June 23rd
The New Market Rebels traveled to Winchester Friday night to take on the second-place Royals in Valley League action. The Rebels had three consecutive days of rain-outs, and Winchester had two, leading up to the contest. There was no rain at Kevin Anderson field Friday night.
It was a pitchers’ duel early. The visiting Rebels scored in the first as Bryce Safferwich (FL State) opened the game with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on Trenton Bullen’s (Central FL) 4-3 groundout. After that, it was scoreless through the sixth. Rebels starter Mark Hindy (W&M) worked 5.1 innings, was touched for two hits, struck out five, and walked two and got the win to improve to 2-0.
A squad of New Market relief pitchers followed Hindy to keep Winchester off the scoreboard – Jacob Petersheim (CO State-Pueblo) in his inaugural Valley League appearance), Luke Drzemiecki (Goldey-Beacom), Austin Ritchie (Shepherd U.), Anthony Pass (W&J), and El Rico Riley (FL Southern).
The Rebels turned the offensive switch back to “on” in the seventh.
Riley opened the frame with single to left and stole second. Two outs later DH Luke Smith (W&M) drove Riley across the dish with a single to center.
New Market added an insurance run in the eighth. Safferwich drew a one-out walk. After the second out, Bullen drew a free pass and Riley drove in Safferwich with the Rebels’ third run.
The Royals offense came alive in the late innings. Winchester opened the seventh with a walk drawn by Danny Baez (Indian River), followed by David Stokely (UND) being hit by a pitch. Chad Ballenger (Alderson Broaddus) hit a single to shallow left field to load the bases.
Ritchie then struck out Evan Smith (WVU) and Jancarlos Colon (Del. St), and got Jack Hay (AL St.) to ground out to first, to quell the uprising.
Winchester made more noise in the eighth as Camden Jackson (NC A&T) opened the frame with a single to right. One out later Tyler Cox (Eckerd) hit a roller down the third base line that hugged the grass and dirt just to the right of the base line, then jumped over bag into foul ground and kept rolling for an eventual double, advancing Jackson to third.
The threat was quashed as Pass struck out Baez and got Stokely on a pop-out.
Riley made key contributions to the Rebels win at the plate and on the mound, going 3-for-4 in the batter’s box, with an RBI and a run scored. Riley’s first inning double was New Market’s only extra-base hit.
On the mound, Riley was the closer, working a three-out ninth, and should have been credited with his third save.
Smith was the only other Rebel with a multiple-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Royals’ lone multiple-hit performance was Cox’s 2-for-4 outing, including a double, Winchester’s only extra-base hit.
It was the Rebels’ second shutout of the season as they regained the .500 mark at 8-8. The Royals are now 10-7.
The win gives New Market a 2-0 edge in the four-game season series versus Winchester. Riley also got the save in game one of the series, a 5-3 Rebels win on June 9th.
June 24th
One day after shutting out the Winchester Royals, the New Market Rebels had seven shutout innings put on them, and scored their lone run on Cole Bullen’s (Central FL) fifth inning homerun, in the Purcellville Cannons’ 11-1, eight-inning mercy rule shortened win, Saturday night at Rebel Park. Chayce Bryant (Southeastern) started the game, Shohei Ohtani style, as DH and pitcher. Bryant put in two inconsequential innings on the mound and was 1-for-4 at the plate, the “one” being a two-RBI double in third.
Purcellville scored three in the third and sixth innings then busted the game open with a five-run eighth as they batted around, accumulating five runs on three hits, three walks and a hit batsman. Austin Eppley (Central FL) bashed an RBI double to center, plating Justin Acal (Pittsburgh) to start the scoring.
Keegan Knutson (San Jacinto North) earned an RBI (Eppley) when he was hit-by-pitch and Brandan Roney (FIU) drew an RBI walk, pushing Mikey Brinton (AR-Ft. Smith) across the dish. Tristan McAlister (Mt. St. Mary’s) wrapped up the scoring with a single, driving in Bryant and Knutson. The Cannons got big production from the 7th, 8th, and 9th slots in the order.
Knutson went 2-for-3 with 2 runs, Roney contributed 3-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run, and nine-hole batter McAlister contributed a 2-for-4 with 3 RBI outing, totaling 7-for-10, 7 RBI, and 3 runs for the bottom of the lineup.
Ryan Guida’s (FIU) 2-for-3, one run, was the Cannons’ only other multiple hit outing, and he raised his batting average to .442, in first-place tie with Gregory Melo (Tallahassee CC) of Covington. Purcellville reliever Austin King (San Jacinto North) worked 3 innings, yielding 3 hits, issued no walks and struck out 1, to earn the win (2-0).
Four of the Rebels’ five hits were for extra-bases – Bullen’s homer, and doubles by Bryce Suters (unc), Carlos Irizarry (Penn State-Harrisburg), and Sean Stewart (Calhoun CC).
New Market starter Matt Seibert (Millersville) worked 4.1 innings, gave up eight hits, five runs (all earned), walked four and struck out two. Seibert was charged with the loss, making his record 0-1. The Rebels turned two double plays, a conventional 5-3 (Bryce Safferwich (FL Southern) to Bullen) in the sixth, and Bullen, unassisted, in the seventh, with a nifty leap to glove McAllister’s line drive, then a swipe-tag of Roney off first.
The Cannons successfully executed two double steals, both by Knutson and Roney, in the second and fifth innings, where both scored in the three-run frame.
New Market dropped from a one-game visit to the .500 mark to be 8-9, in eighth place. Purcellville improved to 10-8, in a fourth place tie with Front Royal.
The Rebels continue to operate with a reduced roster of 28 players, while the Cannons have the maximum 35 on board.
■ Dennis Atwood
New Market Rebels 