Bulldogs Grab 100th Win, Secure Regional Berth
The Stone Bridge Bulldogs (15-6, 10-4) and the Woodson Cavaliers (6-14, 3-11) had a game for the ages in Ashburn tonight. The Bulldogs were down a run and had one out left when they staged an improbable rally to defeat the Cavs 4-3 on a walk off double by Soph DH Johnny Bladel. Head Coach Sam Plank had Jr RHP Ty Weaver on the hill, while Head Coach Chris Warren countered with Jr RHP Greg Whitaker.
Weaver got off to a rocky start. LF Jacob Morley led off with a single. Nick Herbst then walked on four straight pitches. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and things weren't looking too good for Stone Bridge. The Cavs were able to score two runs on groundouts to Jr SS Mike Stancik. Max Waizenegger gounded out to Jr 2B Collin Pearson to end the inning. After Pearson grounded out and Soph LF Michael Prince popped out, Stancik worked a full count walk. With Jr CF Jeron Gouveia at the plate, Stancik was able to move all the way to third on two wild pitches. Gouveia eventually walked on four pitches. With Bladel at the plate, Gouveia stole second. But Bladel flew out to right to end the threat.
Wevaer settled down nicely in the second, retiring the Cavaliers in order on groundouts to Stancik and Pearson, and a popout to Pearson. Stone Bridge had an opportunity in the bottom of the frame fall to the wayside. Jr C Brian Wheaton led off with a sharp single to center. He moved to second on a wild pitch. With Jr RF Matt Irwin batting, Wheaton broke towards third as Irwin attempted a bunt. Unfortunately, he popped it up and Whitaker made a great play diving for the ball and doubling Wheaton off of second. With two outs, Jr 3B Tyler Basso drove a ball to the left center gap for a double. What looked like a promising innning ended with a whimper as Soph 1B Patrick Thompson bounced out to Whitaker to end the inning.
Weaver retired Woodson in order again, with Stancik making two nice plays and Pearson flagging down a ground ball for an out. Prince then picked up a out out single. But after a flyout to center by Stancik, Gouveia grounded into a fielder's choice as Pince was forced at second.
In the fourth, Woodson picked up another run as Jackson Clement and Kevin Dec hit back to back doubles. With Dec on second and no outs, Weaver got a huge strikeout of Waizenegger. He then got groundouts to Basso and Pearson to end the inning. The Bulldogs were finally able to break through in the bottom of the fourth. Bladel led off with a sharp single to right. After Wheaton lined out to center, Irwin was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch moved them to second and third. Basso came through, lining a double to the left center gap, scoring Bladel and Irwin. But Thompson and Pearson flew out to center to end the inning.
In the fifth, with two outs, Morley picked up his second single of the night. But he was stranded this time as Herbst grounded out to Basso. In the bottom of the fifth, Gouveia singled through the hole with two outs. But Bladel hit a ball to short. The flip to Herbst at second was dropped and it looked like all runners were safe. However, Gouveia went into second awkwardly. As he got up, he stepped off the bag and Herbst tagged him out, ending the inning.
Weaver was dominating in the sixth. He got Clement on a called third strike, got Dec to flyout out to center and got Waizenegger looking on a called third strike as well. Time was starting to run out on Stone Bridge. Things looked good in the bottom of the inning. Wheaton led off with a single through the hole. Irwin then singled as well. Coach Warren decided to make a pitching change, putting Herbst on the hill. Basso came up bunting and popped up to Herbst. Wheaton and Irwin were moving and Wheaton was doubled off of second. Thompson K'd to end the inning.
Weaver battled through the seventh and it looked like he might be a hard luck loser. In the top of the inning, he got a groudout to Pearson and a strikeout. He then walked PH Jack Dunn. But he finished off the Cavs in the seventh, inducing a Dylan Robeson popout to Pearson. Pearson led off the bottom of the seventh. He smoked a ball to left that was caught by Morley. Prince came up and stroked a Herbst pitch to center, but Waizenegger made the catch. With two outs, Stancik stepped to the plate. He ripped an 0-1 pitch down the right field line. He made it second, thought about trying for third but wisely stopped. Gouveia came up. He blooped an 0-1 pitch down the left field line that looked like Morley was going to catch for the third out. But Morley abruptly stopped about 15 feet from the ball, throwing his hands in the air as he lost the ball in the lights. The ball dropped within a couple of feet of the foul line, as Stancik scored the tying run and Gouveia was on second. Bladel came to the plate. With an 0-2 count, Bladel ripped a double to center field, scoring the winning run in the person of Gouveia, as the Bulldogs picked up an improbable win!
The game was special for Stone Bridge for multiple reasons. The win propelled them to the Liberty district semi-finals on Friday night. They will be facing the #2 seed Langley Saxons. They have split the season series with Langley, defeating them on April 13, in a 4-3 thriller. The Saxons easily handled the Bulldogs on May 8, 9-5 securing the second seed in the tournament. In addition, tonight's win secured the second consecutive Northern Region tournament berth for the Bulldogs. But what was most special about the win is that it was the 100th win for both Head Coach Sam Plank and the Stone Bridge baseball program. The Bulldogs were able to reach 100 wins in less than seven years. Several former Bulldog players were in attendence, along with the initial JV coach Matt Oblas as the JV team has also picked up 100 wins this season.
Congratulations to Coach Plank and the Bulldogs!
