Although the Lafayette Rams baseball team defeated Warhill twice in the regular season with a combined score of 14-1, Coach Rick Schenk said he knew his No. 1-seeded team was in for a “dog fight” against the Lions in the first round of the 3A Colonial Conference 25 tournament.
A four-run second inning capped by senior Mark Rivera’s two-run double gave Lafayette an early lead, but the Lions chipped away and came within a few feet of tying the game in the sixth inning before ending their season with a 5-4 loss.
After Lucas Rice plated Hayden Johnson with a base knock in the top of the sixth to bring Warhill’s deficit to one with two outs, Rice broke for second a few pitches later in hopes of drawing a throw that would allow Cheyne Elliot to score the tying run from third. Rice succeeded, but Rams’ second baseman Brandon Villanueva-Pernell alertly threw home to catcher Matt Keane, who effectively blocked the plate in time to nab Elliot.
“We knew they weren’t going to give up,” Schenk said. “They fought the whole way as we expected them to. It was a great game. Things got a little shaky there at the end, but we got the win. That’s all that matters.”
Warhill got on the board first in the second inning after Jordan Hackney, who led off with a single, scored on a passed ball.
The Rams (16-3) responded with the decisive four-run frame in the bottom of the second that was sparked by Solomon McCray’s single and stolen base.
Warhill got one back in the third thanks to Pat Daly’s RBI base hit and another in the fourth after pinch hitter Luke Bruce laced an RBI double to the outfield gap to make it a 4-3 game.
Outside of Lafayette’s four-run second inning, Lions starter Blake Otey was effective in working hitters deep into counts. The only other time Lafayette hitters got to him was in the bottom of the fourth when Brendan McGinty lined a ball to center that got past Warhill’s diving center fielder for an inside the park home run.
That run proved critical as Warhill put together a rally in the sixth inning. After starter Luc Lipcius, who gave up three runs over five innings, issued his fifth and sixth walk of the afternoon to start the frame, Lafayette brought in ace Daniel Blankinship.
Blankinship struck out the first batter he faced and then nearly got out of the inning unscathed with a ground ball up the middle, but Rice foiled the double-play attempt by beating out the throw to first that allowed Johnson to score. Warhill’s rally fell just short though after the double-steal attempt was snuffed out by Lafayette.
Blankinship needed less than 10 pitches to get the final three outs in the top of the seventh.
“We knew Daniel was going to come in and pound the strike zone,” Schenk said of his senior ace. “He’s the guy you want with the ball in his hands in that type of situation. ”
Warhill Coach Joe Henzel, who announced last week he was stepping down at the end of the season, said he could not have asked for more fight from his team.
“We came in as the No. 8 seed playing the No. 1, and after we got down early a lot of people probably thought we were going to roll over and play dead,” Henzel said. “For them to go out there and give it their all behind their senior pitcher, you have to tip your hats to them.”
With the win, Lafayette advances to play No. 5 New Kent, which defeated No. 4 Southampton 6-4 in another quarterfinal, in Wednesday’s semifinals at 4 p.m. at York High.
Lafayette 5 Warhill 4
Warhill- 011;101;0 – 4 5 1
Lafayette- 040;010;x – 5 7 1
WP: L. Lipcius
LP: Otey
Warhill- Hackney 1-3 (run), Otey 0-1 (2 BB, run), Daly 1-3 (RBI), Bruce 1-1 (2B, RBI)
Lafayette- Rivera 1-3 (2B, 2 RBI), McGinty 2-2 (2B, HR, RBI, 2 runs), Howard 2-3 (RBI), McCray 1-3 (run, SB)
York’s Late Rally Comes up Short against Park View
York High had its season end with a 3-2 loss against No. 2 Park View in the 3A Colonial Conference quarterfinals Monday.
Gabe Simmons gave up just six hits over six innings for the No. 7 seeded Falcons, but Coach Rusty Ingram said his club left “too many” runners on base in support of its starter.
York trailed 3-0 heading into its final at bat when Hunter Collins and Nick Avis led off with back-to-back base hits. They would both later score on a ground ball to third that drew an errant throw to first two outs to trim their deficit to 3-2.
The Falcons stranded a runner on second, though, as the next batter struck out to end the game.
Park View earned a spot in Wednesday’s semifinals with the win. They will play the winner of No. 3 Colonial Heights vs. No. 6 Poquoson at 7 p.m. at York High.
Wednesday’s semifinals- @ York High School
No. 1 Lafayette vs. No. 5 New Kent, 4 p.m.
No. 2 Park View vs. No. 6 Poquoson, 7 p.m.
