It was almost like a case of deja vu all over again as Riverheads got another great performance from junior hurler Levi Dunlap and solid back-up from the offense and the Big Red celebrated a second straight Wednesday night with a win over the Central Falcons. Last week it was 5-0 on the road and this time they raised the bar just a bit to win 7-0. With those two sterling outings, Dunlap has personally shut out the Falcons for 13 innings this spring.
He controlled this game from the get go as he needed only two pitches to induce the first two batters to fly out. That set the tone for the evening as he ended the second inning with only 14 pitches showing on his side of the scoreboard. That low pitch count enabled him to toss a complete game this time, using only 85 pitches, which comes out to a very efficient 12 per inning. By contrast, the three hurlers that Central used tossed around 115 between them in an attempt to slow down the Gladiators. (And remember Riverheads only batted six times, not seven.)
I did not count hits but I would be surprised if the Falcons scratched for more than three. Their closest threat to scoring came in the top of the 7th but Dunlap bore down and struck out the final batter to end that mini-threat and close out the game in just a shade under two hours.
Helping the cause were some timely hitting from the Big Red and an especially heavy dose of their trademarked aggressive base-running style. They succeeded in stealing second with regularity, sometimes even third, and I believe three of their seven runs scored on pitches that eluded the Central catcher.
Meanwhile the Big Red defense played an excellent game, including a couple of highlight-reel catches from shortstop Brody Phillips that robbed the Falcons of potential hits. The Big Red also turned in a double play to end one of Central's at-bats.
There was nothing fancy about this one as the Gladiators did not clobber any home runs and frankly I don't even remember any doubles. They just got hits when they needed them and small-balled those runners into scoring opportunities. Just like last week's game, the Big Red had their biggest inning in the first as they jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and took almost immediate control of the game.
Next up for the Gladiators will be a trip to Buffalo Gap Friday night. Seems as if there are fireworks just about any time the Big Red travels out there for any sport, so there is no reason to expect this time to be any different. Who knows, they might even parachute someone on to the field like they did last fall at the football game! RHS then returns home next Tuesday to host Staunton, which will complete the first swing through the district schedule.
He controlled this game from the get go as he needed only two pitches to induce the first two batters to fly out. That set the tone for the evening as he ended the second inning with only 14 pitches showing on his side of the scoreboard. That low pitch count enabled him to toss a complete game this time, using only 85 pitches, which comes out to a very efficient 12 per inning. By contrast, the three hurlers that Central used tossed around 115 between them in an attempt to slow down the Gladiators. (And remember Riverheads only batted six times, not seven.)
I did not count hits but I would be surprised if the Falcons scratched for more than three. Their closest threat to scoring came in the top of the 7th but Dunlap bore down and struck out the final batter to end that mini-threat and close out the game in just a shade under two hours.
Helping the cause were some timely hitting from the Big Red and an especially heavy dose of their trademarked aggressive base-running style. They succeeded in stealing second with regularity, sometimes even third, and I believe three of their seven runs scored on pitches that eluded the Central catcher.
Meanwhile the Big Red defense played an excellent game, including a couple of highlight-reel catches from shortstop Brody Phillips that robbed the Falcons of potential hits. The Big Red also turned in a double play to end one of Central's at-bats.
There was nothing fancy about this one as the Gladiators did not clobber any home runs and frankly I don't even remember any doubles. They just got hits when they needed them and small-balled those runners into scoring opportunities. Just like last week's game, the Big Red had their biggest inning in the first as they jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and took almost immediate control of the game.
Next up for the Gladiators will be a trip to Buffalo Gap Friday night. Seems as if there are fireworks just about any time the Big Red travels out there for any sport, so there is no reason to expect this time to be any different. Who knows, they might even parachute someone on to the field like they did last fall at the football game! RHS then returns home next Tuesday to host Staunton, which will complete the first swing through the district schedule.
