Five games were played last night…
Results
- Covington 7, Woodstock 0 (7 innings- makeup game from a doubleheader set, played in New Market): This one is all about Richard Long- see below. Woodstock falls to 21-15, Covington traveled to Harrisonburg to play a second game… which they lost-
- Harrisonburg 8, Covington 7: The Turks stunned the Jacks with six in the eighth and one in the ninth to come back from a 7-1 deficit. Turks are 24-12; Jacks are 17-21.
- Purcellville 7, Winchester 6: The Cannons scored twice in the bottom of the eighth- both on bases-loaded walks- to win this one to move a game and a half ahead of the Royals for the last playoff spot. Cannons are 15-21; Royals are 13-22.
- Strasburg 13, Front Royal 10: Slugfest at the Bank. Express hang on for the win to go 21-17; Cardinals fall to 13-25.
- Charlottesville 13, Staunton 5: Charlottesville pushes Staunton to the brink of elimination by pounding out three doubles and three home runs. They are 22-14; Staunton falls to 15-24.
Hitter of the Day
We’re naming two of them:
First, we have Winchester’s Leighton Banjoff, who went deep twice, scored two runs, and drove in five. The senior from Nebraska is now slashing .320/.398/.447 in 103 at-bats, with a double, three triples, those two home runs, and 13 RBIs.
Second, Charlottesville’s Carter Cunningham went 4-5, with a run, two doubles, and three RBIs. (Three, Joe.) I think it’s safe to say that Cunningham is having a good summer; he’s slashing .417/.479/.650 in 60 at-bats, with six doubles, one triple, two home runs, and a 8/7 BB/K ratio.
Others of Note
- Cole Ketzner, Covington: 2-2, run, RBI, walk, HBP
- Mikey Brinton, Purcellville: 2-4, RBI, walk
- Ryne Guida, Purcellville: 2-3, run, RBI, two walks
- Jose Torres, Purcellville: 3-5, run, RBI
- Cullen Horowicz, Purcellville: 1-4, two runs, three RBIs, home run
- Dallas Hite, Front Royal: 2-4, run, three RBIs, double, HBP, stolen base
- Trent Jeffcoat, Front Royal: 2-4, two RBIs, walk
- Noah Carter, Front Royal: 2-4, three runs, walk
- Riley Frost, Front Royal: 2-4, RBI, walk, double
- Jonah Cox, Strasburg: 1-4, run, three RBIs, two walks, home run, two stolen bases
- Zane Denton, Strasburg: 1-3, two runs, three RBIs, two walks, home run
- Henry Koehler, Strasburg: 2-3, run, two walks, two stolen bases
- Ty Hooks, Strasburg: 1-2, two runs, RBI, walk, two HBPs
- Reed Garris, Strasburg: 2-3, two runs, two RBIs, two walks
- Brandon Parks, Strasburg: 2-5, run, three RBIs, double, stolen base
- Nate Stocum, Covington: 3-5, run, triple
- Michael Piulats, Covington: 3-5, run, two RBIs
- Matthew Mamatas, Harrisonburg: 1-2, run, two RBIs, two walks
- Christian Martin, Charlottesville: 3-6, two runs, stolen base
- Cole Wagner, Charlottesville: 2-5, run, two RBIs, walk, double, home run
- Trey Yunger, Charlottesville: 2-4, run, walk, two stolen bases
- Nicolas Ericsson, Charlottesville: 2-5, two runs, three RBIs, home run
- Joe Delossantos, Staunton: 3-4, two runs, RBI, home run, HBP
Pitcher of the Day
Easiest call ever- Covington’s Richard Long faced the minimum 21 batters in his shutout against Woodstock. He allowed just one hit, in the fourth inning, to Renzo Gonzalez, who was immediately wiped out trying to steal. Long didn’t walk anyone, either, and struck out five to earn the win and a game score of 80, which is tied for the second best of the entire summer. Long, a sophomore from Jacksonville University, is 2-1, 4.01 for the summer, with 23 K’s in 33 2/3 innings.
Others of Note
- Dalton Ross, Purcellville: Five innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, eight K’s, win, (GS: 73). On a normal night, Ross would be the POD!
- Billy Rozakis, Strasburg: Three innings, two hits, one unearned run, one walk, four K’s
- Andrew Standen, Covington: Four innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, two K’s
- Jacob McClure, Harrisonburg: Two perfect innings, three K’s, win
- Braden Halladay, Charlottesville: Six innings, five hits, one run, no walks, seven K’s, win (GS: 65)
Tonight’s Games
- Harrisonburg (Kleinfelter, Gainer) at Charlotteville (Olsen, Humenay), doubleheader, 3 PM
- Purcellville (Quinichett) at Front Royal (TBD), 7 PM
- Strasburg (Ursitti) at Winchester (Young), 5 PM
- Covington (Carver) at Staunton (Hellums), 7:30 PM
- Woodstock (Gordon) at New Market (Jackson), 7:30 PM
Playoff Watch
The playoffs will begin immediately after the regular season, which is slated to end on July 24. The top four from each Division advance, with first place playing fourth, and second place playing third, etc. All series are best of three.
North
- Woodstock: 21-15, six games remaining, has clinched a playoff spot, but not a position yet
- Strasburg: 21-17, four games remaining, two games ahead of New Market, one game behind Woodstock. Has clinched a playoff spot- one more win or Cannon loss puts them in the top three.
- New Market: 19-19, four games remaining, two games behind Strasburg for spot #2, three ahead of Purcellville. Pretty close to clinching a playoff spot.
- Purcellville: 15-21, with six games remaining. 1.5 games ahead of Winchester, three behind New Market.
- Winchester: 13-22, seven games remaining, 1.5 games out of the playoffs, and game and a half ahead of Front Royal.
- Front Royal: 13-25, four games left, three games out of a playoff spot. Can’t get to a top three spot, but can still grab playoff spot #4 with a winning streak.
South
- Harrisonburg: 24-12, six games left, a game in first, have clinched a top three spot- huge doubleheader against Charlottesville today
- Waynesboro: 24-14, four games left. One game out of first, Generals have clinched a top three spot
- Charlottesville: 22-14, six games left, two games behind the Turks, six ahead of Covington. Has clinched a top three spot.
- Covington: 17-21, four games left, 5.5 behind Cville, 2.5 ahead of Staunton. Jacks and Staunton still play twice- once tonight. The Jacks will clinch a playoff spot with a win.
- Staunton: 15-24, three games left. 2.5 behind Covington. Obviously still in play for a playoff spot, but can not reach top three.