By Josh Belanger

Kyle Novak and Conor Hartigan (James Madison) both delivered clutch hits in the bottom of the seventh inning to cap a three-run rally and advance the Hot Wings to the NVCL semifinals after a 4-3 victory over the Rough Riders in yesterday’s quarterfinal matchup at Madison High School. 

The Hot Wings were down to their final three outs and needed two runs to keep their season alive. After a fielder’s choice brought home a run, Novak tied the game with his third hit of the game. Tre Dabney (James Madison) followed with a walk then Hartigan worked a 3-2 count to allow Novak to break on the pitch. A ground ball in between the third baseman and shortstop allowed Novak to easily score and provide the game-winning run. 

O’Kelley McWilliams (Wofford) started for the Rough Riders and held the Hot Wings to one run on three hits over 3.2 innings. Everett Catlett (Georgetown) went for the Hot Wings and allowed an unearned run while striking out six over 2.2 innings. Robert Kelley (Potomac State) ended up with the win after tossing two scoreless innings in relief for the Hot Wings. 

Brendan Albrittain (Radford) hit a solo home run to put the Rough Riders up 3-1 in the fifth inning. Ethan Martoske (Lynchburg) also added an RBI double for the Rough Riders. 

Quarterfinal #2 - Sliders 11, Yard Dogs 2

Michael Grupe (Virginia Tech) and Braden Mack (Cornell) combined to allow just one run on six hits over seven innings while Jack Hoeymans (undecided) and Scott Morgan (George Mason) each homered and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Sliders over the Yard Dogs. 

The Sliders pounded 15 hits as both Tyler Casagrande (Arizona) and Griffin Boone (VCU) each added three hits. Derek Furr (Christopher Newport) also had a three-run double that broke the game open in the fifth inning. Brendan Hall (Washington University, MO) collected two of the six hits for the Yard Dogs. 

The Hot Wings and Sliders will square off at 6 PM today for a chance to advance to Saturday’s championship game. The teams split their two games this season, with the Sliders winning the first game 6-1. The Hot Wings took game two, 11-3. 

Garret Newsome (William & Mary) for the Sliders and Donavan Burke (James Madison) for the Hot Wings are the likely starting pitchers. 

Quarterfinal #3 - Night Owls 7, Child Dogs 6

The top-seeded Night Owls avoided an early departure from the NVCL tournament by scoring seven runs over their final three frames to beat the Chilli Dogs, 7-6. Yareb Martinez (Georgetown) had the go-ahead RBI while Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Newport) added a critical insurance run with a base hit in the bottom of the sixth. 

The Chili Dogs wouldn’t go quietly, getting an RBI on Ben Koomey’s (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) second hit of the game. The tying and go-ahead runs would eventually reach scoring position but reliever Randy Prosperi (William & Mary) was able to come on and get the final two outs of the game.

Aiden Tierney (Longwood) added an RBI double and two hits while Austin Gauthier (Hofstra) hit his fourth home run of the season, his second in two games. Brady Harju (James Madison) collected four hits while Jack Fitzgerald (George Mason) hit a three-run home run for the Chili Dogs. 

Quarterfinal #4 - Bunt Cakes 9, Gators 1

Jay Cassidy (Christopher Newport) struck out five over 5.2 innings and allowed just one run on three hits to guide the Bunt Cakes past the Gators and into the semifinals. Jack Cone (William & Mary) and Nathan Cmeyla (Dartmouth) each homered and combined for seven RBI to power the Bunt Cakes.

The Bunt Cakes will face the Night Owls in the first semifinal game at 3:30 PM at Waters Field. The Night Owls went 3-0 against the Bunt Cakes this season. Jack Braley (Christopher Newport) for the Night Owls and Cone for the Bunt Cakes are the likely starting pitchers. 

Photo of Kyle Novak by Josh Belanger

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By Josh Belanger

By Andrew Cooney

In a back and forth game last night at Madison High School, the Gators were able to overcome a late rally from the Yard Dogs to secure a 9-6 win and post their second straight victory after starting the season 0-2.

​“It was a good team win,” Gators manager Scott Rowland said. “We’re showing some discipline at the plate. We’re not chasing pitches, we’re making them throw strikes.”
 
Cameron Lane (Lynchburg), Scout Knotts (Shippensburg) and Shane Dux (Hamilton) paced the Gators offensively, registering two hits apiece, including a big go-ahead two-run double from Knotts in the top of the seventh and a three-run homer from Lane earlier in the game, staking the Gators to a 5-1 lead.
 
“I was looking for something straight and got ahead 2-0,” Lane said. “Figured I was going to get another fastball, I’d seen two in a row and just tried and get my timing so I could get a good swing off and I got a good pitch to hit.”
 
Hunter Bell (Harford CC) got the start for the Gators and allowed an unearned run over 2.2 innings, battling through a couple of defensive miscues in the first two innings. “I thought [Bell] was great,” Rowland added. “We’re really a good defensive team and we didn’t play real well defensively today so he had to up his pitch count. I thought he was outstanding and he rebounded. He shut it down, which was important and kept us out of that big inning.”
 
Jonathan Rivard (Virginia Tech) continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-4 with a two-run double that tied the game at six and capped a four-run fifth inning for the Yard Dogs. Caden DeCroo (Indiana University of PA) and Brendan Hall (Washington University (MO) also had RBI hits in the inning.
 
Antonio Menendez (Wake Forest) got the start on the bump for the Yard Dogs and threw three innings of one-hit ball, striking out two. Cameron Taylor (UMBC) was charged with the loss, surrendering four runs over 2.1 innings.
 
The Gators (2-2) will look to continue their winning streak against the Bunt Cakes (2-2) while the Yard Dogs (1-3) will look to snap their two-game skid against Rough Riders (3-1) on Thursday at Madison High School.
 
In other league action…the Rough Riders (3-1) beat the Hot Wings (1-3), 10-4, behind a grand slam from Eric Lingebach (Christopher Newport) and a three-run homer from Justin Carboni (Pennsylvania). Jake Berry (University of Virginia) allowed one run over three innings while Brendan Albrittain (Radford) tossed two no-hit innings in relief to close out the game for the Rough Riders… Michael Grupe (Virginia Tech) threw four scoreless innings followed by two innings of scoreless relief from Brody Mack (William & Mary) while Ben Williamson (William & Mary) went 2-for-3 with a grand slam as the Sliders (1-3) used a 10-run third inning to beat the Bunt Cakes (2-2), 12-1…The Night Owls (4-0) continued their winning ways beating the Chili Dogs (1-3), 11-6, behind two home runs from Rob Weissheier (Hofstra) and three RBI from Lucas Donlon (Virginia Tech). Ethan Semones also homered and made a couple of nice defensive plays for the Night Owls. Ben Koomey (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) hit his second home run in three games, tying the game with a grand slam in the fifth inning. Kyle Schofield (Frederick CC) also homered in the loss for the Chili Dogs. 

Photo of Cameron Lane by Josh Belanger.