SALEM, Va. - Sophomore right-hander John Reynolds, Jr. (Bumpass, Va./Louisa) allowed one run in 6.1 innings, and senior outfielder Matthew Blaise (Clifton, Va./Centreville) ripped an RBI double to spark a five-run fifth as the top-seeded Randolph-Macon baseball team topped third-seeded Shenandoah 5-1 Saturday morning to force a winner-take-all championship game in the 2019 ODAC Tournament.
The Basics
Score: #1 Randolph-Macon 5, #3 Shenandoah 1
Location/Venue: Haley Toyota Field/Salem Memorial Ballpark
Records: R-MC 28-9-1, SU 30-12
How It Happened
- Reynolds (3-0) had his longest out of the season. He tossed four hitless innings before allowing two hits in the fifth and two in the seventh. Reynolds walked four and struck out one.
- Junior right-hander Tyler Dunn (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) entered the game in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and two away. He coaxed a popup to second to end the threat.
- Senior righty Tommy Barron (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) took the mound with two on and one away in the top of the ninth. He recorded a strikeout and a groundout to register his third save.
- The game was scoreless midway through the fifth. With one away in the bottom of the fifth, junior shortstop Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca) singled to left and moved to second when junior first baseman Cole Grinde (Woodford, Va./Caroline) drew a walk. The game was delayed nearly an hour by rain. When play resumed, Blaise would be the first batter following the delay and split the outfielders with a double to left center, driving in Evans with the first run. Junior outfielder Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) drew a walk to load the bases and Grinde would score on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. A single by senior second baseman Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) plated Blaise with the third run. Duphorn came home on a wild pitch and Butler scored on a double by sophomore DH Kevin Mooney (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) as the advantage grew to 5-0.
By The Numbers
- Mooney went 2 for 3 for R-MC with a walk and one RBI.
- Grinde was 2 for 3 with one walk and one run.
- The final out was interesting. With two on and two away, a grounder hit the first base bag and kicked by first baseman Grinde. Second baseman Butler was backing up on the play, snagged the ball and tossed to the pitcher Barron to record the out.
- The R-MC senior class has posted 127 victories over the past four seasons, making them the winningest class in program history. Each class over the past four years has broken the record.
Up Next
- Randolph-Macon will face third-seeded Shenandoah at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 in the ODAC Championship Game.