Rocky Grove baseball downed in Class 1A championship
· Yahoo Sports
SLIPPERY ROCK — The No. 2 seeded Rocky Grove Orioles were downed in the District 10 1A championship game against the No. 1 West Middlesex Big Reds 9-2 at Messer Field at Jack Critchfield Park on Monday morning.
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The Orioles trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth before the Big Reds put up five runs to capture the 1A title.
When asked about how he will reflect on this season, head coach Geoffrey Sanner said, "We'll look back at where we started. It was a rough go of it to start the season.
"I think we dropped two games to start the year, and it was just real rough. ... So to see the kids come out and battle the way that they did (today) — put bat on the ball, get balls in play — it was really good. We've definitely taken a lot of good strides heading into next year, and we expect to be right back here playing on this field next year for the same game."
The Orioles went up 1-0 in the top of the first. Dillon Hamilton singled on a ground ball to get on base first for Rocky Grove. The senior catcher then stole second base.
Hamilton was able to advance to third on a wild pitch before an error by West Middlesex's catcher Wyatt Hoffman brought him home for the first score of the game. The inning came to a close after Kyle Gilson struck out Xavier Gordon and stranded Haydon Bevier on second.
After a leadoff double by Gilson in the bottom of the first, the Orioles recorded two straight outs. Then, on a 1-1 pitch, Nolan Golub hit an inside-the-park home run, bringing Gilson home for the 2-1 lead.
The Big Reds made quick work of the next three batters for Rocky Grove, with Gilson striking out two.
To lead off the bottom of the second, Nolan Kayser tripled on a line drive to center field. Caleb Koncar reached second base on an error, which also brought home Kayser for the 3-1 lead. The Orioles brought the inning to a close on a groundout and double play.
Both teams scored in the fourth inning. Rocky Grove's Landon Jones made his round of the bases after being hit by a pitch, advancing to second on a wild pitch, and finally scoring on a fly out to right field. West Middlesex responded after an error by Bevier on a pick-off attempt allowed Kayser to advance to third. Kayser was then brought in on a Koncar RBI single, bringing the score to 4-2.
Neither side tacked on any runs in the fifth inning, but the sixth is where West Middlesex officially pulled away.
After Koncar singled and Wyatt Hoffman reached on an error, the Orioles intentionally walked Gilson, with one out, to load the bases. Kameron Miles singled and brought home both Koncar and Hoffman for the 6-2 lead. Two of the next three batters brought home runners, and the ninth and final run was scored after Nolan Golub stole home base.
Rocky Grove finishes the season 11-10 after winning three of its last four to advance to the championship round.
It was the final game for Bevier and Hamilton, whom Sanner spoke highly about postgame.
"Those guys are four-year starters for us," Sanner said. "They put their heart and soul on the line the last four years for us."
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Rocky Grove (2)
(AB-R-H-RBI) I. Grigsby 3-0-0-0, Hamilton 3-1-1-0, Jones 2-1-0-0, Bevier 1-0-1-0, Gordon 3-0-1-1, Keith 3-0-0-0, L. Grigsby 3-0-0-0, McCullough 3-0-0-0, McCool 2-0-0-0.
West Middlesex (9)
(AB-R-H-RBI) Gilson 2-1-1-0, Miles 4-1-1-2, R. Golub 4-0-2-1, N. Golub 4-2-0-0, Blanton 4-0-2-1, Kayser 2-2-1-0, Koncar 4-1-2-2, S. Hoffman 1-0-0-0, W. Hoffman 1-0-0-0, Gerlach 2-0-0-0.
Rocky Grove 100 100 0 — 2 3 4
West Middlesex 210 105 x — 9 9 1
BATTING
2B: WM — Gilson, Blanton.
3B: WM — Kayser.
PITCHING
(IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO) RG — Bevier 5.1-8-9-3-3-1, Jones 0.2-1-0-0-1-1; WM — Gilson 7-3-2-1-2-7.