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Lady Broncos miscues costly in ninth inning

Ray DiMonda
Posted 4/13/17

MIDDLEBURG – The Middleburg Lady Broncos hosted the Episcopal Eagles Thursday night in what should have been a tune up for the District Tournament as the season draws to a close. The Broncos went …

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Lady Broncos miscues costly in ninth inning


Posted

MIDDLEBURG – The Middleburg Lady Broncos hosted the Episcopal Eagles Thursday night in what should have been a tune up for the District Tournament as the season draws to a close. The Broncos went down two runs in the top of the first and battled back to tie Episcopal. The tie would go through eight innings of play before the Broncos would make some crucial mistakes that allowed the Eagles to score two runs. The Broncos couldn’t recover and lost 5-3 in nine innings.

“It was frustrating,” said Middleburg coach Karl Smeltzer. “We had three misplayed balls that really hurt us. At the plate, I thought we executed well… until the seventh inning. In the seventh inning, you’ve got runners on and you can’t move them and get them in scoring position. But that’s over with.”

Getting to that seventh inning was a chore. The Broncos would get their first run in the bottom of the second inning when Haleigh Wright got on base, and was brought around by Tori Gardner. With the score 2-1, Middleburg played good defense in the third with Episcopal going three up, three out. When the Broncos returned to bat, they had a spark. Emily Bach got on first and Hunter Padgett followed with a single that drove Bach to third. When Sam Whitley came up, on the first pitch she showed a bunt and pulled back. When the players on the bases pulled in to play the bunt, both Middleburg runners took off, scoring Bach and moving Padgett to second. Sam Whitley took a full swing and earned a single RBI, bringing Padgett home to go ahead 3-2.

In the top of the fourth, Middleburg gave up one run as Episcopal tied the game 3-3. Through the fifth, sixth, and top of the seventh, each team would go three up, three out.

In the bottom of the seventh is where Smelter’s frustration set in. Tori Gardner got on base, and the Broncos couldn’t find a way to get it done and bring her home. Going into extra innings, the Bronco defense made a stand when the Eagles got the go-ahead runner on base with a bunt, then got her out at second on the next play and caught two pop-ups to end the inning still tied.

In the bottom of the eighth, Sam Whitley would once again find herself stranded on base as the Bronco bats couldn’t get her home.

In the top of the ninth inning, Middleburg gave up a double, made an error at third base, and when an Eagle attempted to steal, the throw was made to second base and no one recovered to cover the base. The outfielder came up with the ball, but not before Episcopal scored a run and advance the girls on base. When the top of the inning was over, Episcopal score two runs on Middleburg errors.

Back at bat when it had to count, Middleburg’s Emily Stewart got on first with a bunt. When Tori Gardner followed her, she ripped a screamer toward the shortstop. Stewart thought as everyone else did, that the shortstop couldn’t make the play. When she jumped, and made the catch, she threw back to first base before Stewart could retreat and got the double play. With two outs, Olivia Wilber got a single and would be left abandoned there as the Broncos got the third out and closed out the game with one on.

“We just didn’t make the plays we should have made,” said Smeltzer. “You can’t have that. We’re growing, it’s frustrating, it’s frustrating to give games away, and when you have games that you play bad and you still get those extra innings, That’s frustrating.”

Middleburg closes out regular season play this week with Senior Night versus St. Augustine Tuesday, then travels to Clay Wednesday and Nease Thursday, all teams they already beat this season.