Baseball: First-Year Schools Tuscarora, Woodgrove Finish Regular Season on Winning Notes

(May 17, 2011) - The first-year Loudoun high schools, Tuscarora from Leesburg and Woodgrove from Purcellville, finished their baseball regular seasons with nice wins on Monday as Tuscarora edged Park View, 2-1, on Tyler Dietrich's one-hitter, and Woodgrove defeated Loudoun County, 5-2.

For the Woodgrove Wolverines the rain-shortened victory at Loudoun County improved their record to 12-8. Scott VanSteelent drove in four of the five runs for Woodgrove, highlighted by a bases clearing double in the top of the 5th inning.

VanSteelent also picked up his third save of the season by pitching two perfect innings to close out the game. J.J. Sarty also had a productive night at the plate going 3 for 4 and scoring two runs, while Patrick Charney added two hits and a rbi. The Wolverines are now looking ahead to their first round Dulles District Tournament match-up at Briar Woods High School this Friday, May 20.

With the threat of week-long showers interfering with the end of the regular season, the game was moved up to Monday with seeding in the Dulles District Tournament at stake. The Wolverines rotated three pitchers, keeping the Raider batters off-balanced, and took advantage of two untimely errors by Loudoun County to beat the Raiders on a lightning and rain shortened Senior Night.

Woodgrove got on the board in the first when a walk and a double got the game started. The Raiders tried to counter in the bottom of the first with a triple by Tyler Saleck and a walk to Kris Pratt put base runners on, but they could not convert them to runs.

In the bottom of the third, the Raiders scored their two runs and were able to take the lead. Nick Fischer singled and advanced to second on a balk call on the pitcher. Saleck again reached base with an error by the third baseman allowing the runner to score. Saleck then moved to 2nd on a another balk call. Pratt then plopped an RBI double into left field.

In the top of the fifth, the Raiders allowed Woodgrove three straight base runners with an error, a walk, and another fielding error. With one out and bases loaded, the next Wolverine batter delivered a double to the center field fence, allowing three runs to score. The fourth run of the inning was scored off a wild pitch.

The Wolverines scored another run in the top of seventh inning. Lightning approached the high school grounds and the game was delayed for lightning. When the rains started falling, the game was called, and the Raiders were denied a chance to come back in the game.

Colin Dillon and Taylor Cokeley contributed with singles in the game. The Raiders starting line up featured all 10 seniors. In pitching, Ryan Wigfield started the game and gave up only four hits and struck out seven.

The Raiders next game will be Friday for the start of the Dulles District Tournament at a site to be determined soon.

In Leesburg, Tuscarora finished the regular season on a high note Monday night as starting pitcher Tyler Dietrich pitched a one-hit complete game to give the Huskies the victory, 2-1, over the visiting Park View Patriots on Little League night.

It was the Huskies’ second consecutive one-run win and their first winning streak—two games—of the season. This was not a game for latecomers, as all the scoring took place in the first inning.

The Patriots drew first blood when Dietrich allowed a one-out walk to the second Patriot batter, who stole second and was driven in with two outs by the clean up hitter who singled to center. That would be the last hit and last run Dietrich would allow—and the last time Park View held the lead.

Tuscarora answered in the bottom of the first when center fielder Dalton Scanlon led off with a single to second but was erased when second baseman Travis Burke ground into a fielder’s choice. A botched pick off attempt to first cost the Patriots two bases as Burke advanced to third on the throwing error. Catcher Hunter Oke plated Burke with a two-out single.

Courtesy runner Ryan Wilson promptly stole second and was driven home for the second Tuscarora run by right fielder Eddie Lang who grounded a 3-1 pitch past the first baseman into right. Lang would advance to second on the throw home, but was stranded.

From that point on it was all about the pitching as Dietrich turned in perhaps his most dominant performance of the season, throwing 11 strikeouts and allowing only two more baserunners over the next six innings on a walk and a hit batsman. The Patriot pitcher likewise did his job, throwing six scoreless innings.

Tuscarora only managed one more baserunner after the first inning, when left fielder Brady Kaplan reached second on dropped fly ball to right in the bottom of the fifth, but the Huskies could not bring him home. No matter. Dietrich made the one-run lead stand up for the entire game to give Tuscarora its sixth win of the season.

Oke and Lang accounted for the only Tuscarora hits of the evening, with Oke going 1 for 3 with an RBI, and Lang going 1 for 2 with an RBI. The win Monday ensures Tuscarora a playoff berth, with their first postseason game to be played later this week, weather permitting.