Walk it off: Cardinals end thriller with back-to-back homers

By Greg Brill -- sports@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- Steven Rivera was masterful again.

The Winchester right-hander was doing everything right, baffling Front Royal's bats inning after inning, just like he did last week in a complete game shutout of the Valley Baseball League's top team.

Rivera needed just one out to wrap up another dominating performance and leave the Royals with some hope to catch the Cardinals in the final days of the regular season.

But one out can be an eternity when facing Front Royal's slugger-laden lineup. One pitch up in the zone and a pitcher pays. Two equals a loss.

Moments after Jared Simon lifted his 11th homer over the leftfield wall to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, Dan Evatt blasted a towering shot to left-center for the game-winner, producing a 3-2, walk-off Tuesday night for the Cardinals and clinch at least a share of the North Division regular-season title.

"I mean, you've got to tip your cap to [Rivera] -- he did a heck of a job all night," said Evatt, who hit his eighth homer off a hanging curveball. "He did leave a couple pitches up to me and Jared and we didn't hold anything back."

"We had the right guys coming up to do something like that," Front Royal manager Joe Scarano said. "I told them to just be aggressive because [Rivera] had been around the plate."

Front Royal (26-14, 13-8 North) needs to win just once more or have one loss by Winchester (22-18, 11-9) to win the division outright.

"They're rolling, they're hot, they're the best team in the Valley," Winchester manager John Lowery Jr. said. "We have to somehow figure out a way to beat them. They've got a lot of energy and they're feeling good about themselves, I'm sure."

Before facing Simon with two outs in the ninth, Rivera (3-1) had retired 12 straight and not allowed a baserunner since Brandon Brewer singled with one out in the fifth. In 8 2/3 innings, Rivera was nothing short of dominant, allowing just three hits and striking out nine.

But when Simon went deep, the Cardinals had life.

"I was just thinking 'Try not to make the last out,'" Simon said. "The batters before that, two straight pitches, two outs. I was taking a strike when I got up there and tried not to make the last out. I got a fastball [to hit] and hit it well."

In fact, Simon had just got himself settled back in the dugout when he turned and watched something special.

"We're still celebrating my home run and someone in the dugout said 'You might not want to miss this' when [Evatt] was up," Simon said. "We both pretty much got all of ours. It's one of those things you dream about when you're a kid."

Not since high school had Evatt hit a walk-off homer.

"They got some timely hits at the end," Lowery Jr. said. "We got two quick outs and before you know it, boom, boom. It can happen in a ballpark like this. I know Simon's been doing it all summer, and [Evatt's} hitting in their lineup for a reason."

Drafted by the Twins out of high school, Evatt instead went to Baylor, where he became a fixture in the lineup this spring for the regional-qualifying Bears.

Evatt, who has homered in each of his last three games, also had a run-scoring single in the first to plate Simon for a 1-0 lead. But it was his defense in right field that kept Front Royal in contention most of the night.

Four times in the first five innings, Evatt saved Cardinals starter Greg Van Sickler with some thrilling glove work.

Evatt first took a sure extra-base hit away from Jordan Steranka leading off the second with an over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track. In the fourth, Evatt charged in and made a diving grab to retire Steve Sabins. The final out of the inning came on a sliding catch by Evatt in foul territory on Gabriel Ortiz's fly, and Robert Maddox was robbed of a hit when Evatt ranged far to his right to make a putout leading off the fifth.

Talk about a "complete game."

"It just comes down to playing with an edge every day," Evatt said. "I pride myself doing that every day. Sometimes it's just going to happen like this. Balls are hit in the right spots and you're able to make a highlight-reel play."

For much of the game, Van Sickler stayed competitive with Rivera. Van Sickler threw five scoreless innings until he left a pitch up for Sabins to drive out of the park and tie the game at 1-1 in the sixth.

In the seventh, Van Sickler lost steam and loaded the bases with no outs. Tyler Jones singled, Kevin Garcia bunted for a hit and Ben Hammer was hit on his foot. Van Sickler was lifted for Dan Rossignol, who gave up the go-ahead run when Dave Fallon singled through right side against a drawn-in infield.

After catching Sabins looking on a 3-2 pitch, Rossignol was replaced by closer Ryan George. Steranka then hit a low liner that second baseman Cody Kauffman ranged to his right to snag and in turn, doubled Hammer off second to end the eighth.

In the ninth, George (1-0) pitched cleanly, fanning two, and won his first decision thanks to the long-ball hitting of Simon and Evatt.

"It was the players today," Scarano said. "They got themselves in the 2-1 hole then they got themselves out [of the deficit] by swinging the bats. It was worth the wait to win one like that and to clinch today against a good team like Winchester."

Front Royal improved its record in July to 16-3 -- one of the best months in the program's 26-season history. The Cardinals also closed their regular-season home slate with a 15-7 mark, including wins in 14 of their last 16 dates at Bing Crosby Stadium.

"That's the feeling you want -- especially at the end of the season," Evatt said. "We've gotten hot, we've stayed hot, and I think this team has a great chance to win the championship."