Back-and-forth both teams went, but there wasn’t that one defining hit for either side. It was the little things, advancing base runners and then conversely, errors in the field that wound up deciding the outcomes. Thanks to a 4-run rally in the sixth and the relief efforts from Drew Shifflett and Alex Simmons, Albemarle was able to come back and hold on against Orange County, 7-5.
“I told the kids that I thought we were coming out flat and Orange, they jumped on us and played really well there,” said Albemarle coach Jimmy Bibb. “But I thought we battled. We weren’t quite patient enough at the plate but we got through. And Drew, he was outstanding (in relief). He’s done that two games in a row for us. And Alex just closed it out for us. He’s done it twice and he just knows how to pitch.”
The Hornets got on the board first in the second inning on a double from Jacob Slaughter and an RBI single from Logan Douglas.
Albemarle answered with two runs in the top of the third on a leadoff single from DG Archer and RBI singles from A.J. Willy and Richie Deloria and a pair of throwing errors that brought in Willy.
“This wasn’t a frustrating loss because of how hard we’ve worked to go from where we started to where we are today,” said Orange coach Joe Morabito. “We got a great effort on the mound. I see flashes of us being really good.”
Orange responded with a big rally in the bottom of the third. A leadoff single from Lonnie Dillard. Cameron Ricket then reached bases on an error to score Dillard. Ryan Hutchinson followed up with the biggest hit of the evening, an RBI triple to the gap in Porterfield Park’s endless center field. Back-to-back RBI singles from Slaughter and Wyatt Ferguson made it 5-2 in Orange’s favor.
Things quieted down from there with Shifflett stepping on the mound for Albemarle and retiring the next 10 Orange batters he faced.
“I was really trusting of my curveball,” Shifflett said. “At the end I was having a little trouble hitting my spots, but overall I thought I was pretty good there.”
Offensively, the Patriots tacked on a run in the top of the fourth when Joe Burris picked up a bases loaded walk with two outs. Then in the fifth Albemarle put together its comeback with an error and two walks. With two outs, DG Archer was able to bring home Deloria and Shifflett when he reached base on an error.
“We just felt confident at the plate, that we could really do something in that inning,” Archer said. “It was a team effort and we just hit the ball to put it in play. We didn’t get worried that we were down. We always know that we can comeback.”
An RBI single from Jason Pittman made it 6-5 in Albemarle’s favor and another throwing error that scored Archer gave the Patriots added insurance.
“What it comes down to is we just have to make the play,” Morabito said. “We got ground ball and kicked it, got another and kicked that. We just have to make those plays now. If we make them, we win. But it’s all coming together.”
Orange loaded the bases in the sixth but Simmons stepped in on the mound to get Albemarle out of the jam with an infield fly. In the seventh, Simmons retired the side to earn the save.
On the night Archer was 2-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI. Pittman was 1 for 3 with an RBI. Burris went 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI. Willy and Deloria finished 1 for 4 and 1 for 3 respectively, both scoring a run. Dwayne Wood was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
For Orange, Dillard was 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Hutchinson was 1 for 4 with an RBI. Slaughter went 2 for 4 with a double and a run and RBI. Douglas finished 1 for 3 with an RBI.
Albemarle (6-1) has spring break and jumps back into action April 9th against Brooke Point.
Orange (0-8) is also on break until April 9th when it heads to Louisa County.
