With the season and a Region 3A East bid on the line, William Monroe came into the Conference 28 semifinals with Culpeper with a fully rested pitching staff by virtue of being the top team in the bracket and earning the first round bye that comes with that title. The Dragons did not waste the time off. While Monroe’s Cody Spencer and Culpeper’s Bradley Martin had a solid pitching duel to start, in the bottom of the fifth inning Dylan Shifflett helped to break the game open and pave the way for a 4-1 win and a spot in the C28 championship game.
“Their pitching kept us off balance there early using the curveball and I thought we were a little impatient (on offense) early in the game,” said Monroe coach Mike Maynard. “The game plan was to run up the pitch count and see if we could draw some walks, play some hit and run. We struggled early, but the top of the order did a great job of getting on and then (Dylan) delivered us the big hit. Cody threw just a great game. His curveball control was great. He probably threw more than usual, but the big thing for us is that he’s going to be able to pitch again (in the Region 3A East tournament).”
Monroe jumped on Culpeper in the bottom of the first inning. Anthony Pritchett was hit by a pitch to lead off. Following a wild pitch, R.J. Payne singled and brought Pritchett in to make it 1-0, where the game stood until the top of the fifth inning.
Spencer and Martin went back and forth on the mound. The Culpeper ace got out of a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the third and then also got out of another jam with a runner in scoring position with one out in the fourth. Spencer, on the other hand, left a runner stranded on second in the first, and a runner on third in the second. Culpeper got a pair of runners in scoring position in the fourth but couldn’t get either across the plate as Spencer ended the threat with one of his nine strikeouts. The senior had four different innings end in strikeouts with three of the four coming with runners on second or third.
“We did a scouting report before hand and a lot of their kids hit fastballs pretty good,” Spencer said. “The main thing was getting them off-balance with the curveball to get them with the fastball. We really tried to get them off-guard and then come back and blow one by them.”
Culpeper tied the game in the top of the fifth. Tyler Short started it with a single with one out. After a stolen base and wild pitch, Short put himself on third base. Spencer got a strikeout in the next at-bat, but a Jake Dudley RBI single after that knotted the game at 1-1.
Monroe wasted little time responding. After flirting with a breakout out inning the previous two trips to the plate, in the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons were able to get Martin off the mound after back-to-back walks to Pritchett and Payne. Then facing reliever Hunter Crim, Shifflet came to the plate and delivered a 2-run double to make it 3-1.
“I was just looking for the right pitch to score runs — I actually thought about bunting at one point,” Shifflett said. “The pitches were a bit slower (than before) so I had to wait back a bit and then got my pitch and hit it. It felt good.”
With Braydon Collier reaching on an error, the Monroe plated Shifflett and had the 4-1 lead that was more than enough for their starting pitcher to work with.
“We came in with the right intensity to win this game,” Spencer said. “A lot of us didn’t have to be at school until about noon and as soon as we got to the field we worked on it, got our hitting in and just started working, warming up. For the senior class, getting through (this round) means a lot. We can’t go through Greene County without people talking to us about it. It’s huge when you live in a small county like this. We’re not just doing this for us.”
Spencer earned the complete game victory and struck nine batters while giving up just five hits and no walks. And thanks to his seven innings of work, the Dragons have both Payne and Spencer Eldridge on full rest available to pitch.
Monroe (17-3) has now won nine games in a row and 13 of their last 14. And 13 of their 17 wins have been by three runs or more.
The Dragons will face Brentsville in the Conference 28 championship game on Thursday. Monroe has a Region 3A East bid thanks to the semfinal win, but a victory in the C28 title game would give them a home game in next week’s tournament.
