** This first appeared on All Things Valley League **

By John Leonard

Well, while “only” three games were played last night, we had crazy stuff happen in all three! No, seriously- check it out!

Results

-Strasburg 6, Purcellville 0: In this game, we had a combined no-hitter! Rhett Lowder, Crawford Wade, and Ryan Ammons combined to hold the Cannons to no hits while walking two and striking out 14. More below.
-Woodstock 9, Front Royal 8: The Cardinals seemingly had this one in hand when they led 8-1 after the top of the sixth. However, the Bandits roared back with seven runs in the seventh to win it. Woodstock had 16 hits in this game- all of them singles.
-Charlottesville 15, Staunton 1: Not only did Charlottesville hit three home runs in one inning, but they won this game with the “Mercy Rule”- the very first time this rule has been applied in the Valley League. (The League voted to add the rule during All-Star game weekend.) Oh, one other small detail- this win clinched the South Division as well!

See what I mean? Three rather remarkable games!

Hitter of the Day

Our hitter of the day is Woodstock’s Marco Martinez, from Pasadena CC. Martinez went 3-5, all singles, with a run scored and three RBIs. He’s now hitting .284/.413/.466 in 88 at-bats, with 21 runs, four doubles, four home runs, 13 RBIs, and 20 walks.

Others of Note

-Ryan Galanie, Strasburg: 2-3, run, walk, double
-Chad Fairey, Strasburg: 2-4, two runs, two RBIs, double
-Trent Jeffcoat, Front Royal: 1-4, three runs, walk, stolen base
-Timothy Mira, Front Royal: 3-4, run, two RBIs, HBP, stolen base
-Kasey Caras, Front Royal: 1-3, grand slam
-Aidan Nagle, Woodstock: 3-5, two runs, RBI, two stolen bases
-Joseph Holiga, Staunton: 2-3, walk
-Victor Castillo, Charlottesville, in his first game in a new uniform: 2-3, two runs, RBI, walk
-Logan Amiss, Charlottesville: 2-3, two runs, RBI, double
-Wyatt Langford, Charlottesville: 2-4, two runs, two RBIs, home run
-Gehrig Ebel, Charlottesville: 1-3, two runs, three RBIs, walk, home run- Ebel absolutely roared around the bases- he actually caught up to the runner in front of him right at home plate- but he didn’t pass him.

Pitcher of the Day

In the easiest call of all, the POD is Strasburg’s Rhett Lowder. In only 67 pitches (50 strikes), the Wake Forest product fired six perfect innings while striking out 10, which earned him the win and a game score of 82. Strasburg GM Parker Neal said, “Our guy tonight was as dominant as any arm I’ve ever seen in my 13 years affiliated with the VBL.” High praise indeed. Lowder is now 2-0, 2.36, with nine hits and a 2/27 BB/K ratio in 19 innings pitched. Sheesh.

Others of Note

-Crawford Wade and Ryan Ammons, Strasburg- These two finished off the no-hitter’s last three innings, walking two and striking out three.
-Brooks Byers, Purcellville: Seven innings, five hits, two runs, one walk, 11 K’s, loss (GS: 69)
-Ryan Murphy, Front Royal: Six innings, seven hits, two runs, one walk, three K’s (GS: 52)
-Max Charlton, Woodstock: Two innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, three K’s, win
-Dillon Janac, Charlottesville: Three innings, one hit, no runs, three walks, two K’s
-Colby Gromlich, Staunton: Three innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, no K’s
-Brayden Siren, Staunton: Two innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, no K’s

Tonight’s Games

-Strasburg at Front Royal 7 PM
-New Market at Woodstock 7 PM
-Staunton at Waynesboro 7 PM
-Harrisonburg at Charlottesville 7 PM
-Purcellville at Winchester 7 PM