Catcher Taz Miller ripped a two-run double that rolled all the way to the fence in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Gladiators recovered from a shaky start to squeeze by Luray 3-2 and clinch the number two seed for next week's 1-A East Regionals. Luray, despite tonight's loss, will also participate in that eight-team event.
Tonight's game was the rubber match for these two teams as each one had won easily on the other's field during regular-season action. Knowing that they had won earlier at RHS may have inspired the Bulldogs and for the better part of five innings, they seemed determined to take the conference championship trophy back to Luray.
After each team went down quietly in the first, Riverheads encountered some uncharacteristic battery problems in both the second and third innings. At least half a dozen pitches found their way to the backstop in those two innings alone and directly contributed to the Dogs scoring a run in each frame to grab an early 2-0 advantage.
Starting pitcher Ryan Fitzgerald was not being hit especially hard and in fact neither he nor Andrew Golliday, who relieved him in the fifth, gave up anything more than a single all night, but the unusual number of wild pitches and passed balls enabled the Dogs to frustrate RHS early.
Meanwhile on offense the Big Red was getting base-runners frequently but stranding too many of them, leaving the sacks full in two innings, which caused the home crowd to get a little restless. Freshman Luray hurler Evan Hamilton was keeping his cool against the usually-potent Gladiator bats, and until Miller's game winner, he too was not touched for any extra-base hits.
Finally in the fifth, the Gladiators scratched for a single run and seized some momentum. They were helped along by a pair of Bulldog errors, as the visitors had four total on the evening.
After Luray went down in the sixth, RHS got two men aboard in the home half of the inning, thanks to the final Bulldog error of the night, setting the stage for Miller's game-winner. A Gladiator base runner had earlier been thrown out at home, but this time there would be no play as the Luray centerfielder had just enough trouble with Miller's hit to allow the winning run to score from first.
Golliday did allow the potential tying run as far as second in the 7th before the Gladiators ended the game on a forceout. That left the home fans time enough to wander down to the soccer field where the Big Red easily captured that conference title with a 7-0 win over Altavista.
As a result of their wins, both Riverheads teams will now host regional quarter-finals on Monday. The baseball opponent is yet to be determined but one local paper says that Altavista will make another trip to RHS in soccer. In each case, a win by the home team will earn a semi-final home game on Wednesday, June 1st.
Tonight's game was the rubber match for these two teams as each one had won easily on the other's field during regular-season action. Knowing that they had won earlier at RHS may have inspired the Bulldogs and for the better part of five innings, they seemed determined to take the conference championship trophy back to Luray.
After each team went down quietly in the first, Riverheads encountered some uncharacteristic battery problems in both the second and third innings. At least half a dozen pitches found their way to the backstop in those two innings alone and directly contributed to the Dogs scoring a run in each frame to grab an early 2-0 advantage.
Starting pitcher Ryan Fitzgerald was not being hit especially hard and in fact neither he nor Andrew Golliday, who relieved him in the fifth, gave up anything more than a single all night, but the unusual number of wild pitches and passed balls enabled the Dogs to frustrate RHS early.
Meanwhile on offense the Big Red was getting base-runners frequently but stranding too many of them, leaving the sacks full in two innings, which caused the home crowd to get a little restless. Freshman Luray hurler Evan Hamilton was keeping his cool against the usually-potent Gladiator bats, and until Miller's game winner, he too was not touched for any extra-base hits.
Finally in the fifth, the Gladiators scratched for a single run and seized some momentum. They were helped along by a pair of Bulldog errors, as the visitors had four total on the evening.
After Luray went down in the sixth, RHS got two men aboard in the home half of the inning, thanks to the final Bulldog error of the night, setting the stage for Miller's game-winner. A Gladiator base runner had earlier been thrown out at home, but this time there would be no play as the Luray centerfielder had just enough trouble with Miller's hit to allow the winning run to score from first.
Golliday did allow the potential tying run as far as second in the 7th before the Gladiators ended the game on a forceout. That left the home fans time enough to wander down to the soccer field where the Big Red easily captured that conference title with a 7-0 win over Altavista.
As a result of their wins, both Riverheads teams will now host regional quarter-finals on Monday. The baseball opponent is yet to be determined but one local paper says that Altavista will make another trip to RHS in soccer. In each case, a win by the home team will earn a semi-final home game on Wednesday, June 1st.
