Baseball: Friday Night Skinny

Friday, April 15 Skinny
Baseball
Freedom 6, Tuscarora 3
The Skinny: Eagles report that a big 2-out rally in the 6th-inning enabled them to win 6-3 at Tuscarora Friday night and improve their record to 8-4 overall (6-3 in Dulles District play), going into the break.

Freedom trailed 2-0 in the 5th when junior outfielder Matt Malacane (1-4, 2B, 2RBI, 1R) hit a sacrifice fly, scoring junior Joey Plesce (2-4, 2B, 2R) to cut the deficit to 2-1. Then, with 2-outs and nobody on in the 6th, the Eagles rallied to take the lead. First, it was Malacane again driving in the hot-hitting Plesce with an RBI double to deep left, tying it 2-2. Next, after catcher Dylan Teal (1-3, 1R) was intentionally walked, sophomore Zach Newell (3-4, 2B, 3RBI, 1R) delivered a 2RBI double to right-center to give the Eagles the lead 4-2. Newell then scored from 2nd on a throwing miscue on junior Dylan Chapman's grounder. 

 After Tuscarora manufactured a run in the 6th, Freedom used a single by junior Garret Schneider and another RBI hit by Newell, scoring freshman Kyle Wrighte, to close out the scoring 6-3. Sophomore DH Kevin Dean also had a big night at the plate for the Eagles, going 3-4 with 3 singles. 

Freedom senior starter Brad Baker pitched 5+ strong innings, struck out 4, and allowed only 3 runs (2 earned) to get his 3rd victory of the season. Newell got the last 6 outs, striking out 3 hitters in earning the save.

Huskies report that:
The Huskies seemed on their way to victory over Freedom High School Friday night when a two out rally in the sixth inning gave the Eagles the lead and Tuscarora took the loss, 6-3.

The evening began more auspiciously for the Huskies as catcher Hunter Oke, who sparked the Tuscarora offense all night, walked and courtesy runner Ryan Wilson stole second. Left fielder Eddie Lang moved Wilson to third with a sacrifice bunt and right fielder Brady Kaplan drove him in with a single to right to put Tuscarora up 1-0.

 The Huskies increased their lead to 2-0 in the fourth when Oke again led off the inning with a single to right and runner Wilson stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and crossed the plate on Lang’s groundout to short. Tuscarora starting pitcher Tyler Dietrich, with the help of some sparkling defensive plays, held the tough Freedom squad scoreless through four innings, but gave up a run on two hits in the top of the fifth.

The wheels came off in the sixth, though, when with two outs the Eagles scored four runs to go ahead 5-2. The Huskies pulled within two in the bottom of the inning when Oke again walked and runner Wilson made his way around the diamond on an infield hit and an error and stole home. Freedom scored once more in the top of the seventh to increase the lead to the final score of 6-3. nbsp;

Despite the tough loss, the Huskies’ bats showed more life as several Tuscarora players in addition to Oke contributed to the attack, including centerfielder Dalton Scanlon (1 for 4 with a single); second baseman Travis Burke (2 for 3 with a sacrifice); shortstop Bernie Mayflower (1 for 3 with a single and a walk); and right fielder Kaplan (1 for 3 with a single.) Following the spring break the Huskies will look to bloom with the warmer temperature when they return to the field to face James Wood High School on 26 April.


Loudoun County 6, Briar Woods 1
The Skinny: Raiders report that they headed to Briar Woods Friday night seeking to avenge their first loss of the season. The spring winds swirled around the stadium but the senior laden outfield managed to play error free, and the Raiders took advantage of those winds, producing a 6-1 victory over the Falcons. Varsity Baseball improves to 6-5 overall and 3-5 in the Dulles District going into Spring break.

Senior Taylor Cokeley got back into form, pitching a complete game, facing only 21 batters, and limiting Briar Woods to 3 hits. He only walked one and struck out four. The lone Falcon run came in the first inning after a lead -off triple and sacrifice fly brought the runner in.

Nick Fischer and Kris Pratt both led the batting attack with 3 hits each (1 double and 2 singles each!) and reaching base all four times at bat. Tyler Saleck added a double and a single and reached base 3 out of 4 times. Matt Slack added an RBI single as did Collin Dillon.


No games for Varsity Baseball over Spring Break, and they will prepare for the 2nd half of the season. The next game will be Tuesday, April 26th, at home against Park View High School.



Osbourn 14, Loudoun Valley 7
The Skinny: Vikes fall in Cedar Run District play


Woodgrove 6, Dominion 0
The Skinny: Wolverines report that they shut out the Dominion Titans 6-0 behind a combined two-hitter thrown by Trevor Pike and Ian Whitfield. The victory is the Wolverines third straight going into spring break.

Offense
 Matt Reed 3 for 4 1R 1RBI
J.J. Sarty 1 for 1 1R 1RBI 1SB
Scott Van Steelent 1 for 2 2R
Matt Jeffrey 2 for 4 1R 1RBI
Ben Mergler 2 for 4 1R 1RBI 1SB

Defense
 Trevor Pike (W) 5 IP 1 H 0 R 7 K 3 BB
Ian Whitfield 2 IP 1 H 0 R 2 BB



Stone Bridge 14, Thomas Jefferson 1 (5)
The Skinny: Bulldogs report that they hosted Thomas Jefferson Friday night in a Liberty District contest. It was the second meeting of the two teams, with the Bulldogs coming out on top in the first game with a 14-0 win. This game was again dominated by the Bulldogs, who pitched and hit their way to a 14-1 win in a five inning game shortened by the mercy rule.

Junior righthander Tyler Mocabee continued his stellar pitching by throwing three hitless innings, while striking out two and allowing no walks. Junior lefty Andrew Robertson, making his 2011 varsity debut, relieved Mocabee and pitched the fourth inning, showing good poise and control. The other junior lefthander, Alex Logan, pitched an impressive fifth inning, retiring the side on just eleven pitches.

The Bulldogs offense was held scoreless in the first inning by TJ starter Daniel Hothem, but erupted for eleven runs in the second inning. Third baseman Ryan Johnston got it started with a one out home run to left field. That opened the floodgates, and before they were finished, the Bulldogs had sent sixteen hitters to the plate and pounded out eight hits, including four for extra base hits. Senior catcher Colin Karafa smashed a two-run double to the left field fence. Senior Conor Donovan drove in Karafa with a single, and scored himself on a double by Spencer Rositano. The Bulldogs weren't finished though, and got RBI hits from Ty Lighton, Josh Kuzbel, and Sid Harvey before the inning ended. The Stone Bridge added their final three runs in the next inning on another Johnston home run to left center field, giving him two home runs and four RBI's on the night. Johnston is the first Bulldog to have multiple homeruns in one game in the history of the baseball program.

The win went to Mocabee, his second of the season. The Bulldogs record now stands at 6-1 as they prepare to play in the Let's Play Two tournament against some of the other Northern Region powerhouses during Spring Break.