With an eye on the weather forecast, RHS elected to play in the noontime range today, and whether or not we get the afternoon storms that led to that decision, both games are now in the books and that is the important thing.
The unbeaten Gladiator soccer team rocked Altavista again 7-1, after shutting them out by a nearly identical 7-0 score in last week's Conference 44 finals. Sorry but I have no more details on that game or about who or when Riverheads plays next.
As for baseball, today's game was also somewhat similar to last week's conference title game as Luray was again the opponent and again gave the Gladiators a decent game, as Colt Miller outdueled Logan Morrison 3-1. Each was very much in command of his stuff as the two teams combined for only 7 hits in the game, with RHS holding a 4-3 edge. Miller struck out 10 Bulldogs to get the victory as the Gladiators moved to 18-4 on the season.
The Gladiators had some early troubles finding first base on put-out plays, as three different throwing errors by the home team gave Luray its only scoring opportunity of the game. In the first, the Gladiators dodged the bullet with no damage after a one-hopper from the short stop failed to make it to first. Miller was able to retire the side that time without a run scoring.
However the Gladiators committed two more throwing errors in the top of the second and on one of those, the Bulldogs plated their only run of the game. Fortunately for Gladiator fans, first-baseman Chase Armstrong had already set the tone for a long-ball day, as he had sent one deep over the left field fence that was never in doubt in the bottom of the first. Therefore the Luray run in the second only tied the score as RHS never trailed.
The Gladiators scored their second run in the bottom of the third, courtesy of Colt and his twin brother Taz. Taz led off the inning with an odd-looking pop-up that appeared as if it would either go foul or be caught for the first out. But neither Morrison or the third baseman made the necessary adjustment, allowing it to drop just inside third base and Miller was safe at first with the Big Red's second hit of the game.
He was sacrificed to second and after the second out of the inning was recorded, Colt helped his own cause with a solid double to right/center that brought Taz around to score.
Ridge Stokes, the Gladiators' home-run specialist this season, then led off the fourth with his own highlight reel play of the day, as he sent one to right/center, clearing the fence at around 350 in the deepest part of the Gladiator field. For some reason, he chose a different area than usual, as most of his this year have been to a certain sweet spot in left/center, but something tells me he will be forgiven for getting to know the rest of the field.
That turned out to be the last Gladiator hit of the day as all four of theirs contributed directly to the three runs scored. Neither team threatened the rest of the game as it wrapped up in less than 90 minutes. In fact each pitcher seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.
RHS will now host the winner of the Windsor/Lunenburg game, but the question of when remains up in the air. Their game today has already been postponed due to the tropical rain that is affecting the coastal areas, and they are tentatively scheduled to try again Tuesday. If they get that one in, then the winner will still come to Greenville on Wednesday, which might give the Big Red a slight edge in terms of fatigue or freshness.
As for Luray, their season ends today with the loss but they have nothing to hang their heads about. Not only did Morrison deserve a better fate today, but the Dogs won double-digit games this season and they were right in the middle of a hotly-contested six-team race for the Shenandoah District title, finishing only one game back of co-leaders Riverheads and Page.
The Bulldogs actually made the most of their three trips to RHS this season, as they surprised the Big Red 8-2 in a regular season match, and lost only 3-2 and 3-1 in the two post-season games. Riverheads on the other hand ran away with the game played in Luray, winning that one 13-2 for a best three out of four advantage on the season.
If the Gladiators can handle the Windsor/Lunenburg winner on Wednesday, they will advance to the regional final on Friday, but also earn a spot in the State Final Four the following weekend down in Radford. But you can bet Coach Painter is preaching one game at a time, as the focus for right now will be on Wednesday.
However, the savvy Riverheads fans were already talking in the stands today about the other half of the 1-A East bracket, where Chincoteague is the number one seed. Might be a fun road-trip, and there are probably plenty of nice folks there, but you cannot blame any Riverheads fans for hoping that someone else knocks them off prior to Friday, so that it doesn't come to that. There is probably even a bus driver someplace saying "I think I will take the day off Friday just in case!"
Stay tuned for more details.......same bat time, same bat channel!!! (get it? bat channel? baseball bat? I've got a million of 'em!)
The unbeaten Gladiator soccer team rocked Altavista again 7-1, after shutting them out by a nearly identical 7-0 score in last week's Conference 44 finals. Sorry but I have no more details on that game or about who or when Riverheads plays next.
As for baseball, today's game was also somewhat similar to last week's conference title game as Luray was again the opponent and again gave the Gladiators a decent game, as Colt Miller outdueled Logan Morrison 3-1. Each was very much in command of his stuff as the two teams combined for only 7 hits in the game, with RHS holding a 4-3 edge. Miller struck out 10 Bulldogs to get the victory as the Gladiators moved to 18-4 on the season.
The Gladiators had some early troubles finding first base on put-out plays, as three different throwing errors by the home team gave Luray its only scoring opportunity of the game. In the first, the Gladiators dodged the bullet with no damage after a one-hopper from the short stop failed to make it to first. Miller was able to retire the side that time without a run scoring.
However the Gladiators committed two more throwing errors in the top of the second and on one of those, the Bulldogs plated their only run of the game. Fortunately for Gladiator fans, first-baseman Chase Armstrong had already set the tone for a long-ball day, as he had sent one deep over the left field fence that was never in doubt in the bottom of the first. Therefore the Luray run in the second only tied the score as RHS never trailed.
The Gladiators scored their second run in the bottom of the third, courtesy of Colt and his twin brother Taz. Taz led off the inning with an odd-looking pop-up that appeared as if it would either go foul or be caught for the first out. But neither Morrison or the third baseman made the necessary adjustment, allowing it to drop just inside third base and Miller was safe at first with the Big Red's second hit of the game.
He was sacrificed to second and after the second out of the inning was recorded, Colt helped his own cause with a solid double to right/center that brought Taz around to score.
Ridge Stokes, the Gladiators' home-run specialist this season, then led off the fourth with his own highlight reel play of the day, as he sent one to right/center, clearing the fence at around 350 in the deepest part of the Gladiator field. For some reason, he chose a different area than usual, as most of his this year have been to a certain sweet spot in left/center, but something tells me he will be forgiven for getting to know the rest of the field.
That turned out to be the last Gladiator hit of the day as all four of theirs contributed directly to the three runs scored. Neither team threatened the rest of the game as it wrapped up in less than 90 minutes. In fact each pitcher seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.
RHS will now host the winner of the Windsor/Lunenburg game, but the question of when remains up in the air. Their game today has already been postponed due to the tropical rain that is affecting the coastal areas, and they are tentatively scheduled to try again Tuesday. If they get that one in, then the winner will still come to Greenville on Wednesday, which might give the Big Red a slight edge in terms of fatigue or freshness.
As for Luray, their season ends today with the loss but they have nothing to hang their heads about. Not only did Morrison deserve a better fate today, but the Dogs won double-digit games this season and they were right in the middle of a hotly-contested six-team race for the Shenandoah District title, finishing only one game back of co-leaders Riverheads and Page.
The Bulldogs actually made the most of their three trips to RHS this season, as they surprised the Big Red 8-2 in a regular season match, and lost only 3-2 and 3-1 in the two post-season games. Riverheads on the other hand ran away with the game played in Luray, winning that one 13-2 for a best three out of four advantage on the season.
If the Gladiators can handle the Windsor/Lunenburg winner on Wednesday, they will advance to the regional final on Friday, but also earn a spot in the State Final Four the following weekend down in Radford. But you can bet Coach Painter is preaching one game at a time, as the focus for right now will be on Wednesday.
However, the savvy Riverheads fans were already talking in the stands today about the other half of the 1-A East bracket, where Chincoteague is the number one seed. Might be a fun road-trip, and there are probably plenty of nice folks there, but you cannot blame any Riverheads fans for hoping that someone else knocks them off prior to Friday, so that it doesn't come to that. There is probably even a bus driver someplace saying "I think I will take the day off Friday just in case!"
Stay tuned for more details.......same bat time, same bat channel!!! (get it? bat channel? baseball bat? I've got a million of 'em!)
