In a game that certainly had some odd moments here and there, the visiting Gladiators scored all the runs they would need in the first inning, then added some late-inning insurance to top the Falcons 5-0. The threat of rain never materialized, in fact it was a great night for a game, but wait until you hear about the "delay" we had!
The Gladiators got off to a great start as they loaded the bases before Central could even record an out. Two of those guys came around to score and the damage could have been worse as the Big Red left men on second and third when the inning ended. That 2-0 score would hold until the top of the fifth when RHS strung together four consecutive base hits, although one may have been scored an error, which led to two more runs scoring. They then added a fifth run in the top of the 7th to account for the final tally.
Central had some chances as they advanced guys to third base at least three times during the game but could never get the key hit they needed to score. RHS played great defense, including a perfect strike from right fielder David Austin to catcher Chase Donathan, who easily nailed a Central runner at the plate early in the game which could have made things a tad closer.
Speaking of perfect "strikes", the two coaches took totally different approaches to tonight's game. Riverheads went with junior Levi Dunlap, who earned the win with a solid six-inning effort. For the most part he was in control as the score obviously indicates. For the second night in a row, sophomore Brody Phillips pitched the seventh inning and blanked the home team.
Meanwhile, the Central skipper took more of a "committee" approach as he literally sent a different guy to the mound each inning. No doubt his goal was to look at his entire squad and see who had the best stuff heading into the meat of the season.
There were two controversies in tonight's game, although each was resolved without any major consequences. The first involved a Central batter who came to the plate early in the contest and drilled the hardest hit ball of the night to straightaway center field. RHS' Brendon Fortune took it all the way to the 338 sign, but he had his back to everyone and had to go down to the ground, so it was not at all clear whether he had made the catch.
He came up holding the ball, which of course ruled out both a home run and a ground rule double. That is where the confusion started. Neither umpire made a call, at least not anything decisive, which led to a conference. They finally awarded the batter second base, which led to the Gladiator fans questioning how they could make that call without having clearly seen the play. Hard to say what they should have done and how right or wrong they may have been, but since the Falcons failed to score, we now know that it did not lead anywhere.
Then between the third and fourth innings, we experienced something most of us had never seen before and it caused about 10 minutes of grumbling, most of that coming from Central's head coach. It was about 7:15 or so by that time, and the sun decided to put in an appearance in and around some cloud cover.
So the home plate umpire decided that we would have a "sun delay." That was a first for most of the RHS fans as none of us had ever heard of one, at least not in the middle of a game. However, the Central coach immediately started complaining about it and saying that everyone could use sunglasses.
The delay only lasted about 10 minutes and the game still wrapped up in about two hours, but the real question about that situation would have to be "why was this just now considered a factor when Central's field has been in the same position for decades and has had the same relationship to the setting sun all that time?" Wouldn't that issue have come up for discussion before or was it just a first-time thing for that particular umpire?
But the game is in the books and the Big Red will certainly take back to back road wins on consecutive nights. But now they will take a well-deserved rest as they are now off until next Tuesday. In fact they have home games Tuesday and Wednesday and then travel to Buffalo Gap on Friday the 19th. Ironically, tonight's weather forecast is currently calling for bright sunny skies and temps in the 80s for that period of time. Makes you wonder if we will have more "sun delays."
The Gladiators got off to a great start as they loaded the bases before Central could even record an out. Two of those guys came around to score and the damage could have been worse as the Big Red left men on second and third when the inning ended. That 2-0 score would hold until the top of the fifth when RHS strung together four consecutive base hits, although one may have been scored an error, which led to two more runs scoring. They then added a fifth run in the top of the 7th to account for the final tally.
Central had some chances as they advanced guys to third base at least three times during the game but could never get the key hit they needed to score. RHS played great defense, including a perfect strike from right fielder David Austin to catcher Chase Donathan, who easily nailed a Central runner at the plate early in the game which could have made things a tad closer.
Speaking of perfect "strikes", the two coaches took totally different approaches to tonight's game. Riverheads went with junior Levi Dunlap, who earned the win with a solid six-inning effort. For the most part he was in control as the score obviously indicates. For the second night in a row, sophomore Brody Phillips pitched the seventh inning and blanked the home team.
Meanwhile, the Central skipper took more of a "committee" approach as he literally sent a different guy to the mound each inning. No doubt his goal was to look at his entire squad and see who had the best stuff heading into the meat of the season.
There were two controversies in tonight's game, although each was resolved without any major consequences. The first involved a Central batter who came to the plate early in the contest and drilled the hardest hit ball of the night to straightaway center field. RHS' Brendon Fortune took it all the way to the 338 sign, but he had his back to everyone and had to go down to the ground, so it was not at all clear whether he had made the catch.
He came up holding the ball, which of course ruled out both a home run and a ground rule double. That is where the confusion started. Neither umpire made a call, at least not anything decisive, which led to a conference. They finally awarded the batter second base, which led to the Gladiator fans questioning how they could make that call without having clearly seen the play. Hard to say what they should have done and how right or wrong they may have been, but since the Falcons failed to score, we now know that it did not lead anywhere.
Then between the third and fourth innings, we experienced something most of us had never seen before and it caused about 10 minutes of grumbling, most of that coming from Central's head coach. It was about 7:15 or so by that time, and the sun decided to put in an appearance in and around some cloud cover.
So the home plate umpire decided that we would have a "sun delay." That was a first for most of the RHS fans as none of us had ever heard of one, at least not in the middle of a game. However, the Central coach immediately started complaining about it and saying that everyone could use sunglasses.
The delay only lasted about 10 minutes and the game still wrapped up in about two hours, but the real question about that situation would have to be "why was this just now considered a factor when Central's field has been in the same position for decades and has had the same relationship to the setting sun all that time?" Wouldn't that issue have come up for discussion before or was it just a first-time thing for that particular umpire?
But the game is in the books and the Big Red will certainly take back to back road wins on consecutive nights. But now they will take a well-deserved rest as they are now off until next Tuesday. In fact they have home games Tuesday and Wednesday and then travel to Buffalo Gap on Friday the 19th. Ironically, tonight's weather forecast is currently calling for bright sunny skies and temps in the 80s for that period of time. Makes you wonder if we will have more "sun delays."
