Riverheads defeated the Central Woodstock Falcons for the third time this season, but this was by far the closest as they needed an eighth-inning fielding error to squeeze out a 3-2 victory. With the win, the Big Red will now travel to Buckingham Wednesday for a Region B semi-final game. The winner of that one will move to the regional final but also earn a berth in the state tournament.
Central came close but no cigar as they had multiple chances today to have a big inning. They failed to score and left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings. As you can guess, if they had come through with a clutch hit in either or both of those at-bats we could be having a different discussion.
Not only that but in the home half of the first, the Falcons turned a double play for the first two outs as Chase Donathan hit one up the middle that made a beeline for second base, making it easy for Central to turn the twinkill. However, the Gladiators' top hitter Henley Dunlap quickly erased that memory as he sent one over the left field fence for a 1-0 Gladiator lead.
Meanwhile Big Red starting pitcher Levi Dunlap had another challenging inning in the second but again got out of the jam without any damage. He then helped his own cause by getting hit by a pitch as the lead-off batter. His courtesy runner Ethan Mulcahy eventually came around to score for the second Gladiator run of the day.
The score remained 2-0 through three scoreless frames but you just had a feeling that the Falcons were not going to give up without a fight and that they had a rally in them. That rally came in the sixth in the form of a two-run single that hugged the first base line and allowed runners to score from second and third.
Brody Phillips had come on to relieve Dunlap in the fifth and that was a story in itself for the Gladiator faithful. Today's game was literally his very first action of the season as he was finally cleared to play after a long recovery from a football injury. He was more than up to the task in the fifth as he set the Falcons down in order, with two of those outs coming by way of the strikeout.
However, after Central tied things up in the sixth, Carson Kuhn came on and recorded the save as he handcuffed the visitors over the last two innings. Depending on how far the Gladiators advance, having Phillips back will give them an added arm to call upon.
When the action moved into the bottom of the eighth, with the score still tied at 2-2, Central quickly recorded a pair of outs, and all indications were that it was going to take at least nine innings to decide anything. The Gladiators did have Donathan on first, but Central was keeping a close watch on him.
I am sorry to say I don't recall who stepped up to the plate, maybe Kendal Edwards, maybe Holden Fitzgerald, or possibly Kuhn, but whoever it was hit one into deep right field. Now you have to know the layout of the RHS diamond to appreciate this next detail, but you see there is a storage building that essentially blocks the view of that corner from most of the home fans.
So when that ball was headed out there, most of us assumed it would be caught for the third out and that we would be headed to the 9th. So 75% of us, myself included, did not see this, but apparently the Central right-fielder simply dropped the ball. He was in fair territory, which meant it was a live ball.
Donathan had likely been off at the crack of the bat, so he was waved home. To the credit of that Central fielder, he threw a perfect strike to home plate that looked like it would nail Donathan. But the catcher could not handle it and it skipped past him, giving the Big Red the hard-earned victory.
Wednesday's trip to Buckingham could be interesting for several reasons. Number one it will be about 15 degrees warmer than today. Number two the Gladiators made that same trip last year, so at least they will know what to expect.
But what may make this game very interesting is Riverheads' amazing record this season in road games. They have lost only once away from home, at Wilson, and even in that game, they had the tying run at the plate when the game ended.
Buckingham will clearly be the favorite but if the Gladiators can get that mojo working and remember some of their many slaughter rule road wins, things could get interesting.
Central came close but no cigar as they had multiple chances today to have a big inning. They failed to score and left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings. As you can guess, if they had come through with a clutch hit in either or both of those at-bats we could be having a different discussion.
Not only that but in the home half of the first, the Falcons turned a double play for the first two outs as Chase Donathan hit one up the middle that made a beeline for second base, making it easy for Central to turn the twinkill. However, the Gladiators' top hitter Henley Dunlap quickly erased that memory as he sent one over the left field fence for a 1-0 Gladiator lead.
Meanwhile Big Red starting pitcher Levi Dunlap had another challenging inning in the second but again got out of the jam without any damage. He then helped his own cause by getting hit by a pitch as the lead-off batter. His courtesy runner Ethan Mulcahy eventually came around to score for the second Gladiator run of the day.
The score remained 2-0 through three scoreless frames but you just had a feeling that the Falcons were not going to give up without a fight and that they had a rally in them. That rally came in the sixth in the form of a two-run single that hugged the first base line and allowed runners to score from second and third.
Brody Phillips had come on to relieve Dunlap in the fifth and that was a story in itself for the Gladiator faithful. Today's game was literally his very first action of the season as he was finally cleared to play after a long recovery from a football injury. He was more than up to the task in the fifth as he set the Falcons down in order, with two of those outs coming by way of the strikeout.
However, after Central tied things up in the sixth, Carson Kuhn came on and recorded the save as he handcuffed the visitors over the last two innings. Depending on how far the Gladiators advance, having Phillips back will give them an added arm to call upon.
When the action moved into the bottom of the eighth, with the score still tied at 2-2, Central quickly recorded a pair of outs, and all indications were that it was going to take at least nine innings to decide anything. The Gladiators did have Donathan on first, but Central was keeping a close watch on him.
I am sorry to say I don't recall who stepped up to the plate, maybe Kendal Edwards, maybe Holden Fitzgerald, or possibly Kuhn, but whoever it was hit one into deep right field. Now you have to know the layout of the RHS diamond to appreciate this next detail, but you see there is a storage building that essentially blocks the view of that corner from most of the home fans.
So when that ball was headed out there, most of us assumed it would be caught for the third out and that we would be headed to the 9th. So 75% of us, myself included, did not see this, but apparently the Central right-fielder simply dropped the ball. He was in fair territory, which meant it was a live ball.
Donathan had likely been off at the crack of the bat, so he was waved home. To the credit of that Central fielder, he threw a perfect strike to home plate that looked like it would nail Donathan. But the catcher could not handle it and it skipped past him, giving the Big Red the hard-earned victory.
Wednesday's trip to Buckingham could be interesting for several reasons. Number one it will be about 15 degrees warmer than today. Number two the Gladiators made that same trip last year, so at least they will know what to expect.
But what may make this game very interesting is Riverheads' amazing record this season in road games. They have lost only once away from home, at Wilson, and even in that game, they had the tying run at the plate when the game ended.
Buckingham will clearly be the favorite but if the Gladiators can get that mojo working and remember some of their many slaughter rule road wins, things could get interesting.
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