Mark's Homer Ices 9-6 Bruin Win Over Chantilly
ARLINGTON, VA - Lake Braddock took home the Northern Region championship on Friday night, after winning 9-6 over Chantilly. The Bruins won their 19th straight game with a little help from the Chargers and some outstanding pitching by Ryan Lindemuth.
Chantilly scored first to take a 1-0 lead but the Bruins fought back as Jim Buckley hit a single that brought home two Bruin base runners to give Lake Braddock a 2-1 lead. The next few innings proved to be much more intense for both teams.
All together there were five home runs hit in the game with Chantilly's Keith Morrisroe, Brian King, and Chris Yates all going yard for the Chargers. Lake Braddock also dialed long distance with blasts from Shannon Mark and Ryan Buck.
In the fifth inning, Lake Braddock caught the break they needed to capture the regional crown. With 2 outs, Chantilly's pitcher Jordan Johnson loaded the bases with the Chargers holding onto a 6-4 advantage. The next batter was Lake Braddock's Shane Halley, who hit a pop up within the infield that skyrocketed right to second baseman Roger Strittmatter. The stadium lights blinded the normal routine pop fly and Strittmatter couldn't make the third out. The error resulted in three runs scoring for the Bruins, giving them a 7-6 lead. Normally, an Infield Fly rule would have come into play, however due to the play occurring with two outs, the pop fly was playable.
After the game, Chantilly's Joe Danehower sympathized with Strittmatter and said he had also had trouble with the lights during the game. "I lost the ball myself in the lights," Danehower said. "I had no idea where it was going to land."
If that mistake hadn't deflated the Chargers enough, all of the air went out of Chantilly's when Shannon Mark hit the next pitcher over the wall for a 2-run home run. Mark's blast gave Lake Braddock a commanding 9-6 lead.
Lindemuth stepped up to the mound in the sixth inning and sealed the game with his dominant pitching, as he struck out the side for Chantilly. He struggled in the seventh, giving up two singles, and also hitting Chantilly's outfielder Pat Moore with a pitch on his helmet.
However, Lindemuth regrouped and finished the seventh inning to save the win for Lake Braddock, and clinching the Northern Region Championship. The Bruins will host the State Quarterfinal game on Tuesday and Chantilly will travel to play Bethel at ODU's campus. Game times for both contests will be determined over the weekend.
