2008 ODAC Baseball Championship Tournament

Day 2 – April 25

 

Game 4 – Virginia Wesleyan 5, Hampden-Sydney 4

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Senior Brian Schweers tripled with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday and scored on a throwing error to lift Virginia Wesleyan to a hard-fought 5-4 victory over Hampden-Sydney College in an elimination game of the 2008 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship tournament.

It was the only hit in the game for Schweers (Perryville, Md./Perryville), who was one of only four Marlins to connect.  Hits eluded VWC for the most part, as the Marlins finished with only five, led by junior C.J. Rhodes (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) with a pair of singles.

But, it was just enough offense to push the second-seeded Marlins through to the next round of games scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 26.  VWC is slated to play at 3 p.m. against a foe to be determined by the other two games being played today.

Senior pitcher Chris Deanes (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) played a crucial role in helping the Marlins advance as he entered the game with one out, a runner in scoring position, and the tying run already across the plate for Hampden-Sydney to make it a 4-all game.  Deanes drew two outs to diffuse the inning however, and gave up only a walk in the Tigers' ninth and 10th innings, to help set things up for the VWC finish.

Virginia Wesleyan (25-15-1), which notched its highest victory total since 31 wins in 2004, led most of the contest.  The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth when junior Brandon Hathaway (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) lifted a sacrifice fly into right field to score junior Adam Marx (Rochester, N.Y./Fairport), who led off the inning reaching base on a fielding error.  He moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.

Hampden-Sydney (17-25) took its only lead of the game in the top of the sixth, combining three hits to plate two runs for the 2-1 edge.  Todd Harrell belted a run-scoring double and Hall Toledano knocked an RBI-single to center field to help the Tigers jump in front.  VWC recorded a key out in the inning when Rhodes fired the ball to second baseman Phil Cadle (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) to record the inning-ending out on a steal attempt by Toledano.

The deficit was only temporary for the Marlins however, as VWC came back strong in the bottom of the inning to score three runs for a 4-2 lead.  Senior Ozz Dhramapitaksook (Springfield, Va./Lake Braddock) drew a walk, stole second, and scored when Rhodes singled to right field.  Sophomore Mike Marion (Springfield, Va./Alexandria Hayfield) followed with a single and, after a Tiger pitching change, junior Kevin Nally (Moore, Okla./Forest Park, Va.) put down a sacrifice bunt to score Rhodes from third base.  Marx was up next for VWC and took two bases on a throwing error by the Tiger pitcher, which also allowed Marion to score the third run for the Marlins.

H-SC refused to let it end there and came back to pull within a run with one score in the seventh and added another run to tie at 4-all in the eight.  Timely doubles sent in each run in each inning for the Tigers, as A.J. Prill came up with the big hit in the seventh and Toledano followed suit in the eighth.

But, that was it for the Tigers as Deanes entered at that point and retired eight of the nine batters he faced.  The only opening for H-SC during Deanes' stay on the mound was a walk to Prill in the ninth.  Deanes struck out four batters.

VWC started senior pitcher David Imperato (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan), who worked into the seventh inning.  He struck out five batters and gave up seven hits, a walk, and three earned runs.  Rookie Gary Bulman (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbrier Christian) entered for a short stint, facing only four batters, before Deanes was called in and finished.  Deanes improved to 3-2.

Robbie Bailey started for H-SC and faced 22 batters over five innings.  He struck out one, walked two, and allowed three hits, four runs, and two earned runs.  Bryan Breedlove took the loss, dropping to 2-6, after pitching the last four innings.  Toledano led H-SC's nine-hit offense with a double and single.

-Courtesy of VWC-

 

Game 5 – Bridgewater 4, Lynchburg 3

LYNCHBURG, VA – BC’s Drew Elkins scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth, and LC stranded two runners on base in the bottom half, as the Eagles of Bridgewater College knocked off the Lynchburg College baseball team 4-3 Friday in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament play from City Stadium.

            The Hornet (29-10) bats struggled all afternoon, connecting for seven hits, most late in the game. BC (23-16-1) built a 3-0 advantage over the fourth and fifth innings, highlighted by an Elkins RBI triple in the fourth. LC tied the game at three in the bottom of the seventh with three runs, two coming on a single from senior Matt Winston (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring).

            In the decisive ninth inning, Elkins singled through the left side and moved to third base on a two-out single to right field by Chad Rhodes. During the next at-bat, a LC pitch was in the dirt, getting away from the catcher and allowing BC to plate the winning run.

            LC was led by Jeff Taylor (Lynchburg, VA/Heritage), who posted a 2-4 afternoon. Junior D.W. Moore (Lynchburg, VA/Heritage) tossed the ball well for LC, going eight innings while surrendering three runs on seven hits.

            Elkins finished the ballgame 2-4 with two runs scored and a RBI. Bridgewater starter Fred Duquette was very effective, spanning seven innings while giving up three runs on five hits. Sophomore catcher Andrew Chrismer was also 2-4 for the Eagles, who will now face Virginia Wesleyan College Saturday at 3 p.m.

-Courtesy of Lynchburg College-

Game 6 – Randolph-Macon 13, Washington and Lee 3

 

The Randolph-Macon College baseball team used a seven-run, seventh inning to break open a one-run game on its way to a 13-3 victory over Washington and Lee Friday night at the 2008 ODAC Tournament at Lynchburg City Stadium.

 

R-MC now stands as the only team in the tournament with no losses and will await either Lynchburg or Washington & Lee for a 7:00 p.m. match up on Saturday.

 

After a 54 minute rain delay, the Generals posted a pair of runs in the top-half of the first inning off Jackets starter Kurt Breitmeyer.

 

After loading the bases, R-MC tied the game in the third inning, plating their first run when Kevin Davis drew a walk to score Bruno Gora.  The Yellow Jackets knotted the game at 2-2 when Jay Lichter scored on a groundball double play off the bat of Adam Carpenter.

 

W&L broke the tie in the sixth inning after loading the bases themselves and scoring on a double play ground out to go up 3-2.

 

Randolph-Macon responded in its next at bat when Greg Meleski walked with one out and moved to second on a balk.  With two outs, Mike Wallace hit a homerun to give the Jackets the lead for good at 4-3.

 

R-MC broke the game wide open in the seventh when it pounded out five hits and seven runs to take 11-3 lead.  The highlights of the inning were RBI doubles from Greg Bierlein, Charlie Hartt and Wallace.

 

Breitmeyer settled down and picked up the win for the Jackets, going seven innings, surrendering eight hits, while striking out five. 

 

-Courtesy of Randolph-Macon-