Royals outslug Cardinals

Ben Brooks
sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- When the Winchester Royals found themselves in an early hole Wednesday night, they didn't panic.

They erupted.

The Royals combined for 14 runs over the third and fourth innings -- batting around in each frame -- en route to a 16-9 Valley Baseball League victory over North Division rival Front Royal before a crowd of 459 at Bridgeforth Field.

The victory was the third straight for Winchester (6-8). The Royals posted a season high for runs and their 16 hits were one short of a summer-best 17 in a win over Fauquier.

"Nobody panicked," said Royals left fielder Kevin Garcia, who went 3-for-3 and drove in a game-high five runs. "Everybody was still playing the game and had the intensity up. Everybody just kept picking each other up. It shows the type of character this team has."

Trailing 5-0 through 2½ innings, the Royals sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third to tie the game. Kevin Griffin's two-run double and Dave Fallon's RBI triple cut Winchester's deficit to 5-3. Garcia's run-scoring sacrifice fly and Jordan Steranka's bloop single off Cardinals reliever Matt Bowling (1-1) tied the game 5-5.

Front Royal regained the lead in the top of the fourth on local product Jesse Henry's two-run single down the third-base line.

The lead, however, was short-lived. The Royals exploded for nine runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aaron Dudley's two-run double to the right-center gap gave the Royals the lead for good at 8-7. Garcia had three RBIs in the inning with two singles. Winchester sent 14 to the plate in the fourth and took advantage of five hits, three walks, two hit batsmen and two Cardinal errors.

"It was really early," Royals manager John Lowery Jr. said about his team's five-run deficit. "We've been doing a pretty good job this season scoring some runs. We put together a few good at-bats, especially with two strikes, and took some walks. We put the ball in play and the next thing you know we're back in the game."

The Cardinals (6-9) came into the game looking to snap a losing streak against Winchester for the second time in a week. On Thursday, Front Royal ended a five-game skid with an 11-4 win in Winchester. Now, the streaky Cardinals have dropped four straight despite putting up an impressive 17 hits (16 singles) against three Winchester pitchers. Front Royal didn't help itself with five errors, which led to six unearned runs. The Cardinals, who put at least one runner on in all but the ninth inning, left 10 on base, including six in scoring position.

In a losing effort, Cardinals first baseman Greg Van Sickler, Henry's teammate at Shenandoah University, went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Henry and catcher Robert Newman each drove in a pair of runs.

For the second straight night the Royals got a strong effort from their bullpen. After Front Royal knocked out Winchester starting pitcher Stephen Rivera in the third, Matt Gerbe (1-1) and Matt Zahel (two saves) combined to throw 6 2/3 innings. The tandem scattered 10 hits, struck out five, and allowed four earned runs.

"Gerbe gave us a chance," Lowery said. "He kept us in the game. And Zahel came in and threw strikes. There was never a doubt in my mind that he would compete."

Fallon went 4-for-5 with three RBIs for Winchester. Griffin also drove in three with a pair of hits. All nine Front Royal starters and eight of Winchester's had at least one hit in a game that took three hours and 10 minutes to complete.

Front Royal jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second on RBI singles from Newman, Cody Kauffman, and Jared Simon. The Cardinals tacked on two more in the third when Newman and Kevin Brashears drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks.