The past two years, the Goochland baseball team has gotten knocked out of the the first round of the Region 2A East tournament. This year, the senior-laden Bulldogs were bound and determined not to let it happen again.
To that end, Coleman Duty tossed a complete-game shutout and Goochland got timely hits, including a two-run home run from Tanner Bradshaw, as it dispatched Nandua 4-0 on Monday in a game that lasted a mere hour and 10 minutes.
The Bulldogs, the Conference 34 champions, advance to the region semifinals and will face Strasburg, a winner over East Rockingham.
“We got over the hump so this was good,” Goochland coach Wes Farkas said. “This year we have a lot of seasoned, veteran guys. They’ve been around for a while and are very consistent over the past three or four years they’ve played with me. I feel like they’ve pulled together and the leadership has stepped up.”
One of those senior leaders was Duty, who was efficient throughout, scattering three hits and recording six strikeouts to earn the win. After giving up a hit to start the game, the right-hander retired six straight batters.
“All my pitches were finally clicking together, and once all three of them start working, it’s really easy to keep batters off-balance,” Duty said. “I’m really glad they were on today.”
Leadoff batter John King got a single to start things off for the Bulldogs, then stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Harcum. King scored on an infield error to give Goochland a 1-0 lead after one inning.
The Bulldogs (19-3) got back-to-back singles from Noah Doczi and Jeb Anderson in the second, but were stranded as the Warriors’ starter, Evan McGregor, struck out the bottom of the order.
Scott Carter’s RBI bloop single into right-center scored King for the second time in the third.
The Warriors’ Michael McCluskey opened the fourth with a triple into left field, but got caught in a rundown at home plate as King threw it to Stephen Roberts for the out to end the inning.
Duty and the Goochland defense were perfect the rest of the way and didn’t allow another baserunner with 12 straight putouts.
“They got key hits when they needed it, and we didn’t get any key hits,” Nandua coach Luke Brankley said. “[Duty] threw a good fastball, a good change and threw his change for a strike. We just couldn’t get a key hit off of it and when we did it was right at them.”
Bradshaw, a 6-2, 220-pound junior, provided the icing on the cake for the Bulldogs with a two-run homer that cleared the left field wall at 340 feet in the sixth.
“Two extra runs on top of two you already have can really make you relax,” Duty added. “When you’re playing a close game it’s really stressful up there, but when you have a good cushion it’s easy to relax yourself and get in the groove. I’m happy with how we’re playing right now — we’re doing everything right.”
The win was particularly sweet for Goochland, which was ousted in the postseason two years ago by Nandua off a walk-off home run.
“I’m really pleased because the last two years we came really close,” said Bradshaw, a first baseman and pitcher. “It’s a big step to go farther than this game.”
Goochland travels to Strasburg on Wednesday for a semifinal game at 7 p.m. and a chance to earn a berth in the state tournament.
