In a rematch between the Jefferson District’s top two teams that was just four days after their initial duel, the Fluvanna County Flying Flucos claimed a 7-3 win at Goochland, handing them just their third loss of the season.
It was a response to a 7-1 victory from the Bulldogs over the Flying Flucos on their home field the week prior, and the standings at the top see Fluvanna in first with a 13-5 record and Goochland in second at 14-3.
After their loss, the Bulldogs had their own impressive response later in the week, bouncing back with a 6-3 win over Albemarle on May 5 and a 9-6 win over Louisa County two days later. The win over Louisa closes out a regular season sweep over the Lions, while the Bulldogs will have one more chance to face off against Albemarle on May 21 to finish out the regular season.
Freshman Logan Everett pitched six innings in the Albemarle game, earning the win with six strikeouts and two hits allowed, while senior Caelan Ray closed out the game for the final two at-bats.
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The game opened with each team scoring two runs entering the second inning, with Goochland scoring on a bases loaded walk on Chase Hicks and on a pitch that hit Jackson Barber. After Albemarle took a 3-2 lead into the fourth inning, they’d be held scoreless for the next four offensive appearances, while the Bulldogs scored four in the bottom of the sixth to capture the lead.
Their sixth-inning scoring spurt started with a game-tying steal from Bohdan Pisko, who took advantage of an Albemarle error at first base. Another error, this time in the pitching department, gave Goochland the lead, when Sam Farkas made his way home off a wild pitch. Hicks then brought Charlie Harrington home, drilling a grounder to left field for a 5-3 lead, while Robert Pearles scored to make it 6-3 on a Barber single, which again was aided by another costly Patriots error.
In another close contest versus Louisa County, Pisko got the win on the hill with a four-inning appearance where he struck out five batters. Ray also closed the final two innings during the win, and Josh Kempf appeared for an additional inning.
After two scoreless innings to start, the scoring floodgates began to break in the third, first with Louisa taking the lead on a wild pitch. By the start of the fourth inning’s bottom frame, the Bulldogs trailed 3-0, but quickly wiped that deficit away with an explosive 8-run inning.
It started with Jackson Bell scoring on a full-count walk to get Goochland on the board, then a Barber sacrifice fly to get Hicks home. In a flash, the Bulldogs were then in front, taking the lead with a two-run RBI double from Pisko, who connected on the second pitch and sent it down the right side of the field.
Pisko later made it 6-3, scoring on a wild pitch, while another bases-loaded walk got Farkas home. To cap things off, Harrington made the advantageous move of running home on another wild pitch, leaving the Lions battered by an exhaustingly long fourth inning.
Louisa was able to cut into the deficit with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, but the Bulldogs added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, when Bell homered on a 1-1 count, blasting the shot down left field for a 9-5 Goochland advantage. Louisa County scored once in the seventh off an error to close the gap to three runs, but Ray quickly finished the job on the next at-bat, ending the game on a strikeout.
Goochland has one game this week, when the Bulldogs host Orange County on Thursday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m.
