Tomorrow morning is graduation so the Big Red tuned up for the big event with a solid 11-1, five-inning beatdown of Fort Defiance. This was the Gladiators' fifth straight Shenandoah District win after a 1-5 start as they are now 6-5 in district play and 14-5 overall.
The big difference between this game and FD's 8-6 win the first time around was that the Gladiator hitters had no trouble whatsoever with junior pitcher Kaden Johnson. In the first meeting, Riverheads had roughed up starter Sam Garber but when Johnson replaced him, he was able to silence the Big Red bats and allowed the Indians to come back and win.
This time the roles were reversed as Johnson started and the Gladiators pounced on him right away for two runs in the first. RHS then exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second when they sent 12 men to the plate to put the game completely out of reach. Garber came in to relieve Johnson this time but it made no difference whatsoever as the Gladiators pounded the ball at will.
Later a third pitcher came in to work the home half of the fifth and the Gladiators roughed him up too as Bennett Dunlap drew a walk and came around to score on a deep one to right center by Aidan Miller that briefly looked like it might leave the yard. Instead it bounced off the fence but was still enough to give the Gladiators the 10 run lead they needed to clinch the game.
This was the second time in the last couple of weeks in which Miller ended the game in walk-off fashion as his grand slam sent Waynesboro home on the short end of a 13-0 score. Tonight in addition to providing the game-clincher, he pitched the first three innings before giving way to Colton Kwiecinski, who pitched the last two. Other than back-to-back hits in the first that staked FD to an early 1-0 lead, the visiting bats never seriously challenged either RHS pitcher.
The Gladiators now get a bit of a rest to celebrate graduation before traveling to Stuarts Draft on Tuesday. My sources tell me that if that one should be rained out, it would not be re-scheduled because it would be too close to playoff time. But you can bet the Big Red would like nothing better than to avenge their 3-2 home loss to the Cougars as well as gain further momentum heading into regionals.
Here is one final red hot tip for you local folks..................If you are anywhere close to Riverheads in any of your travels these days, you might want to fill up while you are there. This could of course change at any minute, but as of tonight, the BP (Subway) and the Pilot (Arby's) were each running about a quarter a gallon cheaper than anything I have seen this week in either Staunton or Waynesboro. So drive on down to Greenville over the weekend and grab a sandwich and a tankful. Hopefully their bargain (?) prices will last until you can get there!
The big difference between this game and FD's 8-6 win the first time around was that the Gladiator hitters had no trouble whatsoever with junior pitcher Kaden Johnson. In the first meeting, Riverheads had roughed up starter Sam Garber but when Johnson replaced him, he was able to silence the Big Red bats and allowed the Indians to come back and win.
This time the roles were reversed as Johnson started and the Gladiators pounced on him right away for two runs in the first. RHS then exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second when they sent 12 men to the plate to put the game completely out of reach. Garber came in to relieve Johnson this time but it made no difference whatsoever as the Gladiators pounded the ball at will.
Later a third pitcher came in to work the home half of the fifth and the Gladiators roughed him up too as Bennett Dunlap drew a walk and came around to score on a deep one to right center by Aidan Miller that briefly looked like it might leave the yard. Instead it bounced off the fence but was still enough to give the Gladiators the 10 run lead they needed to clinch the game.
This was the second time in the last couple of weeks in which Miller ended the game in walk-off fashion as his grand slam sent Waynesboro home on the short end of a 13-0 score. Tonight in addition to providing the game-clincher, he pitched the first three innings before giving way to Colton Kwiecinski, who pitched the last two. Other than back-to-back hits in the first that staked FD to an early 1-0 lead, the visiting bats never seriously challenged either RHS pitcher.
The Gladiators now get a bit of a rest to celebrate graduation before traveling to Stuarts Draft on Tuesday. My sources tell me that if that one should be rained out, it would not be re-scheduled because it would be too close to playoff time. But you can bet the Big Red would like nothing better than to avenge their 3-2 home loss to the Cougars as well as gain further momentum heading into regionals.
Here is one final red hot tip for you local folks..................If you are anywhere close to Riverheads in any of your travels these days, you might want to fill up while you are there. This could of course change at any minute, but as of tonight, the BP (Subway) and the Pilot (Arby's) were each running about a quarter a gallon cheaper than anything I have seen this week in either Staunton or Waynesboro. So drive on down to Greenville over the weekend and grab a sandwich and a tankful. Hopefully their bargain (?) prices will last until you can get there!
