Don't be surprised if a new statue is erected somewhere in Stuarts Draft in the next few days. If so, it will honor Brogan Fitzgerald, who led his Cougar team tonight to a miraculous eight-inning comeback win over the rival Gladiators. The win evened the series between the two at one win apiece but it also dropped Riverheads two games behind Wilson in the Shenandoah District race.
The most surprising thing I learned in the last few minutes is that he is only a freshman. I had assumed during the game that he was an experienced upperclassman and team leader for the Cougars. especially since he looks like he stands about 6'2". But according to the Cougar roster, he will have three more years to terrorize opponents.
So what exactly did he do tonight that led his team to such a big victory? Well in the top of the fifth, he jacked a three-run homer over the right field fence and on to the softball diamond, where the Lady Cougars were rolling over Riverheads. Then for good measure, he soared the game winner in the eighth over the left field fence and down on to the football field. In between all of that, he was the third of the four pitchers SD used tonight and I believe he threw 95 pitches during his stint on the mound.
Which was the truly ironic thing about this game. By my very unofficial count, those four Cougar pitchers tallied somewhere in the range of 170 pitches. By contrast, RHS starter Brody Phillips left after five innings with a pitch count in the low 80s and his replacement, freshman Jackson Berkstresser, who had tamed the Cougars the first time around, pitched a great game and only allowed the game-winning homer. He actually struck out the side in one of his three innings.
So if you were to take Fitzgerald's two power swings out of the equation, the Big Red could have walked off the field with a 7-4 victory. Instead, his second blast gave the visitors their only lead of the game. But that is why someone once said "It ain't over till it's over."
RHS took a 1-0 lead into the second, only to see the Cougars tie it up in their half of the inning. Riverheads then sent ten men to the plate in the bottom half, scored four runs and chased the Cougars' starting pitcher. That gave the Big Red a 5-1 lead and things were looking promising for the home team.
But the Cougars refused to fold as they cut the lead to 5-3, only to see Riverheads score single tallies in the third and fourth to run the lead back out to four at 7-3. In the top of the fifth, the Cougars scored a single run and then Fitzgerald uncorked Bomb Number One to tie the game. That set the stage for two tense innings in which each team had its chances but could not score. Fitzgerald then settled the issue in the top of the eighth and the Gladiators only managed one harmless guy to reach first in their half.
As you might expect, there was some controversy along the way, as there generally is when two county rivals meet. There was an odd sequence late in the first when the Gladiators were trying to manufacture more than the one run they would eventually get. A Riverheads base runner appeared to cleanly steal second and there was not even a throw. But he was sent back to first for a reason that was never clearly explained. The same batter was then called out at second shortly thereafter in the call of the game that really infuriated the Gladiator faithful.
There was also some balk or no balk action during the game that led to some grumbling. Only one was actually called but some folks thought others had occurred. To put it mildly, the guy working the infield heard an earful from almost start to finish.
However, in all fairness, the Gladiators did get their share of breaks as at least three of their runs by my count scored by way of the wild pitch. Because they pushed the Cougar staff as hard as they did, they had several chances to break the game open and take more than a four-run lead, which might have demoralized the visitors. Instead they gave Draft just enough opportunity to hang around and when Fitzgerald sent his first one over the fence, you could almost feel the momentum shift in favor of the Cougars.
With several more games left in the regular season, each team has quite a few more chances to make some noise. There is no Shenandoah District tournament but I assume each is well-positioned for regional play. For right now, the Gladiators will shift their focus to Friday's weather-permitting trip to Buffalo Gap.
The most surprising thing I learned in the last few minutes is that he is only a freshman. I had assumed during the game that he was an experienced upperclassman and team leader for the Cougars. especially since he looks like he stands about 6'2". But according to the Cougar roster, he will have three more years to terrorize opponents.
So what exactly did he do tonight that led his team to such a big victory? Well in the top of the fifth, he jacked a three-run homer over the right field fence and on to the softball diamond, where the Lady Cougars were rolling over Riverheads. Then for good measure, he soared the game winner in the eighth over the left field fence and down on to the football field. In between all of that, he was the third of the four pitchers SD used tonight and I believe he threw 95 pitches during his stint on the mound.
Which was the truly ironic thing about this game. By my very unofficial count, those four Cougar pitchers tallied somewhere in the range of 170 pitches. By contrast, RHS starter Brody Phillips left after five innings with a pitch count in the low 80s and his replacement, freshman Jackson Berkstresser, who had tamed the Cougars the first time around, pitched a great game and only allowed the game-winning homer. He actually struck out the side in one of his three innings.
So if you were to take Fitzgerald's two power swings out of the equation, the Big Red could have walked off the field with a 7-4 victory. Instead, his second blast gave the visitors their only lead of the game. But that is why someone once said "It ain't over till it's over."
RHS took a 1-0 lead into the second, only to see the Cougars tie it up in their half of the inning. Riverheads then sent ten men to the plate in the bottom half, scored four runs and chased the Cougars' starting pitcher. That gave the Big Red a 5-1 lead and things were looking promising for the home team.
But the Cougars refused to fold as they cut the lead to 5-3, only to see Riverheads score single tallies in the third and fourth to run the lead back out to four at 7-3. In the top of the fifth, the Cougars scored a single run and then Fitzgerald uncorked Bomb Number One to tie the game. That set the stage for two tense innings in which each team had its chances but could not score. Fitzgerald then settled the issue in the top of the eighth and the Gladiators only managed one harmless guy to reach first in their half.
As you might expect, there was some controversy along the way, as there generally is when two county rivals meet. There was an odd sequence late in the first when the Gladiators were trying to manufacture more than the one run they would eventually get. A Riverheads base runner appeared to cleanly steal second and there was not even a throw. But he was sent back to first for a reason that was never clearly explained. The same batter was then called out at second shortly thereafter in the call of the game that really infuriated the Gladiator faithful.
There was also some balk or no balk action during the game that led to some grumbling. Only one was actually called but some folks thought others had occurred. To put it mildly, the guy working the infield heard an earful from almost start to finish.
However, in all fairness, the Gladiators did get their share of breaks as at least three of their runs by my count scored by way of the wild pitch. Because they pushed the Cougar staff as hard as they did, they had several chances to break the game open and take more than a four-run lead, which might have demoralized the visitors. Instead they gave Draft just enough opportunity to hang around and when Fitzgerald sent his first one over the fence, you could almost feel the momentum shift in favor of the Cougars.
With several more games left in the regular season, each team has quite a few more chances to make some noise. There is no Shenandoah District tournament but I assume each is well-positioned for regional play. For right now, the Gladiators will shift their focus to Friday's weather-permitting trip to Buffalo Gap.