Louisa vs. Fluvanna (May 1, 2018)
After one of the longest, hard fought games of the season, the Lions came out on top and beat Fluvanna on their own turf. Tristan Snyder got the call for the Lions, coming off of a strong outing against Monticello, while Kevin Ward got the start for the Flucos.
Austin Nicholas and Matt West led off the top of the first with back-to-back singles, followed by a walk from Lliam Grubbs. Jack McDonald followed with a single to right field, scoring Nicholas and West. Snyder then nailed a single to right field to score Grubbs, giving Louisa an early 3-0 lead over Fluvanna. Nate King grounded out to the shortstop for the second out, but it was enough to score Snyder. The inning ended on a groundout, however the Lions jumped into a first inning rally, scoring 4 runs.
Dashon Carter led off the bottom of the first for Fluvanna with a swinging strikeout. Ryan Groome followed with a groundout back to the pitcher. Snyder recorded the third out on a strikeout.
J.B Lamb led off the top of the second inning with a double to the right field fence. Ward then recorded three quick outs, and Lamb was stranded in scoring position. Fluvanna started their own rally in the bottom of the second with Kevin Ward hitting a single to centerfield. Snyder recorded his third strikeout of the game after Cameron Shields went down swinging. Kyle Algieri nailed an RBI double to left field, scoring Ward. After Trey Lyons was hit by a pitch, Jack Kershner drove a 2 run double to score Algieri and Lyons. “I was just trying to stay short with my swings and put the ball in play,” said Kershner. “I was able to do that my first at bat and from then on, I just went in with the same approach.” Ryan Groome then hit a single to left field to score Kershner, tying the game at 4-4. The second inning then ended on a groundout to the shortstop.
McDonald led off the top of the third with a groundout to the third baseman. Snyder followed with a triple to centerfield, while Travis Pleasants came in as a courtesy runner. Tyler Earley grounded into a fielder’s choice to the second baseman who threw out Pleasants at home for the second out of the inning. The top half of the third ended on a fly out to the left fielder. Snyder recorded another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third with a tremendous catch from the centerfielder, Blue Taylor, to end the inning.
The top of the fourth inning got off to a fast start with two quick outs. Back-to-back walks to Nicholas and West gave Louisa two baserunners, however a flyout to the right fielder ended the inning.
Kyle Algieri led off for the Flucos in the bottom of the fourth, reaching on an error from the third baseman and soon stole second. Snyder then recorded his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the game to give Louisa two outs. Carter then drove an RBI single to centerfield to give Fluvanna a 5-4 advantage over Louisa. Carter was thrown out by catcher Garrett Duerson to end the inning.
Sophomore, Toby Sherman came in to relieve Ward in the top of the fifth inning, striking out his first batter. With two outs, Earley nailed a single to left field, but was stranded on first after a lineout ended the inning. Snyder faced the minimum number of batters in the bottom of the fifth, recording three quick outs and holding Fluvanna to a 5-4 lead.
Sherman allowed one baserunner in the top of the sixth after a walk to Duerson, but recorded three quick outs to hold onto the lead. Andrew Ward led off the bottom of the sixth for the Flucos with a groundout to the second baseman. Algieri reached on a drop third strike to give Fluvanna their first base runner in the inning followed by a walk to Sherman. Jack Kershner ended the inning with a flyout to the right fielder.
George Washington commit, Shaun Holyfield, relieved Sherman in the top of the seventh for the Flucos. Holyfield walked the first two batters he faced, bringing in Algieri to pitch for the Flucos. Algieri recorded the first out on a pop out to the pitcher. Earley hit a single to the shortstop to load the bases. Owen Agee followed with a squeeze bunt to the third base side, reaching first and scoring Grubbs to tie the game. “I don’t start,” said Agee. “I bunt all the time and work on it more than anyone else. I walked up to coach and said squeeze me, and I got it done.” Duerson followed with a walk and Lamb reached on an error, scoring two more runs. Nicholas nailed an RBI single to score Lamb but was thrown out on the way to second. West followed with a single and was brought home by an RBI single from Grubbs, who was thrown out at second to end the inning. After a seven run inning, Louisa led Fluvanna 11-5, only needing three outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
Snyder would continue to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, hitting the first batter of the inning. “Sometimes the curveball wouldn’t spot up,” said Snyder. “You’ve got to go back to what you know.” Ryan Groome then flew out to the centerfielder for the first out. Jacob Critzer grounded into a double play to end the game and secure a Louisa win.
Snyder pitched 7 complete innings, only allowing one walk, five hits, and five runs. “I thought it was a great game,” said Snyder. “I’m just glad I had a team behind me, helping me out the whole game. It’s about putting the ball in play, relying on your defense. They did a great job tonight.”
When asked about the challenging game, Coach Kevin Fisher responded, “I’m pretty excited. Especially for us to go up, go down, and come back and do what we did in the seventh. It shows a lot of heart for these guys and I’m very proud of them.”
The Lions will travel to Albemarle on Thursday to face the Patriots for the second match-up of the season. Let’s go Lions!
Austin Nicholas and Matt West led off the top of the first with back-to-back singles, followed by a walk from Lliam Grubbs. Jack McDonald followed with a single to right field, scoring Nicholas and West. Snyder then nailed a single to right field to score Grubbs, giving Louisa an early 3-0 lead over Fluvanna. Nate King grounded out to the shortstop for the second out, but it was enough to score Snyder. The inning ended on a groundout, however the Lions jumped into a first inning rally, scoring 4 runs.
Dashon Carter led off the bottom of the first for Fluvanna with a swinging strikeout. Ryan Groome followed with a groundout back to the pitcher. Snyder recorded the third out on a strikeout.
J.B Lamb led off the top of the second inning with a double to the right field fence. Ward then recorded three quick outs, and Lamb was stranded in scoring position. Fluvanna started their own rally in the bottom of the second with Kevin Ward hitting a single to centerfield. Snyder recorded his third strikeout of the game after Cameron Shields went down swinging. Kyle Algieri nailed an RBI double to left field, scoring Ward. After Trey Lyons was hit by a pitch, Jack Kershner drove a 2 run double to score Algieri and Lyons. “I was just trying to stay short with my swings and put the ball in play,” said Kershner. “I was able to do that my first at bat and from then on, I just went in with the same approach.” Ryan Groome then hit a single to left field to score Kershner, tying the game at 4-4. The second inning then ended on a groundout to the shortstop.
McDonald led off the top of the third with a groundout to the third baseman. Snyder followed with a triple to centerfield, while Travis Pleasants came in as a courtesy runner. Tyler Earley grounded into a fielder’s choice to the second baseman who threw out Pleasants at home for the second out of the inning. The top half of the third ended on a fly out to the left fielder. Snyder recorded another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third with a tremendous catch from the centerfielder, Blue Taylor, to end the inning.
The top of the fourth inning got off to a fast start with two quick outs. Back-to-back walks to Nicholas and West gave Louisa two baserunners, however a flyout to the right fielder ended the inning.
Kyle Algieri led off for the Flucos in the bottom of the fourth, reaching on an error from the third baseman and soon stole second. Snyder then recorded his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the game to give Louisa two outs. Carter then drove an RBI single to centerfield to give Fluvanna a 5-4 advantage over Louisa. Carter was thrown out by catcher Garrett Duerson to end the inning.
Sophomore, Toby Sherman came in to relieve Ward in the top of the fifth inning, striking out his first batter. With two outs, Earley nailed a single to left field, but was stranded on first after a lineout ended the inning. Snyder faced the minimum number of batters in the bottom of the fifth, recording three quick outs and holding Fluvanna to a 5-4 lead.
Sherman allowed one baserunner in the top of the sixth after a walk to Duerson, but recorded three quick outs to hold onto the lead. Andrew Ward led off the bottom of the sixth for the Flucos with a groundout to the second baseman. Algieri reached on a drop third strike to give Fluvanna their first base runner in the inning followed by a walk to Sherman. Jack Kershner ended the inning with a flyout to the right fielder.
George Washington commit, Shaun Holyfield, relieved Sherman in the top of the seventh for the Flucos. Holyfield walked the first two batters he faced, bringing in Algieri to pitch for the Flucos. Algieri recorded the first out on a pop out to the pitcher. Earley hit a single to the shortstop to load the bases. Owen Agee followed with a squeeze bunt to the third base side, reaching first and scoring Grubbs to tie the game. “I don’t start,” said Agee. “I bunt all the time and work on it more than anyone else. I walked up to coach and said squeeze me, and I got it done.” Duerson followed with a walk and Lamb reached on an error, scoring two more runs. Nicholas nailed an RBI single to score Lamb but was thrown out on the way to second. West followed with a single and was brought home by an RBI single from Grubbs, who was thrown out at second to end the inning. After a seven run inning, Louisa led Fluvanna 11-5, only needing three outs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
Snyder would continue to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, hitting the first batter of the inning. “Sometimes the curveball wouldn’t spot up,” said Snyder. “You’ve got to go back to what you know.” Ryan Groome then flew out to the centerfielder for the first out. Jacob Critzer grounded into a double play to end the game and secure a Louisa win.
Snyder pitched 7 complete innings, only allowing one walk, five hits, and five runs. “I thought it was a great game,” said Snyder. “I’m just glad I had a team behind me, helping me out the whole game. It’s about putting the ball in play, relying on your defense. They did a great job tonight.”
When asked about the challenging game, Coach Kevin Fisher responded, “I’m pretty excited. Especially for us to go up, go down, and come back and do what we did in the seventh. It shows a lot of heart for these guys and I’m very proud of them.”
The Lions will travel to Albemarle on Thursday to face the Patriots for the second match-up of the season. Let’s go Lions!
