That Zach Crawford was able to last as long as he did after the first two innings in many ways is a microcosm and testament to the resiliency of Fluvanna County this season — the Flucos may take their licks, but they usually bounce back and often find ways to dig themselves out of the holes they’ve dug.
A 7-run hole was too much though. Starting pitcher Tyler Moneymaker took advantage of two very big hits from teammates Derek Knight and Jhalil Mosley to earn a complete game victory for Monticello in the Jefferson District semifinals. And after holding off a late surge from the Flucos, the Mustangs walked away with the 7-5 win and are headed back to the Region II tournament for the first time in five years.
“I’ve been there and I told the guys, you have to experience the road trip to northern Virginia for the playoffs, it’s a whole different season,” said Monticello coach Pete O’Malley. “I got to be there as a coach when (former Monticello and UVA star) Cory Hunt took his team to the state tournament, but you can’t look ahead like that with a young team. For us it’s just been about let’s get to the regional playoffs. It’s been a great season so far and we’ve won a lot of close games and been able to come out on top a lot. That’s made the difference for us. The kids are growing up because of that.”
It was about as good a start as the Mustangs could have asked for. With one out, a walk and two singles from Josh Malm and Moneymaker set the table with the bases loaded for Derek Knight. The senior 5-hitter came up with a huge triple that was nearly snagged by Fluvanna’s outfield, but instead it rolled deep into the outfield to allow all three runners to get home.
“Coach told me to get my pitch,” Knight said. “He said drive it anywhere but get these runs in. I picked it up out of (Crawford’s) hands — outside fastball — and took it to right center.”
An error and an RBI single from Jacob Livengood pushed Monticello out to the 5-0 start.
“All you have to do is throw strikes because it’s the biggest help getting a lead like that,” Moneymaker said. “You can just pitch your game.”
After retiring the side in the bottom of the first, Moneymaker got more runs to work with in the top of the second thanks to a 2-run triple from Mosley. That would be it for the Monticello offense, but it was enough.
“I was able to locate my fastball really well,” Moneymaker said. “In the third inning, a runner gets on base and I didn’t feel comfortable but was able to get through it. My curveball wasn’t really working, my changeup was okay, it was my fastball tonight, two seam and four seam, just changing my spots. That worked pretty much the whole game.”
Fluvanna only got to Moneymaker twice, during the third and seventh innings. In the third the Flucos got a 2-run single from Brock Harris with two outs followed by an error in the next at bat that allowed Harris to score to make a 4-run game.
In the bottom of the seventh, a lead off single from Harris gave Fluvanna something to work with. A walk and 2-run double from Nolan Radcliff with two outs cut the deficit to a pair of runs, but a line drive to third ended the game before the Flucos could do any further damage.
“We tell the kids that baseball is a game of outs,” O’Malley said. “We tell the kids that with a 5-0 lead, get those outs. It’s a game to 21 and the first one to 21 wins. You’re going to have one big inning against you in the game, you just have to minimize any way you can.”
Harris for Fluvanna and Josh Malm were the only players with mutilple hits. Harris was 2 for 3 while Malm was 3 for 4.
Monticello will face Monroe in the Jefferson District title game in Orange on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
“We just dug ourselves in too big of a whole but we had our chances, we had a baserunner every inning,” said Fluvanna coach Mike Sheridan. “We just didn’t come out and take care of our business, but hat’s off to them for coming out being ready to play.”
Fluvanna still has a chance at a Region II bid as they face Western Albemarle in the consolation game. It’s the second time in three years the two teams have faced each other with a Region II tournament berth on the line, something that is both frustrating and comical to Sheridan.
“It wouldn’t be normal unless we were playing Western for a play in game,” Sheridan said. “(Western coach) Skip Hudgins and I were joking about that the other day. We’ve been in this district for eight years and I think he and I have had play in games six times.”
Sheridan was particularly happy with the way Crawford got himself back together after the first two innings to keep him from piling up the innings on his other pitchers. T.J. Dudley did not have to come into the game until the sixth inning.
“I thought Tyler Moneymaker pitched well but I was very proud of Zach Crawford,” Sheridan said. “He came out there and gave up five runs early and came back and ate up innings, kept us fresh for our other pitchers for Thursday.”
That game will be played at 5 p.m. before the title game.
