would have put runners at first and second. But shortstop Kobe Lopez had other ideas. He dove to his left, making a sensational, full-extension dive and catch for out number one. He then had the presence of mind to get to his feet and deliver a strike across the diamond to double up the runner at first. The momentum had now shifted completely into the Generals favor.
They didn’t waste the momentum in the 10th. Jackson Greene (Florida State) ripped a double down the left field line. Jack Murphy dropped down a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to move Greene to third. The Gens tried to play more small ball with Brad Burckel (U of Houston) at the plate. His bunt was a hard one right back to the pitcher who was able to flip on to the catcher to nab Greene for out number two. However, on the very first pitch in the next at-bat, Burckel stole second base and headed for third on an errant throw by the catcher. The centerfielder saw Burckel going to third and was going to try to throw him out. There was only one problem… He forgot to field the ball, and it rolled past him deeper into centerfield. Burckel then rounded third and headed for home, making it easily on the second error on the Braves on the same play. The Generals lead going into the bottom of the 10th by a score of 7-6.
Waynesboro turned to Nick Zegna (George Mason) to shut the door in the bottom of the 10th. The tall righty came to the mound filled to the brim with confidence. He went three up, three down, and struck out two in the process for his first save of the summer. The Gens had completed their second comeback victory in as many nights.
Key Performers for Staunton:
Duncan Pastore: 2-4, 2 SB, R
Colin Brophy: 2-4, 2 RBI
Ronald Brown: 1-5, 2B, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s): 2-3, RBI, R
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-5, SB, R
Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast): 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Daniel Casto (Memphis): W (1-1), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Nick Zegna (George Mason): SV (1), 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The Cardiac Gens (12-7) will be back in action on Thursday night at home vs the Winchester Royals. First pitch at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field is set for 7 pm.
Double Plays and Pitching Key In Generals Win
The Generals moved to 2-0 vs their cross-town rival Staunton Braves thanks to three double plays and more great pitching.
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis) was the starter in the game for the Generals. Wimberley said after the game that he didn’t have his best stuff, but was good enough to get key outs in key situations. It started in the very first inning. After getting the first batter of the game out, the Braves hit back to back singles to put runners at the corners with just one away. Wimberley was able to induce his first double play ball on Logan Worley who grounded into the 6-4-3 double play.
In the next inning, Staunton would get their leadoff hitter on with a single. This is where Wimberley induced his second double play ball, a carbon copy of the one in the first. Another 6-4-3 double play to delete a lead-off base runner.
In the third, Wimberley would run into some more trouble. This time, the Braves were able to capitalize on their runners in scoring position. Colin Brophy started things with a double to start the top of the third. He was then bunted to third base with one out. Kent Rooklin worked a walk to put runners on the corners and in the back of Wimberley’s mind, he thought about maybe getting that third straight inning with a double play ball. Instead he would strike out the Staunton hitter to give the Generals two outs in the inning. Coach Zac Cole then decided to intentionally walk Andrew Czech, the league leader in RBI by a large margin. However in doing so, this put two runners in scoring position for Logan Worley. Worley would take advantage and drill a single up the middle to bring in two runs. After three complete innings, the Braves led 2-0.
Finally in the bottom of the fourth, the General bats came alive. It all started with one out in the inning and Jackson Tate (Alabama) at the plate. Jackson singled and was followed up by a Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) double down the right field line to put runners at second and third. Jackson Greene (Florida State) then delivered the big blow in the ball game by slicing a triple down the right field line to tie the game up at two, while also putting himself at third base with just one out. Brad Burckel (Houston) would continue the hit train by laying down a safety squeeze and beating out the throw to first for an RBI bunt single. From there, the inning would sputter, but the Generals had taken the lead 3-2.
Bailey Wimberley finished his night after back-to-back quick innings. Wimberley needed just 16 pitches to get through the 4th and 5th innings to make himself eligible for the win. For the sixth inning, the Generals turned to Zach Blankenship (Valdosta St) in a hold situation. He was stellar in his two innings, allowing two hits, no runs, striking out two, and inducing the third double play ball of the game for the Generals. Another 6-4-3 double play ended the seventh inning as well as Blankenship’s outing.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Generals gave themselves just a bit more breathing room. The rally began with a two out walk to Wes Clarke (South Carolina) who walked three times in the game. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) then came to the plate and drilled a triple off the centerfield wall to bring Clarke in from first. The score after seven innings was 4-2 in favor of Waynesboro.
The Generals didn’t stop there. After a good eighth inning thrown by Matt Mercer (East Tennessee State), the Gens responded with another run in the bottom half. Jack Murphy delivered his third hit of the game to lead off the inning. Jackson Greene pushed him to second on a walk. After an infield fly, Kobe Lopez (Florida International) singled to centerfield to load the bases. Seth Cannady (Florida International) followed it up with a sharp single past the drawn in infielder’s to drive in the fifth run of the game for the Generals. The lead going to the ninth inning was 5-2.
Matt Mercer jogged back out for his second inning of work to try to pick up the six-out save. He had already struck out the side in the eighth when he started the ninth with a strikeout. After that, two weak pop ups in the infield were enough to slam the door shut and to pick up his first save of the season.
Key Performers for Staunton:
Andrew Czech: 2-3, BB
Logan Worley: 1-4, 2 RBI
Duncan Pastore: 2-4, 2B
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): W (1-1), 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Zach Blankenship (Valdosta State): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Matt Mercer (East Tennessee State): SV (1), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s): 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R
Jackson Greene (Florida State): 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R
Seth Cannady (Florida International): 2-3, RBI
Bryson Worrell (East Carolina): 2-4, 3B, RBI
The Generals (9-5) will be back in action Friday night when they welcome the Charlottesville Tom Sox to Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Houston Sends Top Freshman
Waynesboro, Virginia
The University of Houston Cougars compete in the American Conference, which as we previously mentioned in other player spotlights, will fill up the Generals roster this summer. As for Houston, they will continue their stretch of sending some of their top performers to Waynesboro. Last summer, Fred Villareal and Tyler Bielamowicz made the trip up from southern Texas and this year the Cougars will send their top freshman performer, Brad Burckel.
Brad Burckel – Middle Infielder
Brad Burckel is a true freshman from Lindale, Texas and Lindale High School. He’s not one of the biggest players on our roster this summer at 5’7 165 pounds. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in quickness and skill. Brad has played in 45 out of 47 games played by the Cougars. Over that time, he has the third highest batting average on the team for those that have enough at-bats to qualify. In 146 at-bats, Brad is hitting .267 with 39 hits. He has four doubles, three triples, and one homer. He’s driven in 13 runs while scoring 32 times. Look for a lot of speed out of Brad this summer, as he leads the Cougars with 11 stolen bases. He’s helped Houston to a 29-18 record this season with some quality wins both in conference and out of conference. Brad should provide quite a spark this summer and we look forward to his arrival. Welcome to Waynesboro, Brad Burckel!
Late Error Costs Generals Against TomSox
Fred Villarreal (Houston) threw one of the most dominating performances the Generals have had from a starting pitcher this summer. Unfortunately, an error in the top of the 9th inning came around to score the winning run and the Gens weren’t able to recover.
In a game that saw a combined 9 hits and 3 runs, errors turned out to be a huge difference in the game. Waynesboro out-hit Charlottesville 5 to 4 because of the stellar outing from Villarreal.
The Generals would get on the board first with a run in the bottom of the third inning. It started with a lead-off single to center for Joe Bellini (Cincinnati). 2 batters later, Jackson Webb (UCF) hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning. He would come around to score when Alex Webb (Chipola) drilled a double into the right center field gap. That would end up proving to be the only run of the game for the Generals.
The TomSox would answer quickly with a run in the top of the 4th. After a strikeout to begin the inning, Charlottesville put together 2 straight singles to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly deep into right was enough to bring the tying run in. Things would settle in after the score in the 4th.
In the bottom of the 8th, it looked like Waynesboro was in great shape to score the go-ahead run. After a leadoff walk by Jackson Webb, Alex Webb bunted him up to second base. When the third baseman came into field the bunt, the pitcher went over to cover third base. When things settled in, the pitcher started his walk back to the mound, leaving the base unattended. The third base coach alerted Webb who tried to make it to third. Unfortunately, the third baseman was on his way back to his position and was easily there in time to tag out Webb. He would have been in scoring position for the team leader in RBIs, Andrew Orzel (Wofford).
In the top of the 9th, Fred Villarreal was still out there and looking as strong as ever. After striking out the league leader in RBIs, Villarreal got a fly ball down the right field line. The right fielder made it to the ball in time and looked as if it would be a simple out number 2. However, he dropped the ball and the runner hustled into second base. A fly ball to right for the second out was enough to move the runner to third base. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Villarreal delivered a pitch that hit off the catcher’s glove and went to the back stop. It allowed the runner to score and move the final to 2-1. The Generals went three up, three down in the bottom of the 9th. It was their second straight loss.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
- Jake Hershman: ND, 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Antonio Menendez: W, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Fred Villarreal (Houston): L (1-2), 9 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 99 pitches
The Generals (21-17) will try and get back into the win column Saturday afternoon when they travel to Casey Field in Covington. The game time is set for 3 PM to try and beat the incoming rain.
