Royals limping into postseason

By Ben Brooks -- sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Haymarket looked every bit like a team still battling for its postseason life Thursday night at Bridgeforth Field.

The Senators scored runs in six of the first seven innings and kept Winchester's suddenly slumping offense in check on their way to a 9-3 Valley Baseball League victory over the Royals before a crowd of 500 fans.

Leadoff hitter Michael Lang reached base four times, scored three runs and had three RBIs to lead Haymarket's 12-hit attack. Tom La Stella and Michael Demma added two RBIs apiece.

The Senators (21-22) now face Fauquier tonight, with the winner gaining a playoff berth.

"I'm real happy with the way we showed up tonight," Senators manager Ryan Fecteau said. "The summer is a grind. Tonight there was a real excitement out there with the possibility of us making the playoffs."

The Royals, having already clinched a spot in the eight-team VBL playoffs with Wednesday night's doubleheader split, have now dropped five of their last seven heading into tonight's regular-season finale against North Division winner Front Royal. Over those seven games, Winchester has scored a total of 18 runs. That's a far cry from the team that ranks second in the league in team batting and reached double figures in runs four times during a VBL-best 11-game winning streak.

Not exactly the way a team wants to enter the first round of the playoffs (best-of-three) that are scheduled to begin Sunday at the home of the higher-seeded teams. But it's no time to panic, either, said Royals outfielder Dave Fallon.

"We're just not coming up with the timely hitting like we did during that incredible 11-game winning streak," said Fallon, who batted leadoff Thursday in Aaron Dudley's absence. "We have to look at it like we've hit the ball great all summer. We can't just look at the last few games. Hopefully tonight we'll get a win and get a little momentum going."

The Senators broke open a 2-2 deadlock with a two-run third, courtesy of one of two Winchester errors and Demma's run-scoring sacrifice fly. They broke it open with La Stella's two-run single in the fourth and Lang's two-run homer to left in the sixth.

Haymarket relief pitcher Matt Suschak (2-2) took care of the rest. Entering a 2-2 game in the second inning, the right-hander from Toledo held the Royals to just one run and three hits over 5 1/3 innings. He did walk five, but made up for it with eight strikeouts. Twice he escaped bases-loaded jams.

As a team, the Royals stranded 14, including eight during a three-inning span with the game in doubt.

"For us, it's a good power arm out of the bullpen," Fecteau said of Suschak. "We've talked about using him as a spot starter, but we just felt he was more valuable in this role."

Steven Sabins drove in two of Winchester's three runs, one with an RBI double in the first and the other on a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Jordan Steranka added an RBI triple in the first to give Winchester an early 2-1 lead. Fallon, Steranka and Brad Zapenas each had two hits for the Royals.

"We've faced some pretty good pitchers the last few games," Royals manager John Lowery Jr. said. "We had some chances tonight, but their guy made good pitches when he needed to."

Lowery said the Royals should get Dudley (.331, 19 RBIs) back in time for the playoffs. The junior had to return to Toledo to finish a class.

"That will help," Lowery said. "He usually puts together four quality at-bats every night."

A Winchester victory tonight over the Cardinals would give the Royals home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.