By John Shifflett / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Fluvanna County’s baseball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the postseason.
Senior Ryan Foster threw a no-hitter and the Flucos made short work of Monticello, beating the Mustangs 10-0 in the Jefferson District quarterfinals. The game was called after five innings under the slaughter rule.
“Ryan went out there and proved his mettle,” said Fluvanna skipper Mike Sheridan. “He was pretty good.”
Was he ever.
Foster struck out five, walked none and retired all but one Monticello batter he faced, a near mirror performance of his no-hitter earlier this season against the Mustangs. The only Monticello player to reach base did so by way of an error. Foster’s defense did a solid job backing him up. The infield registered no errors on seven groundouts while the outfield play was highlighted by a spectacular warning-track catch from Christian Hackenberg in left field.
“He painted the zone well,” said Monticello coach Neil Schaffner of Foster. “We hit a couple of balls. We executed the game plan. We just couldn’t find any holes.”
Foster got plenty of run support as well. The Flucos racked up nine hits and got RBIs from five different batters. Tyler Denby led the way for Fluvanna, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. Fluvanna also got a pair of RBIs from T.J. Dudley.
“We have been swinging good,” Sheridan said. “We have been patient and we have been hitting good pitches.”
After three tightly contested innings, Fluvanna took control in the fourth inning. Leading 3-0, the Flucos started the inning with a stand-up double from Josh Barringer and took off from there, batting around while scoring six runs to take a 9-0 lead. After Foster made quick work of the Mustangs in the top of the fifth inning, the Flucos got their first two batters on base and ended the game with an RBI single from Denby.
The loss concludes the season for Monticello, which finished with a 6-14 record.
For Fluvanna, a date with Western Albemarle — just like it was last year — in the Jefferson District semifinals at Charlottesville High that awaits. The Warriors defeated Goochland 4-3 in their quarterfinal matchup. Western and Fluvanna split their two regular-season games with the Warriors winning 3-1 in Palmyra and the Flucos winning 5-4 in Crozet.
