Extra innings needed for Dragons vs. Warriors

The regular season is coming to an end for spring sports, and the William Monroe varsity baseball team has had its ups and downs. Close wins and close losses have made for an exciting season—and last Tuesday night was no different.
The Dragons hosted the Western Albemarle Warriors in a game that took nine innings to decide a winner.
The first three innings went by rather quickly, with the only scoring chance for either team in the bottom of the first for Monroe. Several walks put runners in scoring position, but the Dragons were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
The Warriors struck first in the top of the fourth as a lead off double put their first-base runner in scoring position. They eventually came around to score on a ground out to take a 1-0 lead.
Monroe looked as if they would duplicate the top half of the inning, as Bruce Shifflett got a lead off double. After a sacrifice bunt moved Shifflett to third with just one out, the Dragons had their second good scoring chance.
But a strike out followed by a ground out kept Monroe off the board and down by one. Western then added two more runs to extend its lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth.
A walk followed by a two-run home run had the Warriors with all of the momentum. Jeremy Breeden relieved Shifflett on the mound at the start of the fifth inning.
Shifflett was also doing well at the plate but seemed to be out of gas for pitching. “I got tired by the fifth inning,“ said Shifflett.
The next threat of scoring came in the top of the sixth inning, with a single and walk getting Western in business again. But Breeden was able to get a strike out followed by a big double play that ended the threat.
Monroe finally got on the board as two back-to-back doubles by Jason Nave and Shifflett closed the gap to just 3-1. The Dragons failed to score any more in the sixth and headed into the last inning down by 2.
Holding the Warriors to no runs in the top of the seventh, the Dragons didn’t shrink away. They tied the game in the bottom of the seventh to send it into extra innings.
A one-out walk by Logan Forloines and a double by Matt Collier started the seventh inning rally. A ground out to second base brought home the first run, and a big two-out single by Colby Fitzgerald tied the game.
Collier relieved Breeden on the mound at the start of the eight inning after Breeden kept the Dragons in the game for the last three innings.
The Warriors put the pressure on Monroe again, pushing across two runs on three singles and a big error that kept the inning alive. But, just as before, the Dragons still would not go away.
In the bottom of the eighth, Shifflett led off with his third hit of the game, and Eric Utz tied it five with just one swing of the bat. Utz belted a home run to right center that kept the Dragons alive.
Danny Morris and Collier both singled in the bottom of the eighth but were stranded on base as the game went into the ninth.
Western received a lot of help in the top of the ninth inning, with two errors eventually proving costly. The Warriors plated two more runs to take the lead again at 7-5.
Monroe was able to get one run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough. They fell to Western in a great game, 7-6.  Leading the Dragons was Shifflett who went 3-4 at the plate and pitched well. Utz made the most of his one hit, grabbing two RBI’s on the game with the home run.
Coach Mark Arrington, pleased with his team’s effort, said: “That was great nine innings of baseball. I thought our pitching was good enough to get the win, but give credit to Western for keep us playing from behind.“
It was a different story on Thursday, April 30, as the Dragons hosted the Hornets for Senior Night and the team’s last scheduled home game of the regular season. The Dragons were shut down, 9-0.