I say "assume" because the Big Red was ahead 10-1 with one out in the top of the 7th when I had to leave, and although a huge Cougar rally could have happened, for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that there was none. So far neither local paper or the Shenandoah website has reported the final score.
The crushing blow for the Cougars tonight was a three-run homer by RHS catcher Forrest Shuey, who was overdue for a big stroke. It came in the bottom of the fifth and put the Gladiators ahead 7-1 at that point. They added one more before the inning ended and then plated two more in the sixth.
However, it was an odd sequence back in the third inning that initially turned the game in Riverheads' favor and in a way, the Cougars have only themselves to blame. We were having a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel and Riverheads was only ahead 2-1 entering the home half of the inning.
Braeson Fulton led off the inning by beating out an infield single. For some reason, the Cougars became absolutely obsessed with the idea of keeping him from advancing and it ended up costing them and allowing RHS to take command of the game.
SD tried four times to pick him off at first and on the fourth attempt, the ball skipped away from the first baseman, allowing Fulton to take second. Moments later, with an even riskier decision, the catcher fired the ball to second, in an attempt to catch him leaning too far away from the bag. Well that one sailed into the outfield and Fulton took third. He and a teammate eventually came around to score to make it 4-1, setting the stage for Shuey's bomb to put it away. We will never know, but had the Cougars been a little less concerned with him in that inning, it might have made a difference.
The Cougars arguably deserved a better fate today, as they hit the ball hard on a number of occasions. But it was a day for both teams to make some great fielding plays. The Draft had to be especially frustrated with their half of the fifth, just prior to Shuey's blast. The score was only 4-1 at that point and the game still very much within reach, but on back to back plays, center fielder Adam Painter and second baseman Elijah Dunlap made highlight reel catches to rob the Cougars of what might have been solid hits on another day.
Speaking of solid hits, Jakob King did not hit two homers today, as he did in Wednesday's semi-final, but he did start on the mound for Riverheads and earned the victory. He also produced the crowd-pleasing moment of the day when he sliced a foul ball into the Riverheads bleachers and guess who was right there to catch it and save anyone from a bump on the noggin.........his own dad! Michael Robertson relieved him in and all I saw was that he got the first man out in the final inning. (If the Cougars did come back and win this thing, it will be my most embarrassing moment ever!!!!)
Both teams now move on to Region B play. In fact six out of the nine Shenandoah teams will be advancing to the post-season. The Cougars will be hosting a D-2 game on Monday, I believe the announcer said, but by all means consult your other sources for that detail instead of believing me.
Riverheads on the other hand is now definitely off until Thursday, because they will draw a first-round bye in the D-1 playoffs and will host the winner of the Stonewall Jackson/Lunenburg game. A win in that game will put the Gladiators right back home Friday for the regional title game, but more importantly will clinch a state tournament berth.
The crushing blow for the Cougars tonight was a three-run homer by RHS catcher Forrest Shuey, who was overdue for a big stroke. It came in the bottom of the fifth and put the Gladiators ahead 7-1 at that point. They added one more before the inning ended and then plated two more in the sixth.
However, it was an odd sequence back in the third inning that initially turned the game in Riverheads' favor and in a way, the Cougars have only themselves to blame. We were having a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel and Riverheads was only ahead 2-1 entering the home half of the inning.
Braeson Fulton led off the inning by beating out an infield single. For some reason, the Cougars became absolutely obsessed with the idea of keeping him from advancing and it ended up costing them and allowing RHS to take command of the game.
SD tried four times to pick him off at first and on the fourth attempt, the ball skipped away from the first baseman, allowing Fulton to take second. Moments later, with an even riskier decision, the catcher fired the ball to second, in an attempt to catch him leaning too far away from the bag. Well that one sailed into the outfield and Fulton took third. He and a teammate eventually came around to score to make it 4-1, setting the stage for Shuey's bomb to put it away. We will never know, but had the Cougars been a little less concerned with him in that inning, it might have made a difference.
The Cougars arguably deserved a better fate today, as they hit the ball hard on a number of occasions. But it was a day for both teams to make some great fielding plays. The Draft had to be especially frustrated with their half of the fifth, just prior to Shuey's blast. The score was only 4-1 at that point and the game still very much within reach, but on back to back plays, center fielder Adam Painter and second baseman Elijah Dunlap made highlight reel catches to rob the Cougars of what might have been solid hits on another day.
Speaking of solid hits, Jakob King did not hit two homers today, as he did in Wednesday's semi-final, but he did start on the mound for Riverheads and earned the victory. He also produced the crowd-pleasing moment of the day when he sliced a foul ball into the Riverheads bleachers and guess who was right there to catch it and save anyone from a bump on the noggin.........his own dad! Michael Robertson relieved him in and all I saw was that he got the first man out in the final inning. (If the Cougars did come back and win this thing, it will be my most embarrassing moment ever!!!!)
Both teams now move on to Region B play. In fact six out of the nine Shenandoah teams will be advancing to the post-season. The Cougars will be hosting a D-2 game on Monday, I believe the announcer said, but by all means consult your other sources for that detail instead of believing me.
Riverheads on the other hand is now definitely off until Thursday, because they will draw a first-round bye in the D-1 playoffs and will host the winner of the Stonewall Jackson/Lunenburg game. A win in that game will put the Gladiators right back home Friday for the regional title game, but more importantly will clinch a state tournament berth.
