The Gladiators made the most of their trip up to Rebel Park this evening as they scored in four of their five required at-bats and routed the home team 12-0. The game was an easier win for the Big Red than the 6-1 victory in their earlier meeting.
Brody Phillips walked on four pitches to open the game and things rapidly went south for the Generals. RHS sent all nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings, as they plated four in the first and five in the second to take a commanding 9-0 lead after just two at-bats. They then added just enough in the next two innings to put the slaughter rule into effect. Even then it took nearly two hours to play five innings.
Cason Croft, one of two freshman hurlers who have had great seasons for the Big Red, went the distance and picked up the win. The scoreboard never showed a hit being registered for Stonewall but I cannot say for sure that he pitched a no-hitter, because there were a couple of plays where a Stonewall batter reached safely, meaning that it had to be either a hit or an error, but yet neither was put on the board. Regardless it was a mighty impressive performance for such a young player.
Stonewall on the other hand tried three different pitchers but none of them had the answer as the visitors hit the ball consistently, ran the bases aggressively, and took advantage of some Stonewall miscues. Overall it was total domination for the Gladiators although they were the much younger team.
Riverheads will now finish out the regular season with four Shenandoah District contests. They are not likely to catch Wilson in the standings but the important thing is to protect their high ranking in the Region 1-B playoff picture. Next up is a Tuesday trip to Fort Defiance to face the dangerous Indians. They will then host Rockbridge on Thursday and have a little somethin' somethin' going on next Friday when four members of the team (Phillips, Holden Fitzgerald, Ethan Mulcahy, and Chase Donathan) will cross the stage and receive a certain little piece of paper that they have all earned. Congrats to all four and best wishes for the rest of the season and beyond.
Whatever happens in the playoffs, if the Big Red is only graduating those four, that certainly means that the future will look bright for next season.
Brody Phillips walked on four pitches to open the game and things rapidly went south for the Generals. RHS sent all nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings, as they plated four in the first and five in the second to take a commanding 9-0 lead after just two at-bats. They then added just enough in the next two innings to put the slaughter rule into effect. Even then it took nearly two hours to play five innings.
Cason Croft, one of two freshman hurlers who have had great seasons for the Big Red, went the distance and picked up the win. The scoreboard never showed a hit being registered for Stonewall but I cannot say for sure that he pitched a no-hitter, because there were a couple of plays where a Stonewall batter reached safely, meaning that it had to be either a hit or an error, but yet neither was put on the board. Regardless it was a mighty impressive performance for such a young player.
Stonewall on the other hand tried three different pitchers but none of them had the answer as the visitors hit the ball consistently, ran the bases aggressively, and took advantage of some Stonewall miscues. Overall it was total domination for the Gladiators although they were the much younger team.
Riverheads will now finish out the regular season with four Shenandoah District contests. They are not likely to catch Wilson in the standings but the important thing is to protect their high ranking in the Region 1-B playoff picture. Next up is a Tuesday trip to Fort Defiance to face the dangerous Indians. They will then host Rockbridge on Thursday and have a little somethin' somethin' going on next Friday when four members of the team (Phillips, Holden Fitzgerald, Ethan Mulcahy, and Chase Donathan) will cross the stage and receive a certain little piece of paper that they have all earned. Congrats to all four and best wishes for the rest of the season and beyond.
Whatever happens in the playoffs, if the Big Red is only graduating those four, that certainly means that the future will look bright for next season.