I was able to utilize Game Changer without any trouble and in fact it worked quite well. So hats off to the designer of the program and the folks who use it so effectively to keep us posted.
Unfortunately the news was not so good for my Big Red, as the Poquoson Islanders caught fire in the middle innings, and then put the game completely away with a five-run burst in the home half of the sixth, rolling to an 11-1 run-rule victory.
So with King William handing Buckingham its first loss of the season, Region A certainly made a statement today, and one or both of today's winning teams will certainly represent the eastern half of the state well down in Salem this weekend.
Riverheads got off to a good enough start today, as the first two guys reached base safely. They worked the starting pitcher well into the 20s on his pitch count but failed to score.
In the bottom of the first, Gladiator starter Ethan Fitzgerald needed only six pitches to retire the top third of the Islanders order. Riverheads then opened the scoring in the top half of the second when Brendon Fortune singled, stole second, and eventually came around to score on a passed ball.
The Big Red held Poquoson scoreless again in the second and at that point, things were looking promising for the visitors as the pitch count was still very heavily slanted toward Riverheads. But in the third and fourth innings, the Islanders brought out the heavy lumber as they rapped three doubles as near as I could tell in those two innings to grab their 6-1 lead.
You can't tell but so much from Game Changer, but it appeared that P's pitcher got stronger as the game wore on, whereas Fitzgerald and the other two Gladiator hurlers that followed him had some trouble with wildness, and there were also some fielding errors along the way to help seal the Big Red's fate.
A 6-1 final, had that remained the case, would not have been so bad, but apparently the wheels fell off altogether in the home half of the sixth as the Islanders scored five more to double their margin and shorten the game by half an inning.
Needless to say, this was Riverheads' worst loss of the season, and in fact they had been on the winning end of at least half a dozen run-rule victories this year. Prior to today, last Friday's 4-1 loss at Buckingham had been the first time anyone beat the Big Red by more than two runs.
If Gladiator fans want to look for silver linings, this team was still very young with only three seniors I believe, maybe four, so they will be back next year. Also there is the little matter of that 37-7 state semi-final pounding they put on Poquoson back in football season. Since the two had most likely never faced one another in anything prior to this school year, maybe we can call it a draw for now, and just wait for the next time they meet on one field or another and we will see who takes charge.
Meanwhile, the weather sounds great for Salem this weekend, so safe travels to both Poquoson and King William and all the various other teams that will be seeking state titles this weekend. As we all know, the city of Salem loves to hand those out!
