The Fort Defiance Indians continued their late-season surge as they recovered from a slow start and scored runs in three of their final four at-bats to turn back Riverheads 5-3 tonight in Greenville. The game was quite the contrast from the first meeting between the two at Fort Defiance, where Riverheads rolled to a 13-1 five-inning slaughter rule victory.
Tonight's loss was doubly disappointing for the Big Red because early in the game, they got to celebrate one of their biggest thrills of the season, a home run. Yes I am sure most teams in the area have had multiple ones, but according to my sources, tonight's three-run shot to left center from sophomore first baseman Henley Dunlap was the Gladiators' first round-tripper of the year. It came in the home half of the third and put the Big Red up 3-0 at the time. When they then held the visitors scoreless for the next two frames, things were looking good for a much-needed home field victory.
But things unraveled in the top half of the sixth when a pair of fielding miscues allowed the Fort to plate two runs. The Gladiators got out of that jam and only needed one more scoreless frame to get the win, but the Indians managed to squeeze across a tying run in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, things were again looking rosy for Riverheads as Logan Austin, who was also pitching for RHS at the time, ripped a solid double to straightaway center field with just one out. But the Indians held firm and did not allow him to come around for the walk-off win.
The Indians then pushed across two more in the top of the ninth to earn the hard-fought win. Their third pitcher of the night, I believe the name was Lavaway or something like that, shut down the Big Red in the 9th to preserve the win.
Each team used three pitchers on the evening. Sam Gardner and Ethan Fitzgerald started for their respective teams and each did a credible job. Gardner pitched into the fifth and crossed the 80 pitch threshold as Dunlap's homer was the only big play he allowed. Kaden Johnson pitched briefly for the Fort before Lavaway (sp.?) came on to finish out the game.
For Riverheads, starting pitcher Ethan Fitzgerald deserved a better fate as he pitched four solid scoreless innings. Brody Phillips and Austin then finished out the game and gave up the five Indian runs.
Each team had even more opportunities to score during the game. They consistently got men on base and even in scoring position but there were quite a few left stranded for both teams as the pitchers were able to bear down when they needed to for the most part.
Riverheads' next outing is a make-up game with Stuarts Draft set for Monday back in Greenville. The Gladiators blanked the Cougars 12-0 the first time around but as we know, one game in the topsy-turvy Shenandoah has nothing to do with any other. Each game takes on its own personality and has its own story line. For the visiting Indians tonight, that was the old baseball adage "it ain't over till it's over." They could have easily folded when they found themselves trailing 3-0 with just two innings left, but they kept fighting and pulled out the win.
For that reason, Riverheads will need to regroup over the weekend and come into Monday's game with a renewed sense of confidence. So far they have not swept anybody in the district this year and they would like nothing better than for the Cougars to be their first such victim.
Tonight's loss was doubly disappointing for the Big Red because early in the game, they got to celebrate one of their biggest thrills of the season, a home run. Yes I am sure most teams in the area have had multiple ones, but according to my sources, tonight's three-run shot to left center from sophomore first baseman Henley Dunlap was the Gladiators' first round-tripper of the year. It came in the home half of the third and put the Big Red up 3-0 at the time. When they then held the visitors scoreless for the next two frames, things were looking good for a much-needed home field victory.
But things unraveled in the top half of the sixth when a pair of fielding miscues allowed the Fort to plate two runs. The Gladiators got out of that jam and only needed one more scoreless frame to get the win, but the Indians managed to squeeze across a tying run in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, things were again looking rosy for Riverheads as Logan Austin, who was also pitching for RHS at the time, ripped a solid double to straightaway center field with just one out. But the Indians held firm and did not allow him to come around for the walk-off win.
The Indians then pushed across two more in the top of the ninth to earn the hard-fought win. Their third pitcher of the night, I believe the name was Lavaway or something like that, shut down the Big Red in the 9th to preserve the win.
Each team used three pitchers on the evening. Sam Gardner and Ethan Fitzgerald started for their respective teams and each did a credible job. Gardner pitched into the fifth and crossed the 80 pitch threshold as Dunlap's homer was the only big play he allowed. Kaden Johnson pitched briefly for the Fort before Lavaway (sp.?) came on to finish out the game.
For Riverheads, starting pitcher Ethan Fitzgerald deserved a better fate as he pitched four solid scoreless innings. Brody Phillips and Austin then finished out the game and gave up the five Indian runs.
Each team had even more opportunities to score during the game. They consistently got men on base and even in scoring position but there were quite a few left stranded for both teams as the pitchers were able to bear down when they needed to for the most part.
Riverheads' next outing is a make-up game with Stuarts Draft set for Monday back in Greenville. The Gladiators blanked the Cougars 12-0 the first time around but as we know, one game in the topsy-turvy Shenandoah has nothing to do with any other. Each game takes on its own personality and has its own story line. For the visiting Indians tonight, that was the old baseball adage "it ain't over till it's over." They could have easily folded when they found themselves trailing 3-0 with just two innings left, but they kept fighting and pulled out the win.
For that reason, Riverheads will need to regroup over the weekend and come into Monday's game with a renewed sense of confidence. So far they have not swept anybody in the district this year and they would like nothing better than for the Cougars to be their first such victim.
