By Andrew Cooney

​The Sliders staged two separate rallies and held off the Hot Wings in the seventh inning to win 10-9 in an NVCL semifinal matchup yesterday at Madison High School. The win sends the Sliders to the championship game on Saturday against the top-seeded Night Owls. The teams split their two regular season matchups.
 
The Hot Wings got on the board first with a long three-run home run to center field by Avery Neaves (Chesapeake) in the top of the first inning. The Sliders responded in the bottom half putting up two runs of their own as Donovan Burke (JMU) of the Hot Wings had trouble finding the strike zone early. Conor Hartigan (JMU) hit a two-run homer for the Hot Wings in the top of the third inning to extend the lead to 5-2. The score would remain until the bottom of the fourth when the Sliders got two runs back on a two-run single from Tyler Casagrande (Arizona) off Hot Wings reliever Patrick Burke (Mount St. Mary’s).
 
Leading off the bottom of the fifth, Scott Morgan (George Mason) and Tyler DeMartino (West Virginia) hit back-to-back home runs to stake the Sliders to their first lead of the game, 6-5. The home run by Morgan was his second in as many games. The Hot Wings responded immediately in the top of the sixth on a three-run shot to right field by Ryan Dooley (VMI) that gave the Hot Wings the lead right back at 8-6.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Sliders rallied once again, scoring four runs against reliever Pete Nielsen (George Mason), punctuated by a two-run double from Jack Hoeymans (Undecided) and a two-run single from Morgan (George Mason).
 
“[Scott] has just been seeing the ball well, he puts good swings on balls, he’s not trying to do too much,” said Sliders coach Dan Ritz.
 
Avery Neaves (Chesapeake) made things interesting in the top of the seventh, hitting a solo shot out to left field for his second home run of the game and narrowing the gap to 10-9. However, Sliders reliever Michael Schultz (College of Charleston) would retire two  of the next three batters to end the game.
 
“This is the best we’ve swung the bat all year,” said Morgan. “If we keep pounding the zone and swinging the bats like we have been we’re a tough team to beat.”
 
When asked about Saturday’s championship matchup with the Night Owls, Ritz said, “It’s going to be a tough game, they can swing it one through 10. For us, it’s all about throwing strikes. When we throw strikes, stay ahead of batters, we’ll be able to stay in the game. We are going to have to keep fighting offensively like we did tonight. We had a lot of big at bats, key situations, down in the count, and they battled through and just found a way to get it done.”
 
 
Saturday’s championship game is scheduled for Waters Field with a time to be set due to incoming weather. The Night Owls and Sliders have been the top two teams in the league all season and will now get a chance to battle for the title in the inaugural NVCL season.

Photo of Scott Morgan courtesy of Fred Ingham

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 Josh Belanger

Zach Buck homered and sparked an eight-run sixth inning for the Hot Wings that led to a 12-1 victory over the Bunt Cakes last night at Waters Field.

Buck (Haverford) hit back-to-back home runs with Pete Nielsen (George Mason) to give the Hot Wings the lead in the second inning. Hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the order, Nielsen and Buck went a combined 5-for-6, scored three times and drove in three runs. Bryce Johnson (Camp CC) also was productive at the bottom of the order for the Hot Wings with two hits and a pair of RBI. 

“Anytime you can get production one through 10, that’s a good recipe for a win,” Hot Wings coach Morgan Spencer said. “A lot of these guys were high school players that missed their entire senior year that are seeing some pretty good college pitching, so there is always a learning curve but hope we are getting going at the right time.”

Left-hander Everett Catlett (Georgetown) started for the Hot Wings and allowed one run on three hits over three plus innings. Catlett also added five more strikeouts to his season total, which now sits at a league-best 20. 

Ryan Dooley (VMI) added to the Hot Wings lead in the third with an RBI triple. The Bunt Cakes answered with a run of their own in the fourth after two hits and a fielder’s choice RBI from Nathan Cmyela (Dartmouth). In the fifth inning, Johnson delivered a sac fly  to extend the Hot Wings lead 4-1. 

Buck's third hit of the game would score a run and start a rally in the sixth inning for the Hot Wings. Jake Wortman followed with a pinch-hit bases-clearing double and later scored on another RBI from Johnson. Kyle Novak (James Madison) then put the game out of reach with a three-run home run to cap the inning.

“Our guys are starting to come together,” Spencer said. “Earlier in the season our guys were a little long and maybe trying to see how far they could hit the ball. Lately, our guys have been short and using the middle of the field. Hopefully we are getting hot at the right time.”

Catlett earned the win for the Hot Wings as Kenny Lippman (Denison), Ethan Snyder (William & Mary) and Jack Slade (Harford CC) did not allow a run in relief over the final four innings. 

The Hot Wings (5-5) head into their weekend doubleheader with the 9-1 Night Owls having won two straight games while the Bunt Cakes (4-6) will look to snap their three-game losing streak against the Yard Dogs.

In other league action...Matt Thomas (William & Mary) and Lucas Donlon (Virginia Tech) each drove in a pair of runs while Nick Stewart (James Madison) allowed one hit and one run over 3.1 innings to earn his third win of the season in the Night Owls (9-1) 9-3 win over the Gators (3-7)…The Sliders (6-4) beat the Rough Riders (5-5), 12-4, behind a grand slam from Kyle Lyons (Bucknell) and a two-run blast from Tyler Casagrande (Arizona). Michael Grupe (Virginia Tech) got the win after allowing four unearned runs on five hits over 3.1 innings… The Yard Dogs (4-6) pounded 18 hits and beat the Bunt Cakes (4-6), 19-8. Jonathan Rivard (Virginia Tech), Alec Roberts (Allen CC), Brady Drawbaugh (Mount St. Mary’s) and Jaden Keuhner (Washington & Lee) each homered for the Yard Dogs. 

​Photo of Zach Buck by Josh Belanger