The wild and crazy spring sports season for Auburn High School is rolling right along and whatever they are doing on that campus, they should bottle it. In today's latest chapters, the baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to nip defending state champion Riverheads 4-3, and a few hours later, the softball team needed eight innings to turn back the Lady Gladiators 2-1. As a result, both Eagles teams will compete tomorrow (meaning Friday) for state titles. If I am following correctly, the boys were state champs in 2017 before RHS won it last year and the girls advanced to the state title game last year but came up short. As a result, their fans were sporting t-shirts that said Unfinished Business.
Before getting to the details of the games, I have some praise to heap on the VHSL. First of all, when it became necessary to delay the games this extra week, they apparently made a concerted effort to schedule today's games so that fans could see both their teams in action if they chose to. There were actually four schools in the 1-A and 2-A semi-finals that benefited from this creative scheduling......Auburn and Riverheads obviously but also Page County and Lebanon. Not only that but they did not double up on the admission, so once you had your wrist band you could go from Radford to Pulaski or vice versa, without paying extra. I assume it will be the same tomorrow as the boys title game is at 9:00 AM and the girls at 12 noon. Might be a tight squeeze if you stick around for trophy presentations but should be doable.
I also commend the VHSL for its use of the Pulaski stadium. I immediately liked it better than Radford's that was used last year and I heard other folks say the same. It is roomier, the layout was better and the walk from the parking lot into the stadium is much shorter than at Radford. The only complaint I had was the chaotic concession stand but you can't have everything.
OK, on to the game recaps. Boys first because it was played first. If Riverheads studies the tapes, and I am sure they will, they will realize this was a case of missed opportunities. The Gladiators advanced a runner to third base in the first, third AND fourth innings, but failed to score any of those times. With a break here and there they could have taken early control of the game.
Instead Auburn took the early lead in the bottom of the second when they laced a strong single deep into the left corner that got the party started. RHS clamped down and held them to only one run. In fact Riverheads defense did a great job, especially in the middle innings, as they turned a double play to end three consecutive innings (3rd through 5th) with Michael Robertson at first doing a great job digging out some tough throws.
Therefore you could say the Gladiator defense kept them in the game until the offense clicked, which it finally did in the top half of the fifth and sixth. Adam Painter, who is only a sophomore, led the Big Red with three hits today and one of those led off the fifth inning. Big Brother Grant then singled down the right side to advance him to third, followed by a Robertson sac fly to finally get the Big Red on the board.
Then after pulling off the third of those double plays, it appeared that the Gladiators had made their move in the top of the sixth. With men on second and third, Adam Painter blooped one just over the shortstop that brought home both runners and put the Gladiators ahead 3-1. Their chances looked even better when they set the Eagles down in the bottom of the sixth and took that two run lead into the final inning.
A steady 15 minute shower came along just as the sixth inning was wrapping up. It was not enough to stop play and there was no lightning threat, but it rained just enough to make most fans seek cover.
Riverheads failed to score in the top half of the 7th, setting the stage for Auburn's winning rally. They got their first break when a deep fly to left center was dropped.....perhaps because of the wet field conditions or maybe an awkward angle to make the catch.
Moments later a wicked grounder was hit sharply to third base, which glanced off RHS third baseman Braeson Fulton, scoring one run, and leaving men on second and third. The Gladiators elected to roll the dice so they walked the next batter intentionally, loading the bases with no outs.
At that point, Gladiator pitcher Elijah Dunlap, who went the distance, came close to bailing the Big Red out of the jam all by himself as he struck out two in a row to elevate the drama. But on a 2-2 count, Myles hit a funny looking blooper just over third base that went just far enough and stayed just far enough in play to get the job done. Fulton made a valiant effort to get to it but it was just too far for him to travel and the two lead runners had been off at the crack of the bat so there was not even a play at the plate as the Auburn celebration erupted.
They will now play Lancaster for the title but since I did not see that game, I have no insight as to how that one might go, but Auburn certainly seems to be on a mission and they will quite likely have an even rowdier crowd tomorrow than they had today.
The girls game can be summed up a little easier. It was a classic pitchers' duel that was tied 1-1 after seven innings. Freshman catcher Cheyenne Deming put RHS ahead in the top of the fourth with a homer that cleared the left field fence at around 210 feet.
Auburn answered in the same frame as they hit back to back doubles to tie the score. The teams then went through three scoreless innings in which they mainly dodged bullets such as a combined 7 errors.
Finally in the bottom of the 8th, an Auburn player hit one deep to almost exactly the same spot as Deming's round-tripper but hers stayed inside as she scooted to second base. The next batter singled to right field which brought in the winning run.
To Riverheads' credit they certainly did not give up on the play and there was an actual play at the plate that came closer to nailing the runner than it initially looked like it might. It was nothing controversial about it but the Gladiators deserve to have it pointed out that it was a very good attempt and an absolutely PERFECT throw might have sent us to the 9th inning.
Auburn now plays Rappahannock County for the state title and if they need this for motivation, I am sure they are aware that Riverheads beat RCHS 10-1 on its own field for the Region B title. Take that for what it is worth.
So a double dose of disappointment for Big Red fans today but we will be back. Especially the boys as only two seniors graduated last month. Unfortunately Riverheads was not the only Shenandoah District team to leave SW VA unhappy today as I understand that both Page teams lost also as did the Stuarts Draft baseball team, which had come from out of nowhere to make a late-season surge.
Before getting to the details of the games, I have some praise to heap on the VHSL. First of all, when it became necessary to delay the games this extra week, they apparently made a concerted effort to schedule today's games so that fans could see both their teams in action if they chose to. There were actually four schools in the 1-A and 2-A semi-finals that benefited from this creative scheduling......Auburn and Riverheads obviously but also Page County and Lebanon. Not only that but they did not double up on the admission, so once you had your wrist band you could go from Radford to Pulaski or vice versa, without paying extra. I assume it will be the same tomorrow as the boys title game is at 9:00 AM and the girls at 12 noon. Might be a tight squeeze if you stick around for trophy presentations but should be doable.
I also commend the VHSL for its use of the Pulaski stadium. I immediately liked it better than Radford's that was used last year and I heard other folks say the same. It is roomier, the layout was better and the walk from the parking lot into the stadium is much shorter than at Radford. The only complaint I had was the chaotic concession stand but you can't have everything.
OK, on to the game recaps. Boys first because it was played first. If Riverheads studies the tapes, and I am sure they will, they will realize this was a case of missed opportunities. The Gladiators advanced a runner to third base in the first, third AND fourth innings, but failed to score any of those times. With a break here and there they could have taken early control of the game.
Instead Auburn took the early lead in the bottom of the second when they laced a strong single deep into the left corner that got the party started. RHS clamped down and held them to only one run. In fact Riverheads defense did a great job, especially in the middle innings, as they turned a double play to end three consecutive innings (3rd through 5th) with Michael Robertson at first doing a great job digging out some tough throws.
Therefore you could say the Gladiator defense kept them in the game until the offense clicked, which it finally did in the top half of the fifth and sixth. Adam Painter, who is only a sophomore, led the Big Red with three hits today and one of those led off the fifth inning. Big Brother Grant then singled down the right side to advance him to third, followed by a Robertson sac fly to finally get the Big Red on the board.
Then after pulling off the third of those double plays, it appeared that the Gladiators had made their move in the top of the sixth. With men on second and third, Adam Painter blooped one just over the shortstop that brought home both runners and put the Gladiators ahead 3-1. Their chances looked even better when they set the Eagles down in the bottom of the sixth and took that two run lead into the final inning.
A steady 15 minute shower came along just as the sixth inning was wrapping up. It was not enough to stop play and there was no lightning threat, but it rained just enough to make most fans seek cover.
Riverheads failed to score in the top half of the 7th, setting the stage for Auburn's winning rally. They got their first break when a deep fly to left center was dropped.....perhaps because of the wet field conditions or maybe an awkward angle to make the catch.
Moments later a wicked grounder was hit sharply to third base, which glanced off RHS third baseman Braeson Fulton, scoring one run, and leaving men on second and third. The Gladiators elected to roll the dice so they walked the next batter intentionally, loading the bases with no outs.
At that point, Gladiator pitcher Elijah Dunlap, who went the distance, came close to bailing the Big Red out of the jam all by himself as he struck out two in a row to elevate the drama. But on a 2-2 count, Myles hit a funny looking blooper just over third base that went just far enough and stayed just far enough in play to get the job done. Fulton made a valiant effort to get to it but it was just too far for him to travel and the two lead runners had been off at the crack of the bat so there was not even a play at the plate as the Auburn celebration erupted.
They will now play Lancaster for the title but since I did not see that game, I have no insight as to how that one might go, but Auburn certainly seems to be on a mission and they will quite likely have an even rowdier crowd tomorrow than they had today.
The girls game can be summed up a little easier. It was a classic pitchers' duel that was tied 1-1 after seven innings. Freshman catcher Cheyenne Deming put RHS ahead in the top of the fourth with a homer that cleared the left field fence at around 210 feet.
Auburn answered in the same frame as they hit back to back doubles to tie the score. The teams then went through three scoreless innings in which they mainly dodged bullets such as a combined 7 errors.
Finally in the bottom of the 8th, an Auburn player hit one deep to almost exactly the same spot as Deming's round-tripper but hers stayed inside as she scooted to second base. The next batter singled to right field which brought in the winning run.
To Riverheads' credit they certainly did not give up on the play and there was an actual play at the plate that came closer to nailing the runner than it initially looked like it might. It was nothing controversial about it but the Gladiators deserve to have it pointed out that it was a very good attempt and an absolutely PERFECT throw might have sent us to the 9th inning.
Auburn now plays Rappahannock County for the state title and if they need this for motivation, I am sure they are aware that Riverheads beat RCHS 10-1 on its own field for the Region B title. Take that for what it is worth.
So a double dose of disappointment for Big Red fans today but we will be back. Especially the boys as only two seniors graduated last month. Unfortunately Riverheads was not the only Shenandoah District team to leave SW VA unhappy today as I understand that both Page teams lost also as did the Stuarts Draft baseball team, which had come from out of nowhere to make a late-season surge.
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