Playing ‘small ball’ was something Hampton Roads Academy baseball coach Tommy Yevak was hoping to avoid.
It turned out being the spark that led his Navigators to a 9-1 victory over host Walsingham in the Tidewater Conference opener for both teams.
On a freezing cold afternoon – at least what felt like one when wind blew and looked it with the occasional snowflake – a gutsy effort on the mound from Walsingham eighth-grader Ryan Gallacio was making things no easier for HRA’s hitters.
So, in the top of the third inning of a 0-0 ball game that had produced zero offense, Yevak chose to put pressure on a young Trojans defense by playing ‘small ball,’ or the attempt to manufacture runs by virtue of bunts, hit-and-runs and aggressive base running.
What transpired was a combination of efficient offensive execution by the Navigators, who scored three runs without hitting the ball out of the infield, and poor defense from Walsingham, which committed three errors before getting an out, as HRA batted around for six runs in the frame to take the lead for good.
“He’s a crafty kid who keeps you off balance,” Yevak said of Gallacio, who was perfect through the first two innings. “We went to the small ball to try and get some people on base. We finally were able to get some bunts down and execute our offensive calls which hadn’t done yet.”
After Bruce Jackson was hit by a pitch to open the third, HRA’s next three batters all reached base on bunt attempts – two of which were perfectly placed for a single while the other reached on an error.
Chandler Davis’ bunt down the third-base line drew an errant throw from Walsingham third baseman Alex Brondyke, which allowed Jackson to score from second after advancing on Andrew Kipper’s bunt single.
Roger Todero followed Davis with a third-straight bunt attempt and reached safely on the Trojans’ second error of the frame, which also permitted a second straight unearned run to waltz home as HRA (2-2, 1-0 TCIS) took a 3-0 lead.
“We’re a young team, so we’re going to make some mistakes,” Walsingham coach Ian Heisel said. “But like I told the kids, we’re probably going to be the youngest team out of anyone we face, and if we don’t execute the easy plays, it’s going to show on the scoreboard like it did today.”
The Trojans (1-1, 0-1 TCIS) would settle down in the field, but by that time, HRA’s hitters had already warmed up.
Henry Hill (1-3) and Tyler Rose (1-2) delivered back-to-back RBI singles as the Navigators’ lead grew to 4-0. Hill would later score on Walsingham’s third error of the frame before Kipper, batting for the second time in the inning, drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home Rose to make the score 6-0.
Given the way ace pitcher Drew Moyer, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound sophomore, was working on the mound, HRA needed just a bit of that run production.
Moyer, a Division I prospect, struck out five batters without allowing a hit before being relieved in the fifth with the Navigators ahead comfortably, 7-0, after Hill drove in Bruce Reid with his second RBI in as many innings.
“We got very good pitching today,” Yevak added. “[Moyer] was very sharp, and then we got some good efforts from the guys who came on in relief.”
Christian Rivera came on in the fifth and continued HRA’s no-hit bid before Walsingham’s bats finally woke up in the sixth.
Brondyke recorded the Trojans’ first base hit of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth with a line drive up the middle. J.J. Burns then lifted one to the deep right-center gap, but Reid made a nice play in center to corral the long fly.
Walsingham pushed across its only run in the bottom of the seventh after Luke Lejeune led off with a double to deep left that bounced off the fence and later scored on an RBI base hit by Tyler Rowe.
“I was glad to see our guys show some toughness,” Heisel said. “As bad as things had gone, they could have folded. But we came out and hit the ball hard the last couple innings.”
Hampton Roads Academy 9 Walsingham Academy 1
HRA- 006;102;0 – 9 10 2
WA- 000;000;001 – 1 4 5
WP: Moyer 4 IP, 0 H, BB, 5 SO
LP: Gallacio
HRA (2-2, 1-0 TCIS)- Hill 1-3 (2 runs, 2 RBI) Reid 2-5 (2B, 2 runs, 2 SB), Rose 1-2 (run, RBI)
Walsingham (1-1, 0-1 TCIS)- L. Lejeune 1-3 (2B, run), Rowe 1-1 (RBI), Brondyke 1-3
