The Big Red Machine has been consistent this season in a rather unusual way. For the fifth time this season, they traveled to face a Shenandoah District team on its own field and came away with an impressive lopsided win. Tonight the victim was the Staunton Storm and if you tally up those five wins (the others being over Buffalo Gap, Fort Defiance, Stuarts Draft, and Waynesboro) the final run total comes out to an astonishing 76 for Riverheads to only 8 for those five opponents, with two of them being shutouts. Only Wilson was able to keep the Big Red from producing a win on the road in district play.
Conversely, each one of those five teams that Riverheads routed on its own field gave the Gladiators a better game when they played in Greenville. In the case of Waynesboro, they even won on the Gladiator diamond. So for whatever reason, the Gladiators have loved their road trips this season, so it will be interesting to see how the playoffs unfold, since RHS is now off until Memorial Day, when the Region 2-B playoffs will begin. At this stage, we do not yet know who the Big Red's quarterfinal opponent will be.
To look at tonight's score, one might assume that the Gladiators swung some heavy aluminum. Of course they had some hits, but tonight's runaway victory was also caused in large part by some erratic pitching and fielding on the part of the home team. I don't have exact stats on any of this, but I would guess that at least five or six of the Gladiators runs were scored directly on wild pitches, walks, or hit batters. Sure they drove some home the old-fashioned way, but Staunton was its own worst enemy at times tonight.
In one particularly strange sequence, Brody Phillips led off the fifth inning with a walk. He immediately tried to steal second but the throw from the catcher ricocheted away, allowing him to try for third. The Storm tried to throw him out there but the ball sailed over the fence, and the umpire awarded him home, so instead of stealing just one routine base, he ended up with three free ones.
The Gladiators scored in each of their five at-bats, with four runs in the first, three in the second, then two and one to take a 10-1 lead into the home half of the fourth. They had obviously been solid on defense up to that point, with Levi Dunlap and then Logan Austin having little trouble with the Storm hitters.
Just when it looked like RHS would be headed for run-rule territory, they lost a little of their concentration in the infield and committed a pair of fielding errors themselves, which allowed Staunton to close within 10-3 after four innings. At that point, the game was already close to two hours in length, and no one really wanted it to go the full seven frames.
So Phillips pulled off his little trick to give RHS run number 11, which opened the floodgates and they scored six more in the top of the fifth before Staunton could stop the bleeding. The game then ended in the bottom of the fifth with one of the more unusual double plays you will ever see.
Staunton had a guy on first with one out. The next batter hit a very deep fly to right field. The RHS fielder hauled it in just short of the fence for out number two. However, everyone soon realized that the runner who had been at first was now standing on third.
He had taken off on the crack of the bat, most likely assuming that the ball was going to land safely or perhaps he thought there were already two outs and that he had nothing to lose. Whatever he was thinking, his failure to wait and tag up constituted the final out and that double play, if the term fits, ended the game somewhat abruptly.
So it was not a successful Senior Night for Staunton's very small Senior Class, meaning that bigger things are likely ahead for The Storm. Riverheads meanwhile finishes a respectable 9-3 in district play and between now and Memorial Day they will discuss how to bring the same killer instinct to their home field that they have been showing on the road, since all indications are that they will get to host that regional quarterfinal.
Conversely, each one of those five teams that Riverheads routed on its own field gave the Gladiators a better game when they played in Greenville. In the case of Waynesboro, they even won on the Gladiator diamond. So for whatever reason, the Gladiators have loved their road trips this season, so it will be interesting to see how the playoffs unfold, since RHS is now off until Memorial Day, when the Region 2-B playoffs will begin. At this stage, we do not yet know who the Big Red's quarterfinal opponent will be.
To look at tonight's score, one might assume that the Gladiators swung some heavy aluminum. Of course they had some hits, but tonight's runaway victory was also caused in large part by some erratic pitching and fielding on the part of the home team. I don't have exact stats on any of this, but I would guess that at least five or six of the Gladiators runs were scored directly on wild pitches, walks, or hit batters. Sure they drove some home the old-fashioned way, but Staunton was its own worst enemy at times tonight.
In one particularly strange sequence, Brody Phillips led off the fifth inning with a walk. He immediately tried to steal second but the throw from the catcher ricocheted away, allowing him to try for third. The Storm tried to throw him out there but the ball sailed over the fence, and the umpire awarded him home, so instead of stealing just one routine base, he ended up with three free ones.
The Gladiators scored in each of their five at-bats, with four runs in the first, three in the second, then two and one to take a 10-1 lead into the home half of the fourth. They had obviously been solid on defense up to that point, with Levi Dunlap and then Logan Austin having little trouble with the Storm hitters.
Just when it looked like RHS would be headed for run-rule territory, they lost a little of their concentration in the infield and committed a pair of fielding errors themselves, which allowed Staunton to close within 10-3 after four innings. At that point, the game was already close to two hours in length, and no one really wanted it to go the full seven frames.
So Phillips pulled off his little trick to give RHS run number 11, which opened the floodgates and they scored six more in the top of the fifth before Staunton could stop the bleeding. The game then ended in the bottom of the fifth with one of the more unusual double plays you will ever see.
Staunton had a guy on first with one out. The next batter hit a very deep fly to right field. The RHS fielder hauled it in just short of the fence for out number two. However, everyone soon realized that the runner who had been at first was now standing on third.
He had taken off on the crack of the bat, most likely assuming that the ball was going to land safely or perhaps he thought there were already two outs and that he had nothing to lose. Whatever he was thinking, his failure to wait and tag up constituted the final out and that double play, if the term fits, ended the game somewhat abruptly.
So it was not a successful Senior Night for Staunton's very small Senior Class, meaning that bigger things are likely ahead for The Storm. Riverheads meanwhile finishes a respectable 9-3 in district play and between now and Memorial Day they will discuss how to bring the same killer instinct to their home field that they have been showing on the road, since all indications are that they will get to host that regional quarterfinal.
