In a lot of sports and in a lot of games, statistics can often be misleading. When the numbers are on paper its easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Baseball, though, has always been dominated by statistics – in fact how many other sport’s followings take the time to keep score the way baseball fans do? This isn’t one of those sports where the box score doesn’t manage to always tell the story. When you break down the game between Covenant and Blue Ridge over the weekend, the stats did not lie.
The Eagles offense has been rolling as of late, and against the Barons, the single biggest factor was that the Covenant lineup got runners on base with one out or less in five of six innings they took bat.
Interestingly enough, eight of the eleven runs scored by the Eagles in that contest came from runners you got on base by balls. And of those eight runs scored by runners who were walked, five of them were came from someone batter sixth or lower in the lineup.
“We try to get on anyway possible,” Ethan Taylor said of the walk bonanza. “We like to be patient. Unless it’s a good pitch on 2-0, we’re not going to swing.”
So it wasn’t exactly rocket science how Covenant won this game. The bottom four of their order had an onbase percentage of .666 and the top of the order, led by Jesse Getchel and Taylor, was clutch as they accounted for six of the 11 runs scored.
It’s was a simple lesson in offense that has been true for as long as the game’s been around: when the bottom of your order gets on base, you’re in business.
Burke comes on strong
Want to know a big reason Woodberry Forest has run off six straight wins since dropping their season opener to St. Albans?
Try senior Griffin Burke.
The attackman has been electric of late and leads the Tigers in scoring, most recently pouring in six goals against Fork Union Military Academy in a 19-1 win Saturday. He also had three goals and an assist against Norfolk Academy in the Tigers’ critical win last week.
Burke is a talented finisher for the Tigers and in concert with Hatcher Williams, a gritty senior adept at setting up his teammates, he forms a tough one-two punch on attack. He is a versatile athlete with the ability to attack from up top or from behind, and he has some obvious savvy around the crease.
If Burke can continue his current tear, Woodberry will have a chance to keep its current run going. After a game against Trinity Episcopal Tuesday, matchups with Collegiate and archrival Episcopal loom.
