Upon Further Review

Facing a Riverheads team that the world forgot as it managed to kick, claw and scrape its way into the annual Shenandoah District baseball logjam (and, really, let’s think about making “logjam” an official part of this district’s name and, no, I’m not kidding), Buffalo Gap needed a good pitching outing to win its third straight regular-season title.

The Bison got it and a little help from a few friends in Fishersville (but we’ll get to that later.)

So all junior pitcher Ricky Clifton does is start the game, face 10 batters, strikes out two and makes one mistake.

Game. Set. Another Gatorade bath for wunderkind-coach Chad Coffey. And there was something about this bath that really had Coffey smiling. Maybe it was because he lost his voice last week and the soothing impromptu shower of electrolites was just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe it’s because he called this, after eight years of Shenandoah District baseball, the toughest title his team has won yet.

“They get harder every year,“ he managed to say in a voice that sounded like a lawn mower starting up. “This is the wildest district that I’ve seen.“

He’s right. Year in and year out the Shenandoah provides tons of surprises. This year was no different.

So, let’s get back to the mound: And after Clifton makes his one mistake (Miles Wade putting the first pitch he saw somewhere on the football field at Riverheads) he really goes to work and starts shutting down the Gladiators. After Wade, he strikes out the very dangerous Brian Wright and gets Adam Ritter to ground out to first.

Then he starts the second by giving up a single and watches an infield error take away a double play before Ryan Sheridan dives to make the play on a sinking liner in center and scores his second K with a whiff of Jacob Painter.

“We wanted him to look one time through the line up,“ Coffey said.

The 10th batter he faced he walked. He left the mound in the third with a 4-1 lead.

“The second time through the lineup, they were more likely to hit him with his style of pitching,“ Coffey said.

He needed a few strong innings before bringing in Nick Corbin. Clifton gave him three and, after that Corbin was lights out.

So, you ask, what happened to the Gladiators?: Good question. Don’t have the answer. All I know is Riverheads is a quality baseball team with plenty of talent in the dugout. Watching Adam Ritter play behind the plate is the baseball equivalent of watching Demetrius Younger on the basketball court—it’s so darn fun. Wright brings some pop with his bat and is a stabilizing force at first. Taylor Yeago has a great arm in left and patrols that part of the outfield well.

But seven errors? Seven. Errors?

“It just snowballed,“ said coach Rodney Painter.

Come on. This is your biggest game of the year on your home field and, sure, everybody and their aunt knows that the ball tends to carry atop that hill in Greenville, but when it’s your home field it should be happening to the road team a lot more times than it happens to you. Right? (Didn’t everybody’s father tell them to always play back in the outfield because, as they say, it’s easier to run in than to run out? Hello?)

And another thing: When someone does make an error, you need to stay cool. Last inning was last inning, get out of this inning and fuhgetaboutit. How hard is this? So, maybe it was the pressure of the game. You know, because if Riverheads had won, coupled with Wilson’s split of Luray this district would have come down to a numbers game. But, sorry, there’s still no excuse to carry over a bad inning to the next.

Regroup. Get back out there.

Fair enough?

But those Buffalo Gap bats were rocking and rolling.  Booooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnne Jones laces, and I mean laces, an RBI triple to the wall for a 1-0 lead then, in the fifth, Preston Woods crushes (and yes, I mean crushes) a two-run shot that hit the steps heading to the football press box, bounced off the top of the Pilot Truck Stop and landed somewhere along Interstate 81. (Guess which ones were exaggerations ...)

“The guys have been hitting the ball well,“ Coffey said.

Well, nah-duh.

So now Buffalo Gap has its district title with Luray and Page needing to finish a rain-shortened game today to set the rest of the field. If Luray loses, they’ll do the seedings based on a point system. If Luray wins, they’ll do it by playing tiddlywinks. If Luray and Page end in a tie and they call the game due to darkness, the Shenandoah ADs get into a good, ol’ fashioned hair tugging contest. If none of that works, someone throws a pie.

Other sights from the game:  Boooooooooooonnnnnnne Jones wondering where Coffey was so he could splash the coach down with some Gatorade, then stopping when he saw Coffey talking to a small child through the chain-link fence.

“Children cannot be used as protection,“ someone in the Gap dugout yelled.

No children were soaked during this celebration. Move along now.

Corbin coming in and fanning six Gladiators (two looking).

Overlooked: At one point Buffalo Gap was 1-2 in the district before winning five of their last six district contests.

Also overlooked: Wilson Memorial’s helping hand in giving the Bison another regular-season crown. Thanks to a 4-2 win in the second game of their doubleheader with Luray, the Hornets pushed the Bison into the top spot. Coffey was appreciative when he heard the score of the second game (4-0 in the third) as his team left the Greenville field.

“I’m a big Mac fan,“ he said of Wilson skipper Derek McDaniel. “I’m a big fan of coaches in the district.“

Who else is hungry now?