Legion juniors fall, seniors win

The first game of Sunday’s American Legion Baseball double-header proved to be anything but a pitchers’ duel as Orange’s junior team fell to visiting Albemarle Post 74 by the score of 16-10.
Albemarle charged out of the gate, putting four runs on the board before the game was 20 minutes old.  Orange responded however with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-3.
Albemarle extended their lead to 7-4; but Orange took advantage of a series of costly errors, and closed the gap to one in the third.  They continued their thrust in the fourth, as Orange took their first lead of the game thanks to poor pitching and a clutch two run double by center fielder Brandon Twigg.  Albemarle allowed four runs in the fourth, and fell behind 10-8.
Albemarle answered however with an offensive explosion of their own, as they put up a six-spot in the fifth to move the score to 14-10.
Although Orange had several baserunners in the final innings, they were unable to capitalize; while Albemarle tacked on two more runs in the sixth to pad their lead and end the game. 
Twigg knocked in three runs and added a stolen base in a losing effort for Orange.  The junior boys will not play again until Monday when they travel to Waynesboro to take on Post 15.
As shadows swept over Porterfield Park, the senior league team took the field looking for their first win after falling to rival Albemarle twice already this season. And they got it, holding on for an 8-5 win. Still without the services of Zack Reininger, and facing a minor injury to standout catcher Lazaro Torres, Orange was depending on a strong performance on the mound from ace, Nick Bledsoe.
After registering one run in the first, Logan Gowan pushed Orange’s lead to three when he sent a grounder up the gap to clear the bases.  Still with only one out, sloppy defense by Albemarle led to two more runs in the second inning advancing the lead to 5-0.
Bledsoe continued to silence the visitor’s bats through seven innings while Orange put on an offensive clinic, backing Bledsoe with a seven-run cushion.  But things got feisty in the bottom of the seventh.  Already frustrated with the umpiring, tempers boiled over when a warning was assigned to Albemarle’s pitcher for throwing some chin music at an Orange batter.  While the Albemarle faithful in attendance voiced their disapproval, so too did the irate manager who was later ejected along with his pitcher.
Although the managerial mania had no effect on the umpires, the passion of their skipper sparked Albemarle’s offense and led to two runs in the eighth, and three runs in the ninth.  But this late burst was not enough to overthrow the colossal eight-run lead Orange had built throughout the game.
Bledsoe pitched six innings of brilliant shutout ball, and recorded four strikeouts on his way to picking up a win.  Torres, who will be playing baseball for Patrick Henry College next year, said afterwards “We played a solid all-around game, and it is always gratifying to beat a team like Albemarle.“
While Orange capitalized on most of their scoring chances, Albemarle stranded seven runners in the first three frames, and went on to leave runners on base in seven of the nine innings.  “We didn’t have enough clutch hitting” said Coach Maynard.
The Orange boys will face Spotsylvania Thursday with hopes of repeating this stellar performance.

In other Legion action:
Last Wednesday, the juniors beat Louisa 10-5.
Chase Hutchison was outstanding on the mound, throwing a complete game and giving up only two earned runs.
Tyler Seal had two hits and Rahiem Cooper added a double and a triple. Brenton Pitts went 3-3 with two runs batted in. Austin Roberts also added two runs batted in, while David Dulin had two hits.
A night later, Orange lost to Stafford 9-2.
After falling to Albemarle Sunday, Orange rebounded to blank Staunton Post 13 3-0 Monday.
Nolan Moore dominated on the mound, throwing a complete game shutout. He gave up six hits and struck out four.
Seal had three hits, including an inside-the-park home run and scored twice. Cooper scored Orange’s other run and had a run-scoring triple.

In senior league action, Orange lost 4-3 to Staunton Post 13 and erupted for 20 runs in doubling up Fluvanna Post 2003 20-10 last Wednesday.
Orange swept a doubleheader over Waynesboro Post 340 Saturday, beating the visitors 4-1 and 10-5 at Porterfield Park.