Gens Win Fourth Straight
Even though the Generals were facing one of the top arms in the league on Thursday night, they managed 10 runs on 15 hits to put up their 13th win of the season and fourth win in a row.
With Winchester’s Michael Anderson on the mound, the Gens figured to have a low scoring affair. Anderson was 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA coming into the ballgame with wins over some of the top teams in the league. However, when Winchester came out swinging, the Gens knew they needed to keep swinging the bats the way they have been the past 5 games.
The Royals scored two runs right out of the gate. An error, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with nobody out in the inning. After a strikeout recorded the first out of the inning, Winchester came up with a sacrifice fly to center field to score the game’s first run. The next batter hit a ground ball to short stop for what looked to be the third out of the inning. However, the throw across the infield was a low one and wasn’t able to be dug out. The first inning for Winchester included two runs on no hits and two errors by the Gens.
The Generals didn’t take long to bounce back in the bottom of the first. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) started things off with a single down the left field line. He took a big round and thought about heading for second, but decided against it. It ended up being a great decision because in an 0-2 count on the very next batter, Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) hammered a no-doubter into the pine trees in straight away left field for his second home run of the summer. It was also his second consecutive at-bat with a home run after hitting the game tying homer against Staunton the night before.
The Royals responded right away in the top of the second inning. A single by Will Long lead off the inning. He was moved to second base on a tapper back to the mound that the Generals fielded cleanly for out number one. Another single, this time by Trent Burgreen, put runners on the corners with one out in the inning. Mason Prososki then skied one to left to drive in their third run of the ball game.
The Gens would match the run total in the inning to tie the game again in the bottom of the second inning. Back-to-back singles by Jackson Tate (Alabama) and Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s) had things off and running. Jackson Greene (Florida State) rolled a grounder to the third baseman, but it was so well placed and slowly hit that Murphy was able to move into second, and Tate was able to score from third. The game was tied after 2 complete innings with a score of three to three.
The Royals scored for a third consecutive inning to start the ball game. Singles from Dyer and Palenski had runners at first and second with nobody away. After a strikeout for the first out, Will Long would come up huge with a double that perfectly directed the center and right fielders for a bases clearing double. The score going to the bottom of the third was now 5-3.
Finally in the bottom of the third, the Gens said enough is enough and would take the lead instead of just matching scores. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon University) would start the hitting with a one out single. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) rolled into a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning. However, he would steal second to put himself in scoring position for Seth Cannady (Florida International). Cannady wouldn’t waste the opportunity. He ripped a single to center field for an RBI single. A couple pitches later, Cannady would also steal second base. This time it was Jackson Tate who wouldn’t waste the opportunity. He hooked a line drive down the left field line for an RBI double. Finally, it was Jack Murphy with another 2-out RBI single to drive in Tate to take the lead 6-5.
After a scoreless fourth inning from both sides, the Royals would tie things up yet again in the 5th. Back-to-back one-out singles from Palenski and Barnett had runners at first and second. After a strikeout, it again looked like the Generals were going to get out of the inning unharmed with a ground ball to shortstop. However, the throw was low once again and not able to be dug out at first. The throw skipped away and allowed the Royals to tack on the tying run. Three out of the six runs that had score were unearned runs.
But the Generals did what they seemed to do all year when a team scores on them. They responded with more runs of their own. A walk to Eli Quiceno lead things off, but after two straight outs, it looked like the inning may stall. The good thing for the Generals is that they had Jackson Tate and Jack Murphy up, who went a combined 7 for 8. Tate kept the inning going with a single through the left side. Jack Murphy then doubled to left center field to drive in Quiceno. This gave the Gens the lead, but they weren’t done there. Jackson Greene drilled a single up the middle after a pitching change to put up two more runs. The Gens led 9-6 after 5 complete innings.
From there, things really calmed down. Zach Blankenship (Valdosta State) settled in and dealt a strong three innings to eventually pick up his third win of the season to lead the Generals in that category. The Generals would tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th to make the score 10-6. Eli Quiceno ended up being the guy to start things again, this time with a two out single. He moved into second base on an error by the left fielder. Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) then drilled a double to left center field to drive in Quiceno. That brought the score to its final tally of 10-6.
Key Performers for Winchester:
Will Long: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Aaron Palensky: 2-4, RBI, 2 R
Jordan Barnett: 2-5
John Dyer: 2-5, R
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Joey Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast): 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 3-4, 2B, RBI, 3 R
Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s): 4-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U): 2-4, 2 R
Jackson Greene (Florida State): 1-3, 3 RBI
Zach Blankenship (Valdosta State): W (3-0), 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
The Generals (13-7) will be back in action Friday night at home vs the Covington Lumberjacks in a South division matchup. First pitch at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field is set for 7 pm. The Gens look to win their fifth in a row.
Gens Bounce Back Against Front Royal
After only scoring two runs in their last 19 innings of play, the Generals responded with 10 runs and a victory on the road over the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium.
The Gens jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the second inning. Bryson Worrell (East Carolina) battled his way on first with a lead off walk. Two batters later Jackson Tate (Alabama) sent a 1-0 pitch over the scoreboard in left center field with an absolute moonshot. It was high enough and long enough for Jackson’s second homer of the summer. Waynesboro wasn’t done there. Santiago Garcia (Alabama State) was hit with the very next pitch. After being moved to second base on a ground out, Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) joined Garcia on base by drawing a walk. This brought Seth Cannady (Florida International) to the plate. He drilled a single to left field in a situation that looked like would load the bases. However, the ball was hit so hard that it caromed off the left fielder to allow Garcia to score, Proffitt to go to third, and Cannady to motor in to second base. Proffitt scored a few pitches later on a wild pitch to put the fourth run of the inning on the board for the Generals. Going to the bottom of the second, the Generals led 4-0.
The Cardinals would respond right away. Tre Dabney was hit with the very first pitch of the inning to make his way down to first. After a wild pitch moved him to second, he would come around to score on a swinging bunt and a subsequent error by the Generals pitcher. It also allowed the hitter Baggett to get all the way to third base. Baggett then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 4-2. After a two out walk, the Cardinals scored again on a double by Mason Nadeau. The score after two complete innings was 4-3 in favor of the Generals.
In the third inning, the Generals would get things started off of an error made by the Cardinals third baseman with one out in the inning. After a strikeout, back-to-back walks to Santiago Garcia and Connor Norby (East Carolina) loaded the bases with two outs. Christian Proffitt drove in a run the easy way by drawing a bases loaded walk. The score after 3 complete innings had the Gens on top 5-3.
A stellar relief appearance by Luke Short (St. Mary’s) kept the Cardinals at bay and allowed the Gens to open up their lead a bit. Short picked up his first win of the summer by going four innings, scattering two hits and two walks, and also picking up six strikeouts. The score was 4-3 when he came in. When he left, the score was 10-3.
In the sixth, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) was hit with a pitch to put a runner on first base with two outs in the inning. Wes moved to second base thanks to some awesome base running decisions. He read a ball in the dirt and took off for second immediately to allow himself to slide in safely at second base. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) drilled a single to center to drive in Clarke. The score after six complete read Waynesboro 6- Cardinals 3.
In the seventh, the Gens broke it open a bit with four more runs. Jackson Tate worked his way on with a walk. Santiago Garcia then sent one to the warning track for what should have been ruled a hit. Unfortunately for Santi, they ruled it an error on the left fielder. Runners ended up at the corners with nobody out. Connor Norby delivered a sharply hit single to centerfield to allow Jackson Tate to score. Once reaching second base, Garcia was pinch run for by Jack Murphy (St. Mary’s). On a single by Christian Proffitt, Murphy was thrown out trying to score for out number one. After a fly out gave the Cardinals their second out, Christian Proffitt stole second base. He, along with Connor Norby, was brought in on the very next pitch by Wes Clarke. Clarke moved in to second base on the throw that tried to get Proffitt at the plate. Clarke moved up to third on a wild pitch. That made it a little easier to score on Kobe Lopez’s second RBI single of the night. That got the score to 10-3.
The Cards would get a rally going in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to make things a bit interesting. They scored 3 runs in the final two frames, but Alex Tyson (Valdosta State) would come in to clean up the mess. The final score was 10-6.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
David Willis: 2-4, HR
Phineas Pratt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Peter Schuldt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-6, 2 RBI
Jackson Tate (Alabama): 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R
Luke Short (St. Mary’s): W (1-0), 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast): 1-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI
The Generals (10-7) will be back in action on Monday night in a make-up game with the Covington Lumberjacks. The Generals will play their third game in a row on the road. First pitch is set for 7 pm at Casey Field.
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.
Generals Fall to Tom Sox
In their first trip back to C-VILLE Weekly Ballpark since being eliminated from the playoffs last summer, the Generals lost to Charlottesville by a score of 7-2.
The Tom Sox got on the board in the bottom of the first and would lead the rest of the game. They would load the bases with nobody out in the inning. The fourth hitter in the inning would tap back to the mound where the Generals pitcher couldn’t corral and would be saddled with an error and a run scored. The next run would happen on a big double play ball that would allow starting pitcher Alex Tyson (Valdosta St) to keep things manageable for Waynesboro. After one inning of play, the deficit for the Gens was 2-0.
The Tom Sox would strike for two more runs in the third inning to get their lead to 4-0. Kevin Madden would hit a one-out triple for Charlottesville and would stay at third until a Josh Simon two out double would bring in both Madden and Cole McNamee who had walked earlier in the inning.
The game would then fall into a bit of a lull. Neither team could get much going. For the Generals, they could get a few one or two-out hits, but really weren’t able to string multiple hits together. With this lull, it felt like Charlottesville had everything under control until the top of the 8th inning. The Generals would be able to take advantage of a Charlottesville pitcher struggling to hit the strike zone. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) would start things with a single up the middle. Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would then reach via the infield single on a slow roller hit to the shortstop. After a fly out, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) would walk to load the bases. Jackson Tate would (Alabama) would also walk to bring a run in, and the bases were still loaded with one out. After a pitching change and a subsequent strikeout, Santi Garcia (Alabama State) would bring in a run after being hit by a pitch to make the score 4-2. However the Generals were not able to bring any more runners in and would end up giving up three runs in the bottom of the 8th to get the score to 7-2. That score would be the final.
Key Performers for Charlottesville:
Ramon Garza: 2-4, R
Kevin Madden: 2-3, 3B, RBI, 2 R
Mike Nickles: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Jack Friedman: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Kobe Lopez (Florida International): 2-5, R
Santi Garcia (Alabama State): 2-3, RBI
The Generals will be back in action Saturday as they continue their road trip. They’ll take on the Covington Lumberjacks at Casey Field. First pitch set for 7 pm.
Clarke Homers and Gens Win 6-1
The Generals’ offense was relentless in their 6-1 win over the Turks on Saturday night. They scored in five of their nine offensive frames with nine hits.
Scoring started in the second inning for the Gens. They loaded the bases thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a Seth Cannady (Florida International) single. Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Santiago Garcia (Alabama St) for the first run of the game. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) kept the line moving with his RBI single to bring in Wes Clarke (South Carolina) to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Generals.
The Gens would get back on the scoreboard in the 4th when Wes Clarke hit his first homer of the season on the second pitch of the inning. He blistered the ball over the right-center field wall for the first home run hit by a General this season.
In the 5th, the Generals would get on the board again. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) drilled a one-out double and was brought in on the very next pitch. Ethan Cady (East Tennessee State) singled to put the Gens up 4-0.
The 6th inning got off to a slow start with the first two batters being retired, but when Christian Proffitt drew a two-out walk, the Gens would put together a nice two out rally. Kobe Lopez would follow up with his second single of the night, Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) would load the bases with a walk, and Elijah Quiceno drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Proffitt. This made the score 5-0 after six complete innings
The 7th inning would make it four straight innings that the Gens would push one run across. They did their damage with two outs in the inning just as they had done in the 6th. This time it was Wes Clarke with a two-out double. He would move to third on a wild pitch and then come in to score on a Seth Cannady single to make the score 6-0.
The Turks would add a run in the bottom of the 9th to make it 6-1, but for Harrisonburg it was a story of missed opportunities. They pumped out seven hits, they were walked seven times, and they also had one hit batsman. Not only did they just get runners on, they also got them into scoring position plenty of times. They stole two bases and only struck out four times as a team. They just could never come up with that situational hit, so a ton of credit has to go to the pitching staff for working through pressure packed situations all night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
Travis Reifsnider: 2-2, BB, HBP
McCann Mellett: 1-3, RBI, SB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
Kobe Lopez (FIU): 2-4, RBI, BB
Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI, 3 R
Seth Cannady (FIU): 2-4, RBI
Alex Tyson (Valdosta St): 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Bailey Wimberley (Memphis): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
The Generals are back in action Sunday night when they welcome the Purcellville Cannons to Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate Collins Field. First pitch is set for 7 pm.
Opening Night Win for Gens
After some early offensive struggles, the Gens pushed across 3 huge runs in the 5th inning to take the lead for good in their Opening Night win over Covington.
The Lumberjacks wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. After Waynesboro starter Deven Judy (Gannon University) walked 2 out of his first 3 hitters, Matthew Cocciadiferro drilled a single to right field to bring Pedro Nazario in to score. The lead for the Jacks was at 1-0 after one inning.
Both pitchers had the strikeout pitch working early on. Kristopher Davidson for Covington had six strikeouts in his first four innings, while Judy also struck out six in four innings.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the 5th. After the first batter of the inning was retired, Jackson Tate (U of Alabama) singled to start things out. After Jackson Greene (Florida St.) was hit by a pitch and Kobe Lopez (Florida International) walked, Nick Neville (South Carolina) hit a bases loaded, two RBI single to left field. On the very next pitch, Joe Kinker (Florida Gulf Coast) singled to right center to drive in Kobe Lopez. The score after 5 complete innings read Waynesboro on top, 3-1.
That’s all reliever Zach Blankenship (Valdosta State) would need. He fired three innings, gave up an unearned run and struck out two to pick up his first win of the season.
The offense would continue to shine in the 6th. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon University) would hit a one-out single to right field. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Quiceno would be brought in to score on a double by Jackson Tate.
Needing an answer, the Lumberjacks would score an unearned run to pull the score back to 4-2. Jeff Taylor tapped a ball back to Blankenship on the mound, who airmailed first base and allowed Taylor to move into second base. Pedro Nazario would then single to center to drive in Taylor.
Unfortunately for Jacks fans, the General offense would continue to tack on runs in the bottom half of the 7th. After Joe Kinker walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a ground out, Elijah Quiceno would come up with a 2-out single to score Kinker. That brought the score to 5-2 after seven complete innings.
McLain Harris (Young Harris College) would then come in and shut the door with a six out save. Four of the six outs he recorded were via the punch out.
Key Performers for Covington:
- Pedro Nazario: 1-2, 2 BB, R, RBI
- Kristopher Davidson: L (0-1), 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Jackson Tate (Alabama): 3-4, 2B, R, RBI, 2 SB
- Elijah Quiceno (Gannon): 2-4, R, RBI
- Deven Judy (Gannon): ND, 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
- Zach Blankenship (Valdosta St): W (1-0), 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- McLain Harris (Young Harris Col): SV (1), 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Head Coach Zac Cole and his team will be back in action tomorrow night on the road vs. Harrisonburg.
Valdosta State Southpaws
Waynesboro, Virginia
The Blazers of Valdosta State University will send 2 left-handers to eat up some innings for this year’s General pitching staff. Valdosta competes in the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II, and will begin their conference tournament this Friday as the 6th seed. Valdosta State finished 27-19 overall and 14-12 in a strong conference that saw their top 7 teams with a winning percentage of at least .517. Alex Tyson and Zach Blankenship are the lefties making their way up from Valdosta, Georgia.
Alex Tyson – Left-Handed Pitcher
Alex Tyson is the son of Maria and Jim Tyson of Madison, Florida. The 5’9 190 pound junior lefty is in his first season with the Blazers after he transferred in from Pensacola State College. At Pensacola, Alex was an absolute inning-eater. In 19 career starts, he recorded five complete games. That means Alex was good for a complete game once about every four starts. In the present era we live in today where so much is made over pitch counts, the number of complete games is staggering in his first two years. In order to be in position to throw those type of performances, a pitcher has to pound the zone with strikes on the regular. In almost 113 innings, Alex only issued 23 walks. Currently at Valdosta State, Alex has a record of 2-0 over a total of 30 innings with an ERA of just under four. The coaching staff and fans should look forward to the strike-throwing machine toeing the rubber. Welcome to Waynesboro, Alex Tyson!
Zach Blankenship – Left-Handed Pitcher
Zach Blankenship is a 6’0 200 pound lefty from Fleming Island, Florida. He is currently in his first year with Valdosta State after going to St. John’s River Community College out of high school. At SJRCC, Zach was teammates with two year General, Joey Bellini. In Zach’s most recent year at St John’s River, he was able to compile a 2-1 record over 24 innings with 28 strikeouts. Now at Valdosta, Zach has more than doubled his innings pitched this year. In 60 innings, he’s only allowed 51 hits, 27 earned runs, and has struck out 64 batters. His ERA currently sits just a few ticks over four. He has had some ace-like performances for the Blazers this year. He threw eight shutout innings in a start vs Montevallo and followed that up with a two-hit nine strikeout game against Christian Brothers. We look forward to the excitement that Zach can generate on the mound. Welcome to Waynesboro, Zach Blankenship!
