Headlines

Crooked numbers: Goochland baseball goes off in fourth to win Region 2A championship

Goochland baseball was in a hole. After plating a runner in the first three innings, the Bulldogs went into the bottom of the fourth down by three. A 7-run rally in that fourth turned the game upside down. With 10 hits spaced between six walks and and three Maggie Walker errors, Goochland won the Region 2A championship 10-7 to earn a home game in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

 

Walker Murray led off the bottom of the first with a double and that led to a sacrifice fly from Wyatt Murray, the first of three RBI for the latter. The elder Murray was just four days removed from a complete game shutout over Poquoson, had a solid day but this time at the plate to make it 1-0. An RBI double from Cole Nuckols in the second made it 2-0.

 

But Maggie Walker rallied for four runs in the top of the third to go up 4-2 with a solo homer from Cole Ragone, RBI singles from Matthew Hanes and Zack Adele and an RBI double from Zach Hayes. Goochland cut it to 4-3 in the bottom of the third with Tyler Gentry coming up with an RBI single. But two hits, a fielder’s choice and a walk set up trouble in the top of the fourth. A passed ball scored a run and then an RBI single from Jackson Downs gave the Green Dragons a 5-3 lead.

 

Goochland’s big inning in the bottom of the fourth though happened quickly. A leadoff walk and single with no outs set the table for the spree. Wyatt Murray then came up with an RBI single. Then too did Tyler Ott. Then two more singles. Austin Rose made it 8-6 for the Bulldogs reaching on an error. Joey Ramsbottom delivered an RBI double and and then John King did the same to put the damage at 10-6.

 

Then it got quiet. Both teams settled in on the mound and defensively. Maggie Walker tried to rally in the seventh back-to-back singles with no outs. An error allowed the Green Dragons to make it 10-7, but a groundout and then game ending strike out from Bulldogs pitcher Jackson Raines earned the save and clinched the region title.

 

The Bulldogs will host Stuarts Draft in the Class 2A quarterfinals. This is the third straight year that Goochland has made the state tournament.

Comments

comments