Conference 45 Baseball, Radford and the other seven teams in that conference, are on their last three days of regular season play. Or are they? It appears one team in that conference will not play the games on the field, but rather play the points game and not play the baseball game at all. In my opinion, and my opinion doesn’t mean anything to anybody but to me, that just seems wrong. If two teams haven’t met this year due to weather that’s one thing. But to not play because you want to look better in the standings or points ratings is wrong. Especially when there’s time to make up those two games. Schools and administrative people tell kids to play with sportsmanship and then grown ups let these shenanigans go on? it’s wrong. Don’t play the games, play the system. Don’t want to play to avoid a team or because you don’t like this team. There’s a lot of things in life that you won’t like. Meet those times head on, but don’t play the system. Play with sportsmanship, but if it benefits you, don’t play at all?!?! Wow. Nice decision by a group of grown ups that are supposed to be setting life examples for kids. Wow. You know karma has a way of coming back to bite one in the buttocks. Shame on those that are in position to straighten this out, but chose NOT to. Sportsmanship be damned, be right or be wrong!?!?!
Month: May 2017
Conference 45 Power Point Ratings – Baseball- as of Thursday morning May 18
TEAM RECORD POINTS PTS. RATING
- Auburn 16-1 118 6.94
- Parry McCluer 10-6 77 4.81
- Radford 11-7-1 87 1/2 4.61
- Bath Co. 9-5 64 4.57
- Narrows 8-10 60 3.33
- Covington 3-10 29 2.23
- Eastern Mont. 4-12 28 1.75
- Craig Co. 2 -11 14 1.08
As of these standings the playoffs look like this: Monday May 22 – Craig Co at Auburn,Eastern Mont. at Parry McCluer, Covington at Radford, Narrows at Bath Co. . Stay tuned for updates tomorrow-Friday. May 19
Radford struggles early, loses to Auburn
Radford…The Auburn Eagles scored early and often as they defeated Radford Bobcats 9-3. Auburn scored three runs in the first and two more in the second as they improved to 16-1. Cole Epperly knocked in three runs and scored three times as he went 3 for 4 with the bat. He had a single and two doubles. Catcher Kyle Altizer singled and doubled. In addition he had three RBIs and scored once. Left hurler Jeremy Thomas held the Bobcats (11-7-1) to five hits and struck out three over 4.1 innings. He allowed two runs in the win.
Radford got two hits apiece from Justice Marshall, Ty Hamblin and Conner Phillips. Marshall scored once and knocked in one. Eric Burdette was one for two scoring a run and also knocking in a run.
Auburn, up 5-0 going into the top of the fifth, scored twice when Hunter Perkins tripled to deep right center and scored on a single by Epperly. Epperly crossed the plate after Ryan Albert’s single.
Radford got two of their runs in their bottom of the fifth as Burdette singled in Trace Shepherd and Marshall doubled in Burdette off of Auburn pitcher Thomas.
Auburn would strike back in their half of the seventh as Hunter Perkins doubled and scored on an Epperly single. Devin Durham would knock in Epperly for a 9-2 lead.
Radford got their third and last run in the bottom of the seventh with Marshall scoring with Conner Phillips being hit by a pitch.
“We lost to a very, very good ball club.” said Radford head coach Greg Ridpath. “They have a chance to go a long way. They can flat out hit, field and have good pitching. When you can do those three things, you have a great chance of winning. They put pressure on you to perform.”
Radford is slated to travel to James River today to finish their regular season before the playoffs begin. Game time is scheduled for 5:00 pm.
R H E LOB
Auburn 9 11 0 6
Radford 3 9 2 7
Auburn – WP- Thomas
Radford – LP- Hamblin
Scores for Wed. May 17
BASEBALL
Auburn 9 Radford 3 – ( Auburn 16-1)
Carroll Co. 5 Blacksburg 2
Grayson Co. 14 Fort Chiswell 5
Graham 9 Giles 8
Abingdon 3 Holston 2
Narrows 19 Eastern Montgomery 18 – 8 inns.
Northwood 4 Marion 0 – 1st game
Northwood 3 Marion 2 – 2nd game
John Battle 9 Va. High 4
SOFTBALL
Chilhowie 5 Galax 3
Pioneers win 12 consecutive games
Fort Chiswell…The Fort Chiswell Pioneers scored eight runs in the first inning on their way to demolishing Bland Co. 17-2 in five innings. Tanner Bailey went the first three innings and gave up just four hits, one earned run and struck out five. At the plate, he went 4 for 5 scoring four runs and knocking in two. Aaron Crawford smacked a two run homer in the second on his way to scoring three runs and having four RBIs. Cody Burkes also knocked in four and scored a run. Dallas Beasley had three RBIs, and Leighton Dunford knocked in two and scored twice.
Bland Co. (3-14) scored their lone two runs in the top of third on hits by Austin Chewning, Jake Watters and a RBI by Dylan Jackson who knocked in Chewing . Watters would also score on an error by the Pioneers.
Fort Chiswell (17-1) scored not only eight runs in the first but pushed across third in the second and five in the third to put the game away. Bailey was relieved by Konner Rotenizer and then by Chance Davis.
Bland starting and losing pitcher was Watters who lasted only two-thirds of an inning. He struck two but walked four Pioneer hitters in a row. He surrendered six runs on just two hits.
The Pioneers have now won 12 consecutive games, with their only loss coming back on April 5 at Grayson Co. by the score of 3-0. Pioneer head coach Derrick Jackson said, ”I thought Tanner (Bailey) pitched real well for us. This was only his third start of the year. This was our third game in four days, and we have to play Grayson coming up. We got a lot contributions from our lower part of the lineup, and this isn’t the first time those guys have done that.” The Fort Chiswell bottom three in the lineup went 3 for seven, scored six runs and knocked in 10 in the game. They also drew three walks and had a sac fly. Very productive indeed.
Fort Chiswell will host the Grayson Co. Blue Devils today, with the first pitch at 5:00 pm.
R H E LOB
Fort Chiswell 17 16 3 8
Bland Co. 2 6 1 8
Fort Chiswell – WP- Bailey – (2-0)
Bland Co. – LP – Watters
Scores for Tues. May 16
BASEBALL
Fort Chiswell 17 Bland Co. 2 – 5 inns.
Geo. Wythe 7 PH-Glade Spring 6
Galax 7 Chilhowie 2
Va. High 10 Richlands 0
Carroll Co. 14 Blacksburg 0 – 5 inns.
Hidden Valley 5 Salem 0
Tazewell 10 Lebanon 3
Graham 10 Grundy 2
SOFTBALL
Carroll Co. 4 Blacksburg 3 – 10 inns.
Christiansburg 7 Cave Spring 6
Western Gate Conf. 45 Power Point Ratings – Baseball as of Wednesday May 17
TEAM RECORD POINTS PTS. RATING
- Auburn 15-1 111 6.94
- Radford 11-6-1 87 1/2 4.86
- Parry McCluer 9-6 70 4.67
- Bath Co. 9-5 64 4.57
- Narrows 7-10 53 3.12
- Covington 3-9 29 2.42
- Eastern Mont. 4-11 28 1.87
- Craig Co. 2-11 14 1.08
Some High School Baseball Playoff Info
Conference 24 – Pulaski Co.- as of Tues. May 16
ALL Games @ Higher Seeds
Saturday May 20- ( 6 – Wm. Fleming at 3 seed – Pulaski Co. – 1 pm) ,( 5? Carroll Co. vs 4 ? Wm. Byrd – TBA)
Monday May 22 – Semifinals – ( 4/5 winner at 1 – Bassett ) , ( 3/6 winner at 2- Salem)
Wednesday May 24- TBD and or Fri May 26 – TBD
Conf. 45 – Radford – as of Wednesady May 17
Monday May 22 – at higher seeds- 8 vs 1 and 5 vs 4, – 7 vs 2 and 6 vs 3
Wednesday May 24 – Semifinals At Auburn High Sch. – 2 pm and 4:30 pm
Thursday May 25 – Final – at Auburn High Sch. – 5 pm – ( Rain Date Sat. May 27)
Conf. 46 – Fort Chiswell- as of Wed. May 17
Monday May 22 – 5 seed- Rural Retreat @ 4 seed – Geo. Wythe- 5pm
6 seed – Bland Co. @ 3 seed Chilhowie- 5 pm
Wednesday May 24 – @ Bastian – Bland Co. Sports Complex
1 seed- Fort Chiswell vs winner of 4/5 seeds – 3 pm
2 seed – Galax vs winner 3/6 seeds – 5:30 pm
Friday May 26 – Finals – Jv Championship then Varsity Championship – 3pm & 5:30 pm
Pioneers shut out Maroons
(Photography courtesy Tina Quesenberry)
Wytheville…Behind the pitching of their ace Dallas Beasley the Fort Chiswell Pioneers defeated their county rivals the Maroons of George Wythe 3-0. Beasley threw a seven-inning gem for the Pioneers as he threw a three-hitter. He struck out seven and walked none. He out-pitched George Wythe’s Josh Devine who lasted five innings giving up just one run on two hits. He walked two and had four strikeouts. Devine was relieved by Avery Mabe who tossed the last two innings giving up two runs on a one hit and struck out two. One of the runs was unearned.
Fort Chiswell (16-1) won their 11th consecutive game and the win makes them the Conference 46 Champions. Tanner Bailey and Aaron Crawford both had an RBI and a hit. Cody Burkes also had a hit in the win. Beasley saw his record improve to a 9-1 masterpiece on the mound.
George Wythe saw their record fall to 11-7. Dylan Anderson had two of the three Marooon hits off of Beasley.
The Pioneers scored one run in the third on a Bailey hit. They then crossed the plate twice in the top of the seventh, one on a throwing error and the other on Crawford’s single.
“I’m very proud of this team,“ said Fort Chiswell head coach Derrick Jackson. “Beasley pitched a marvelous game for us tonight as he has done for most of the season. Bailey and Crawlord came through for us in the clutch.” Coach then remarked, ”We lost a lot of real good players from last year’s State Semifinal team and this group has really performed. I think our team earn-run average is something like 0.60 for the year. I’m extremely pleased with this team.” With the victory the Pioneers will advance to the regionals no matter what happens in next week’s Conference 46 playoffs. Those conference playoff games will be held in Bastian, as the Bland Co. Bears are the host team.
The Pioneers will host the Bears of Bland Co. today with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00 pm.
R H E LOB
Fort Chiswell 3 3 1 5
Geo. Wythe 0 3 1 3
FC- WP- Beasley (9-1)
GW – LP- Devine
Cougars defeat Carroll Co. on the road
Hillsville…It was suppose to be simple. Get three outs, win and go home. Well, it almost became a nightmare as the Cougars defeated the pesky Carroll Co. Cavaliers 15-8. Up 11-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, all the Cougars needed was three outs and the game would be over. Instead they committed three huge errors, hit two Cavalier batters, walked two and Carroll Co. scored 8 runs on four hits as they sent 14 batters to the plate and left the bases loaded to come within three runs 11-8. The Cougars had pulled all their starters but had to re-enter them after that almost disastrous fifth inning. Thomas Anderson finished off the game pitching two innings as he gave up just one hit and struck out one to pick up the save. Hunter Shrewsbury who started on the mound improved to (5-1) on the season going four innings, throwing a two-hit shutout. He also stroked a three-run homer to left field. He ended up going two for four knocking in four and scoring one run to help him on the mound. Senior Tyler Waddell unloaded a grand slam home run in the second inning. He went three for four and scored twice with four RBIs. Camden Underwood hit a solo homer in the first after Shrewsbury had cleaned the bases with his three-run shot. Underwood finished with two hits and scored twice. First baseman Kam Hall was three for three scoring two and knocking in two. Jon Osteen scored three times and had one RBI. Andrew Lowe was one for three scoring twice and had an RBI.
Carroll Co. (5-12) got two hits from Brandt Puckett. Nick Bell and Lance Rotenizer both had two RBIs. Dylan Rodrigue was the starting and losing pitcher as he lasted only one inning surrendering 6 runs on 7 hits.
Pulaski Co. (11-7-1) scored six runs in their first at bat and crossed home plate four more times in the second on Waddell’s grand “salami” to go up 10-0. They would score a lone run in the third to take a commanding 11-0 lead.
After taking out all their starters, Carroll Co. then had their big rally in their fifth. The Cougars would answer them with three runs in the top of the sixth and one more in the seventh.
“I tried to give every one some game experience, and it almost bit us,“ said a relieved Cougar head coach Jared King. “I told the guys after the game that’s how easy a game can turn. I’m proud of how we kept our poise and held on there in the fifth inning. We regrouped and responded. I thought Hunter (Shrewsbury) pitched a heck of a game for us. He allowed only two hits and struck out two. Thomas (Anderson) came in and shut the door for us.” Coach King then added, “Give Carroll Co. some credit. They battled and hit the ball. We helped them some but we hung on and got a big “W”. Glad to see Waddell, Underwood and Hall hit the ball hard today.” The Cougars had a season high 18 hits in the victory. The 11 wins are the most they have collected in a single season since 2012.
The Cougars will play their final home regular season game Thursday versus Salem. It will be “Senior” night as the Cougars will say good-bye to 11 Seniors. First pitch is slated for 5:00 pm. The Cougars will host a playoff game Saturday at 1:00 pm, more than likely against William Fleming.
R H E LOB
Pulaski co. 15 18 3 9
Carroll Co. 8 7 2 8
Pulaski Co. – WP- Shrewsbury – ( 5-1), Save – Anderson
Carroll Co. – LP – Rodrigue
Home Runs- PC – Underwood – (Solo) , Shrewsbury- (3 -Run) , Waddell- (Grand Slam)