Generals Blast 3 Homers in Regular Season Finale
The Generals came out hot in the early going on the road in Staunton to push them towards a 13-5 victory in the last game of the regular season.
Marcus Ragan (Arkansas Little Rock) wasted no time getting the offense up and running. He doubled into right center on the second pitch of the game. After being bunted to third, Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) hit a high fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly for the first run of the game. This set up the 2-out, nobody on, situation that Andrew Orzel (Wofford) stepped to the plate to. Orzel would hammer a ball over the trees that stand behind the left field fence. He and his teammates were still getting settled back into their seats in the dugout when Bo Seccombe (Faulkner) unleashed on his first home run of the summer in just his second game with the club. The score after 1 full inning of play was 3-0 Generals.
The Gens didn’t stop after the first inning. They continued in the 2nd where they left off in the first. Staunton managed to get the first two hitters out in the inning. Trey Polewski (USC Aiken) didn’t allow the Gens to go down easy. He singled to left field. Marcus Ragan followed him up with his second hit in as many innings. After a pitching change, Hunter Johnson (JMU) hit a line shot over the centerfield fence to make the score 6-0.
After nothing going on for either side in the 3rd, the 4th proved to be fruitful for the Gens. Chris Brady (Patrick Henry CC) started things off with a walk and would move to second on a sacrifice bunt. Marcus Ragan would come up with his 3rd hit of the night, this time for an RBI single. Hunter Johnson would move Ragan to third with a single but would be thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Tyler Bielamowicz would step in and deliver a 2 out double to bring in Ragan. Orzel would single to right and bring in Bielo for the third run of the inning. The score as 9-0 going into the bottom of the 4th.
The Braves would finally get on the board in the bottom of the 4th when Eric Connor hit a solo home run to centerfield. Then in the 5th, they’d tack on another run via the solo home run. This time the culprit was Bryson Parks. Then in the 7th, the Braves would start to make things interesting. Gens fans can’t help but remember the 9-2 lead they blew to Staunton earlier on in the year. They would start to have flash backs in the 7th. The Braves would start the inning off with a double, a walk, and a wild pitch to get two runners into scoring position. 2 batters later, a single would bring in a run and put runners at the corner with one out and the score at 9-3. After a walk to load the bases, Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay) would stride to the mound out of the bullpen to try and limit the damage. He would get the hitter to roll a slow ground ball to shortstop for out number 2, but another run was able to score. Runners were again at the corners, this time with two outs and the score at 9-4. A groundball with eyes would make its way through the infield to put up the third and final run in the inning. The score after 7 innings was a much closer 9-5 tally.
The Gens wouldn’t allow the comeback this time though. They bounced right back for 4 runs in the top of the 8th. Trey Polewski would work his way on with a walk and would be bunted to second. Hunter Johnson would bring in Polewski with a single and would move to second base on the throw. After a Jackson Webb (UCF) walk and an error by the first baseman on a grounder by Andrew Orzel, Bo Seccombe would come through with another huge knock. It was a bases clearing triple by Seccombe that would bring the score to the 13-5 mark that it would finish with.
Key Performers for Staunton:
- Eric Conner: 1-4, HR
- Bryson Parks: 1-3, HR
- Jeremy Cook: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Marcus Ragan (Arkansas Little Rock): 3-4, 2B, RBI, SB
- Bo Seccombe (Faulkner): 3-5, HR, 3B, 4 RBI
- Andrew Orzel (Wofford): 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Hunter Johnson (JMU): 3-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
- Justin Beyer (Wagner): W (2-1), 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay): 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The Generals finish the season at 24-18, 4 games better than last year’s record. They have earned the 3rd seed in the South Division and will begin the playoffs Sunday night at CVille Weekly Ballpark when they take on the 2nd seeded Charlottesville TomSox. The playoffs series are all best-of-3 format.
Generals Take Down River Bandits in 2nd Straight Walk-Off Win
Once the pitch count got too high for Jacob Bradley to continue for Woodstock, the Generals struck for 2 in the bottom of the 9th to win the ball game 3-2 on the walk-off single by Blake Johnson (UAB).
Jacob Bradley had the number of the Generals all game long as he threw 8 solid innings. He got double play balls when he needed them and also racked up 7 strikeouts. Once he came out of the game for the ninth, the Generals finally pushed across the winning runs.
Woodstock took the lead in the top of the third. Justin Beyer (Wagner) was working through the game quickly when he gave up a 2-out single. He walked the next hitter as well, but got a ground ball that looked like it was going to get him out of the inning. However, an error by the shortstop allowed one run to score. The error was followed up by a single to left to score the second run. After 3, the score was 2-0 in favor of Woodstock.
The Generals would chip away in the bottom of the 5th with 2 straight 2 out doubles. The first was by Alex Webb (Chipola) and the other was by Andrew Orzel (Wofford) for the first RBI of the game for Waynesboro. 2-1 was the score until the bottom of the 9th. Woodstock brought in Rainer Ausmus to try and finish the game. He started the inning by hitting Dalton Wingo (UCF). When Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) put down a sacrifice bunt, Wingo got aggressive and got all the way to third, narrowly beating the tag of the third baseman who had to hustle back to third after fielding the bunt. Joe Bellini (Cincinnati) was intentionally walked, and Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) walked soon after to load the bases. It came down to Blake Johnson to drive in the tying and possibly winning runs. In a 2-2 count, Johnson shot a grounder through the right side to bring 2 runs in and walk it off in the bottom of the 9th for their 3rd straight win.
Key Performers for Woodstock:
- Jacob Bradley: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K
- Riley Brandvold: 1-3, RBI
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Patrick O’Shea (St. Mary’s): W (3-0), 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
- Justin Beyer (Wagner): ND, 5+ IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
- Andrew Orzel (Wofford): 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
- Blake Johnson (Alabama Birmingham): 1-4, 2 RBI Walk-Off Single
The Generals (21-15) will hit the road on Wednesday to take on a team that owns the season series 3 games to 1. They’ll be playing in John Moxie Stadium when they take on the Staunton Braves. The Gens will be searching for their 4th straight win.
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.
Covington Pitching Staff Blanks General Hitters
The pitching trio of Tyler Burnham, Zachary Burch, and Jordyn Eglite for the Covington Lumberjacks shut out the Generals on Friday night in front of a great crowd at Kate Collins Field.
The General pitching staff pitched well, only allowing 1 earned run on only 6 hits. However, the top of the 2nd inning wasn’t a good one for Waynesboro. After a 1-out walk, starting pitcher Justin Beyer (Niagara County CC) managed to roll a ground ball to first base for a double play opportunity when the throw to second base wasn’t handled. That was followed by a walk to load the bases. After an RBI groundout, Nathan Loyd singled to center to pick up 2 more RBI to make the score 3-0. Trevor Rogers added a run in the top of the 6th on an RBI ground out to second base to make the score 4-0.
Justin Beyer had a strong pitching line of 5.1 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, and 2 K but ended up taking the loss. Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee) pitched well in relief of Beyer. Harper-Cook threw 3.2 innings, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk. He also managed to strike out 2.
The Generals will be back in action Saturday night on the road at Harrisonburg when they take on the Turks at Veterans Memorial Park.
Generals Outlast Royals for First Win of 2018
After three straight days of cancellations, the Generals finally got back on the field tonight at Bridgeforth Field, home of the Winchester Royals.
The Royals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after 3 innings. Graham Ashcraft (Mississippi State), the starter for the Generals, had a shaky outing. Ashcraft’s line was 2 2/3rd IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 4 K. He gave way to Nick Parr (Oakland) in the bottom of the third with two outs and runners on first and third. Parr was able to escape the jam.
The General bats came alive in the top of the 4th. After getting the leadoff hitter of the inning, Tanner Thomas (Tallahassee CC), on with a single, the Generals had 3 straight singles to right field to score 2 runs. That was followed by an RBI groundout by Jordan Ammons (Mercer) to tie the score at 3.
The Royals regained the lead in the 6th when Matthew Holloway rifled an RBI single to left with the bases loaded and one out. However, Nick Parr worked his way out of another jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
In the 7th inning, the flood gates were opened in favor of the Generals. Waynesboro plated 5 runners on 4 hits, 3 walks, and a Royal error, moving the score to 8-4 after the top half. Chris Salvey homered in the bottom half to pull closer, and after 7 complete, the score was 8-5.
The Generals added an insurance run on a wild pitch in the top of the 8th, but were answered with two more runs from the Royals in the bottom to bring the score to 9-7.
Justin Beyer (Niagara County CC) came in and shut the door in the bottom of the 9th for his first save and the Generals’ first win of the season.
Key Performers:
Winchester Royals:
- Chris Salvey: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
- Samyr Santos: 2-4, RBI
- Ryan Kennedy: L (0-1), 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Waynesboro Generals:
- Tyler Trovinger (Oakland): 3-4, 2 RBI
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB
- Nick Parr (Oakland): W (1-0), 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
The Generals are back in action tomorrow night for their home opener against the Strasburg Express at 7 pm at Kate Collins Field. Probable pitchers are Bryan Wilcox (Florida Gulf Coast) for the Generals, and Strasburg native Garrett Richards (JMU) for the Express.
