The Riverheads Gladiators recovered from a shaky first inning tonight and roared back to defeat Staunton 14-2 in a slaughter-rule 5-inning affair. The win snapped a five-game losing streak, all in district play, and will hopefully set the tone for a late-season push for the Big Red.
Starting pitcher Colton Kwiecinski had a little trouble finding the plate in the bottom of the first as the home team threatened to have a big inning, but he soon settled into a rhythm and the defense backed him up as The Pride limited the damage to just one run. Riverheads then scored a pair of runs in the second and another in the third to grab a 3-1 lead.
Staunton then pushed across a run to close to within 3-2 after four innings and at that point, it looked like we were headed for a down to the wire finish. Instead the Gladiator bats came to life and exploded for a monstrous 11-run avalanche in the top of the fifth to send everyone home early.
The onslaught featured bases-loaded triples by senior Aidan Miller and freshman first baseman Henley Dunlap. Everybody was hitting safely and the runs scored so fast and furious that the scoreboard operator missed one for a while but finally put it up. Miller also helped to secure the win by relieving Kwiecinski in the fourth and shutting out The Storm the rest of the way.
With the win, I unofficially have the Big Red at 2-5 in Shenandoah play with both wins coming over Staunton and they are 9-5 overall. The schedule still features a pair of games with last-place Waynesboro and home dates with Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance, so the chances are there for the Big Red to nail down a solid post-season berth.
The skies cooperated completely tonight as there was nary a raindrop in sight. If the same should hold up tomorrow night, the Gladiators will be hosting Luray, a team they have already thumped badly on the road. Fort Defiance then comes calling on Friday where we will see if the Gladiators can string together back-to-back district wins.
Starting pitcher Colton Kwiecinski had a little trouble finding the plate in the bottom of the first as the home team threatened to have a big inning, but he soon settled into a rhythm and the defense backed him up as The Pride limited the damage to just one run. Riverheads then scored a pair of runs in the second and another in the third to grab a 3-1 lead.
Staunton then pushed across a run to close to within 3-2 after four innings and at that point, it looked like we were headed for a down to the wire finish. Instead the Gladiator bats came to life and exploded for a monstrous 11-run avalanche in the top of the fifth to send everyone home early.
The onslaught featured bases-loaded triples by senior Aidan Miller and freshman first baseman Henley Dunlap. Everybody was hitting safely and the runs scored so fast and furious that the scoreboard operator missed one for a while but finally put it up. Miller also helped to secure the win by relieving Kwiecinski in the fourth and shutting out The Storm the rest of the way.
With the win, I unofficially have the Big Red at 2-5 in Shenandoah play with both wins coming over Staunton and they are 9-5 overall. The schedule still features a pair of games with last-place Waynesboro and home dates with Buffalo Gap and Fort Defiance, so the chances are there for the Big Red to nail down a solid post-season berth.
The skies cooperated completely tonight as there was nary a raindrop in sight. If the same should hold up tomorrow night, the Gladiators will be hosting Luray, a team they have already thumped badly on the road. Fort Defiance then comes calling on Friday where we will see if the Gladiators can string together back-to-back district wins.
