Cardinals stay hot, top River Bandits

By Robert Edmonds

sports@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Three home runs, 18 strikeouts and one wild pitch made for an exciting game when Front Royal hosted Woodstock Thursday night.

The River Bandits took the lead on three separate occasions only to have the resilient Cardinals respond each time. Solid pitching from both clubs dominated the majority of the game as the teams battled into extra innings.

One costly mistake from the mound made the difference in the game as the Cardinals outlasted Woodstock 4-3 in 11 innings.

"This win is really big for us,"Cardinals coach Joe Scarano said. "We had good pitching, good defense, and I thing being the home team gave us the advantage. If we were the away team tonight, I would have been really nervous. Their pitcher was tough and kept us off balance and took runners away with the three pickoffs. Fortunately, we stayed in the game and had the opportunity at the end."

"Both teams pitched very well tonight," River Bandits coach Donn Foltz said. "Our defense played well and was pretty much error free there until the end. We just couldn't get the job done with our bats tonight."

Front Royal came to the plate in the 11 facing new relief pitcher Douglas Wagner. Leadoff hitter Buddy Sosnoskie roped a broken bat single to right to begin the inning. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch by Wagner. A sacrifice bunt by Doug Oney moved Wagner to third with one out putting the River Bandits in a difficult situation.

Wagner then walked the next batter putting runners at the corners. Brandon Brewer stepped to the plate hoping to give his team the winning run. Struggling with his control Wagner sent a pitch into the dirt but catcher Shawn Ablett was there to stop it and hold the runners.

Two pitches later, Wagner again sent a pitch into the dirt. This time Ablett could not make the stop as the ball skidded under his knee pads and rolled to the backstop allowing Sosnoskie to cross the plate for the winning run.

Woodstock took the lead early in the second inning. With the bases loaded Jonathan Koscso hit a sharp single off of third base which took a high hop and gave his team a 1-0 advantage. The River Bandits could not muster any more offense in the inning stranding three runners.

The River Bandits again found themselves with a bases loaded opportunity in the fourth with only one out. Woodstock could not take advantage again squandering an opportunity to widen the margin.

"We had a lot off opportunities early," Foltz said. "We had the bases loaded twice and we didn't do the job. We had ample opportunities but we couldn't get runs across."

The Cardinals pitching combined with some spectacular defensive plays kept Woodstock in check for most of the game. Starter Colin McGowan pitched six innings giving up two runs while striking out three. The relief staff picked up where he left off as three relievers combined for nine strikeouts the rest of the way.

"We didn't start well," Scarano said referring to a play in the first inning when he waved a runner home but was thrown out at the plate. "I probably got over aggressive at the beginning. As a coach, it's my job to give our team opportunities to win. What was big for us was we played great on defense and our bullpen made the stops giving our offense the chance to get the win."

Jim Jacquot and Steve McQuail each had home runs for the Cardinals in the win.

Front Royal has won four of its last five games.

"We have been playing good fundamental baseball," Scarano said. "Our defense has been playing very well and our guys are playing together as a team. We have taken a lot of pride in playing at home. I think as a home team you have a big advantage and that really helped us tonight."