July 7th
Losing Streak Broken, A Beneficial Loss
Through the eighth inning, trailing 6-4, it looked like the New Market Rebels’ four-game losing streak, their longest of the season, would get extended at Waynesboro Wednesday night, but things changed in the ninth.
The Generals opened their on-field gift shop to issue four walks, delivered by Jaxson Lucas (AR Pine Bluff). Two of those free passes came with the bases loaded. Those, following a Carlos Irizarry (PennState-Harrisburg) RBI single, produced three runs, for a 7-6 New Market lead.
Rebels reliever Austin Eppley (Central FL) retired the side in order to preserve the victory and earn a win (1-0),
All 18 hits in the contest, nine for each squad, were singles.
Next for New Market was a Thursday night stop at Strasburg, to take on the league-leading Express, at 16-7, and what can fairly be called a beneficial loss, or perhaps a loss with some benefits, as Strasburg came out on top, 9-7.
The Rebels out-hit the express 11-6.
Two relief pitchers no-hit the Express to close out the game, retiring the last nine Strasburg batters in a row. Utility player El Rico Riley (FL Southern), 2 innings and position player Kyle Musser (Cornell) needing only seven pitches to complete the ninth.
The Rebels regained the ability to score in bunches, string hits together, and take advantage of free bases.
New Market sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth. The Rebels offense in that frame included five walks, a passed ball, a wild pitch, and two singles, a lead-off by Riley, and an RBI single by Bryce Safferwich (FL Southern), to put 4 on the scoreboard.
It was the most runs in an inning by New Market, since a four-run sixth versus Harrisonburg, 12 games ago, on June 18th, consisting of four singles and a Jude Drzemiecki (St. Andrews Presbyterian) two-RBI double, in a 6-1 win.
The Rebels also staged a modest, two-run, rally in the eighth versus Strasburg. Again, the bulk of the action consisted of two walks and an error, Aaron Saltsman’s (Central FL) RBI single being the lone run via-hit score in the frame, part of Saltsman’s stellar night at the plate (4-for-4, RBI).
Riley went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Victor Castillo’s (New Orleans) second inning 3-run homer to right, and three double plays cutting short New Market rallies, were key ingredients in the Strasburg win.
Thad Ector’s (NC Charlotte) double was the only other extra-base hit in the contest. All 11 New Market hits were singles. Energy returned to their bats, but still at low voltage.
New Market’s last XBH was Sean Stewart’s triple in the seventh inning of game two of the July 3rd double header vs. Covington, now 18 innings ago.
Both staffs were generous with walks, 10 by the Express and nine by the Rebels. New Market continues to lead the league in walks drawn, with 169, and Strasburg’s 154 is second. But that barely puts a small dent in the Rebels’ XBH deficiency.
Rebels first baseman Eppley turned in a fielding gem in the sixth. He layed-out and smothered Anthony LaSala’s (Pittsburgh) hot grounder on the fair (foul) line, six feet beyond the bag. While still on the ground, he flipped the ball to pitcher Riley, who perfectly timed his arrival to receive the toss just ahead of LaSala.
The win completed Strasburg’s 4-0 sweep of the head-to-head series with New Market.
We’ll soon see if the beneficial factors in Thursday’s game will lead to more frequent wins for the 11-16, 10th place, Rebels.
July 8th
Started Quick, Faded Late – Front Royal 14, New Market 9
The New Market Rebels played one of their best games in a long while, and their finest home game since a 9-5 win over Harrisonburg, way back on June 6th, Saturday night against the Front Royal Cardinals.
New Market got off to a quick start, batting around in the second inning, scoring five runs on five hits.
Aaron Saltsman (Central FL) got the show underway with a one-out double, followed by an RBI single from Joey Duffer (Concord). Then came three hits in a row – a 2-RBI single by Bryce Safferwich (FL Southern), an RBI double off the bat of Jude Drzemiecki (St. Andrews Presbyterian), and an RBI single by El Rico Riley (FL Southern).
The Rebels added two more in the third for a seemingly comfortable 7-2 lead, but that phase of the party ended when Riley struck out with the bases loaded.
There was loud cheering and strong positive buzz from the Rebels dugout and grandstand over the offensive outburst and early lead.
New Market has been faced with a shortage of pitching, especially starting pitching. Reliever Anthony Pass (Washington & Jefferson) (3-0, 2.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) was pressed into his first start of the season and performed admirably, shutting out the Cardinals in the first two innings.
But the Front Royal got to Pass for two in the third and three in the fourth, to narrow the gap to 7-5, Hayden Harris’ (Longwood) two RBI singles being key blows.
The Cardinals poured on three more in the fifth, the big damage done by a Taylor Shultz (GA State) RBI double, followed by Blaze O’Saben’s (GA Gwinnett) 2-RBI double, to take an 8-7 lead, as the mood shifted dramatically from joy to concern among the New Market fans.
In a very dramatic sixth, the Cardinals added one for a 9-7 lead. Then the Rebels dug deep to push two across the plate on Kyle Musser’s (Cornell) 2-RBI double to center, restoring optimism with a 9-9 tie.
Saltsman, an outfielder by trade, was pressed into mound service for the first time this season in the seventh. Front Royal took advantage, with seven hits and five runs (four earned) during Saltsman’s three inning stint. Saltsman was charged with the loss (0-1).
Meanwhile, the Cardinals shut out the Rebels over the last three frames. Shawn Munoz (S. Georgia) contributed 2 innings, giving up one hit, two walks, and struck out two, to earn the win (2-0).
The Cardinals established a new team season high with 17 hits. The biggest contributors were Harris (3- for-5, 3 RBI, 2 runs; Shultz (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 runs); and O’Saben (3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 runs).
The best bats for the Rebels were Safferwich (3-for-5, 3 RBI, run), Duffer (2-for-4, 2 runs, RBI), Jude Drzemicki (2-for-5, 2B, 2 runs, RBI), and Riley (2-for-4, 2B, run).
The Rebels’ five doubles set a new season high.
Fielding problems continue to bug the Rebels. Their four errors resulted in three unearned runs. They are tied with Culpeper and Staunton for last in the league with a .947 fielding percentage.
It was the most runs scored by New Market since an 11-10 loss at Woodstock, in game 14, on June 17. The 14-for-39 performance raised the Rebels’s team BA from .232 to .237, still last in the league.
New Market extended its home losing streak to a dismal nine games, 3-10 overall, before their staunchest fans.
The Rebels are in a three-game losing streak, at 11-18, their furthest below the .500 mark of the season, and share 11th-place with Staunton, two and one-half games out of 8th. Correction: Strasburg’s Victor Castillo second inning home run on July 6th was a grand slam, not a three run shot, as reported.
Catching Up
Recent games have demonstrated the extreme ups and downs of the Rebels rollercoaster season. Head Coach Charley Shepard has spent countless hours on the cellphone managing roster churn.
New Market has seen nine position players depart, mostly over the past two weeks. Four new (10 or fever games) have joined the team.
Nine pitchers have departed, and six new arms (three or fewer games) have come aboard.
Two pitchers added to the roster this morning bring it to 28 total, with three players on the disabled list. The league limit is 35.
The day after being shut-out, for the fourth time in the season, by Woodstock, 4-0, in a five-inning rain shortened game, on Thursday, the Rebels relished a doubleheader sweep (6-5, 4-2) over Waynesboro to break an eight-game losing streak, the longest in the league so far this season. Those were losses six and seven in Waynesboro’s own current eight-game losing streak.
On Friday came a dismal huge dip on season rollercoaster, a 17-2 drubbing by Purcellville. The Cannons gave Rebels’ new arrival, Aaron Heller (Hood College) a rude welcome, roughing him up for 11 runs, all earned, on 10 hits, six walks, no strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.
It was the only Valley League game played that day, so got more attention than it normally would.
Next came a trip on the upside, a quality win over Winchester (then 20-13, fourth place) on Sunday. An interesting stat in that one – the Rebels’ 1-through-4 hitters went 0-for-16, with one run, while the 5- through-9 guys went 7-for-16 and produced five runs and four RBIs.
The Rebels batted around in a four-run seventh rally, to break open a 2-2 tie. Four of the generous nine walks issued in the game by Winchester contributed to the Rebels’ rally, and three of those freebies eventually scored, one on an RBI walk earned by catcher Joey Duffer (Concord).
“Veteran” Drew Sassaman (25 games, Penn State-Harrisburg) contributed a 2-RBI single to center.
It was Jared Glinski’s (Longwood) first game with the Rebels. While going 0-for-5 at the plate, Glinski made three spectacular plays in left field, with an over-the-should catch in the 7-8 gap, tracking a ball to the wall for a snag, and racing to the corner for another catch.
Recent New Market arrival Mason Sawyers (Hood College) got the start in his second game. Sawyers contributed 5.1 innings, yielding three hits, two runs (earned), two walks and a strikeout, exiting with the score tied, 2-2. Jacob Petersheim (CO State-Pueblo) put in 1.2 innings of relief work and earned the win (1-0).
The 14-24 Rebels are 3.5 games out of eighth place with six games to play, still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Strong tests remain in hosting tied for first place (22-10) Charlottesville, Tuesday and Friday, and a game at fourth place (21-14) Winchester on Thursday.
While focusing on the Tom Sox, we’re fond of remembering the Rebels 2018 championship series. New Market, on an 11-game winning streak (7 regular season, 4 in the playoffs). Game one, August 6th, was at Charlottesville on then-New Market President and league Commissioner Bruce Alger’s birthday. The Rebels won, 16-4, despite leaving 12 runners on base.
Game two of was played at New Market the next night. The Rebels were trailing, 5-4, heading into the bottom of the 7th. Right-hand batter Adan Fernandez (FIU) launched a two-out, first-pitch, grand slam off righty side-armer Antonio Menendez (Wake Forest). The 8-5 lead stood up, largely because three relief pitchers no-hit the Tom Sox over the final 5.1 innings – Matthew Mercer (ETSU) 1.1 innings, three Ks; Payton Millirons (Wallace CC) 3.1 innings, eight Ks; and Trevin Eubanks (SMU), .2 innings, one K. It is a season fondly remembered in the Rebels family.
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■ Dennis Atwood
New Market Rebels 