Thanks for the head start because I am too wiped out to do my usual long-winded recap. So here is the shorter version.
Riverheads got the first two men on base and Brody Phillips came around to score when a hard grounder to second was momentarily bobbled. The Big Red then left men on second and third, and as we know now, a 3-0 lead might have made a difference but instead they could only manage the one run.
From that moment on, there was a night and day difference in the fielding between the two teams. B'ham did not commit any more errors and in fact, one of the deciding factors in the game was the uncanny way Riverheads hit the ball hard all game long, but it was ALWAYS right at somebody. I would not be surprised to read that as many as 15 of the Gladiator outs were recorded on line drives or flies to the outfield. The Big Red rarely struck out and I don't recall more than 2-3 put outs at first.
By contrast, the Gladiators had some uncharacteristic issues in the field as all four B'ham runs came from Big Red miscues. In the bottom of the second, an errant throw to first allowed the first Knight run to score and soon after, a wild pitch plated the second run.
RHS stayed within that 2-1 striking distance and as mentioned above, had no trouble making contact but just could not find gaps. The pitching duo of Ethan Fitzgerald and Levi Dunlap (three innings each) were effective enough but the fielding just did not back them up.
B'ham was then able to add two insurance runs in the 5th when one Gladiator outfielder misjudged the depth of a hit and could not get to it and on the very next play, another outfielder had a routine fly simply pop out of his glove. Yet another fielding error in the 6th almost led to more Knight runs.
On the positive side the weather was spectacular and both teams had great fan support. No real controversy or bad sportsmanship to report. Knight fans are no doubt happy to still have their unbeaten record and can look forward to one more very meaningful home game. Riverheads fans on the other hand can wonder how this one might have gone without the errors, so maybe the guys can learn from today's game.
So as mentioned, Poquoson and KW are up next, so let's hope Region B can represent itself well in those two games and have a presence down in Salem next weekend.
