Salisbury 3, Washington and Lee 2
Well then. W&L started Chuck Davidson threw 8 innings, gave up 2 hits and walked 2 ... and took the loss. Argh. Washington and Lee outhit Salisbury 7 to 2 ... and lost. Oy.
Playing the No. 3 team in Division III, a team that has a 2.71 ERA and a .355 team batting average, W&L played very, very well ... and lost. It was a brisk affair, over in 1:35 with complete games from each team.
The 3rd inning was the exciting one. W&L loaded the bases with two outs, and on a 1-2 pitch Catcher Will Lewis demonstrated some great hitting by staying behind an outside fastball and lacing it into the left center gap. W&L led 2-0.
But things went bad in the bottom of the 3rd. With a man on first, Salisbury hit a routine, but spinning, grounder to first. 1B Hunter Serenbetz booted it. Two batters later, with one out and the bases loaded, the number two hitter tapped a slow roller to short. The ball died in the grass, and SS John Ditore tried to make a flip towards second rather than going to first. The Salisbury runner beat the throw to second, so everyone was safe and a run scored. This proved critical when Salisbury's next batter had another RBI groundout that was only the second out instead of the third out.
Two mistakes. But they came in the same inning and at a bad time. And that's all it took for W&L to miss a beautiful upset chance.
They're back in action at 10 a.m. tomorrow vs. Washington and Jefferson. Game broadcast will be available at http://wlur.wlu.edu
Showing posts with label W and L baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label W and L baseball. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ribbie reporter -- Stay tuned later this week for D-III action
The Ribbie Reporter has been enjoying the great outdoors -- and some high school baseball up at Woodberry -- instead of watching the Royals waste good pitching with terrible hitting, baserunning and defense. He heads out tomorrow for Salisbury, MD on the Eastern Shore, where Washington and Lee is the No. 8 seed (out of 8) in the NCAA D-III regionals. The winner of the 8 team double elimination tournament heads for the D-III World Series.
Here's a list of the seedings:
1. Salisbury (37-6)
2. Shenandoah (28-6)
3. N.C. Wesleyan (27-19)
4. Christopher Newport (24-11-2)
5. Washington and Jefferson (33-12)
6. York (Pa.) (27-14)
7. Johns Hopkins (24-14)
8. Washington and Lee (22-13)
The only team in this bunch that W&L faced this year was Shenandoah. The Generals lost 5-4 in Lexington and certainly did not look outmatched at any point. We used out #3 starter and our #4/swing reliever in that game. Salisbury will be a tough out of course, and they'll have the advantage of a home crowd behind them. But W&L started the conference tournament by beating Lynchburg College (No. 1 seed in the ODAC) in Lynchburg. It'll help in this case that the game is at 1:15 on Wednesday.
-- Stay tuned later this week for recaps and analysis of all the action.
Here's a list of the seedings:
1. Salisbury (37-6)
2. Shenandoah (28-6)
3. N.C. Wesleyan (27-19)
4. Christopher Newport (24-11-2)
5. Washington and Jefferson (33-12)
6. York (Pa.) (27-14)
7. Johns Hopkins (24-14)
8. Washington and Lee (22-13)
The only team in this bunch that W&L faced this year was Shenandoah. The Generals lost 5-4 in Lexington and certainly did not look outmatched at any point. We used out #3 starter and our #4/swing reliever in that game. Salisbury will be a tough out of course, and they'll have the advantage of a home crowd behind them. But W&L started the conference tournament by beating Lynchburg College (No. 1 seed in the ODAC) in Lynchburg. It'll help in this case that the game is at 1:15 on Wednesday.
-- Stay tuned later this week for recaps and analysis of all the action.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Ribbie Reporter -- We interrupt MLB play for this collegiate update
The 2009 Old Dominion Conference Tournament is upon us
Yes, it's time for the Ribbie Reporter's annual pilgrimage to Lynchburg, Va., where he does the radio broadcasts for Washington and Lee University as they participate in their conference tournament. He'll be sharing thoughts on the games he sees throughout the weekend.
Now THAT'S pitching
The Nachoman frequently laments the sloth-like pace of MLB games. So he'll be pleased to hear that No. 6 seed W&L beat No. 1 seed Lynchburg College 4-1 Thursday morning in a game that lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes. W&L started Chuck Davidson, their number 2 starter and a guy with a lot of potential who has struggled to put everything together in one complete package this season. But he was MASTERFUL Thursday. He went seven innings and threw 81 pitches, 54 of them for strikes. He walked one batter and gave up 3 hits. He only let 3 hitters get to three ball counts. Davidson pitched backwards to several of the Lynchburg hitters, getting ahead 0-1 and 0-2 with a curve/slurve that he was locating on both sides of the plate. He came back with fastballs that kept catching both corners with precision. In short, he almost always put the ball exactly where he wanted too.
Ace Brendan Clark came on for the 8th (Davidson was pulled since W&L wanted him available for Saturday's game... the tourney involves 4-5 games in 4 days so juggling the staff can be tough). He threw 21 pitches, 17 of them for strikes. He allowed only 1 hit.
What's the moral of the story here?
Throw strikes, hit the corners, get ahead in the count. Joe Posnanski, who writes for the KC Star, recently did a lengthy breakdown of how batters fare in different counts.
The main take away: MLB hitters hit for a .334 average and a .600 slugging % with zero or one strikes. They his .190 and slug .290 with two strikes. These trends hold true for all of baseball. If you get ahead in the count and don't walk people you'll be successful. Most pitchers know this, I suppose, so I guess the key is execution.
More to follow after Friday afternoon's game, and a weekend wrapup will come on Sunday or Monday.
-The Ribbie Reporter
Yes, it's time for the Ribbie Reporter's annual pilgrimage to Lynchburg, Va., where he does the radio broadcasts for Washington and Lee University as they participate in their conference tournament. He'll be sharing thoughts on the games he sees throughout the weekend.
Now THAT'S pitching
The Nachoman frequently laments the sloth-like pace of MLB games. So he'll be pleased to hear that No. 6 seed W&L beat No. 1 seed Lynchburg College 4-1 Thursday morning in a game that lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes. W&L started Chuck Davidson, their number 2 starter and a guy with a lot of potential who has struggled to put everything together in one complete package this season. But he was MASTERFUL Thursday. He went seven innings and threw 81 pitches, 54 of them for strikes. He walked one batter and gave up 3 hits. He only let 3 hitters get to three ball counts. Davidson pitched backwards to several of the Lynchburg hitters, getting ahead 0-1 and 0-2 with a curve/slurve that he was locating on both sides of the plate. He came back with fastballs that kept catching both corners with precision. In short, he almost always put the ball exactly where he wanted too.
Ace Brendan Clark came on for the 8th (Davidson was pulled since W&L wanted him available for Saturday's game... the tourney involves 4-5 games in 4 days so juggling the staff can be tough). He threw 21 pitches, 17 of them for strikes. He allowed only 1 hit.
What's the moral of the story here?
Throw strikes, hit the corners, get ahead in the count. Joe Posnanski, who writes for the KC Star, recently did a lengthy breakdown of how batters fare in different counts.
The main take away: MLB hitters hit for a .334 average and a .600 slugging % with zero or one strikes. They his .190 and slug .290 with two strikes. These trends hold true for all of baseball. If you get ahead in the count and don't walk people you'll be successful. Most pitchers know this, I suppose, so I guess the key is execution.
More to follow after Friday afternoon's game, and a weekend wrapup will come on Sunday or Monday.
-The Ribbie Reporter
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