Game Report: Haymarket vs. Woodstock, July 7

Last night I stumbled upon a game in Woodstock.

I knew there was a game in Harrisonburg, but the rains came early and often, postponing that one.  Then the phone rang- it was Haymarket Joe, explaining that his pictures won't be available until later because he was on his way to Woodstock. "What for?" I asked, like an idiot.  "It's our 4th attempt to play this game!" he answered.

That settled it; I was on my way north just a few minutes later.

The game was a study in contrasts (sort of): the first 6 innings were completed in an hour, but the last 3 took an hour and a half. That was partially due to the fact that the pitching was amazingly effective: the first walk wasn't given up until the top of the 7th. There weren't many strikeouts, either- it just so happened that most of the balls in play went directly to a fielder.

Anyway, Haymarket struck first, scoring 2 in the 4th inning off River Bandit Kirby St. John. Joe Conforti (still sleepy from All-Star day travels) and Scott Krieger singled to lead off the inning, and then each came home on a sacrifice fly: one each by Chris Dubon and David Herbek.

Woodstock tied the game in the 6th on a normal play, then a not-so-normal play. First, Brooks Robinson and Kory Hollensteiner singled and were sacrificed to second and third by Adelberto Santos. Mark Goforth singled Robinson home on the normal play. The next play was fun- Goforth took off for second on a steal attempt, and when Haymarket catcher Doc Neiman Chris Dubon threw to second, Hollensteiner took off for home. Both runners were safe, with Hollensteiner pulling off the rare steal of home.

Haymarket went ahead in the 7th when David Herbek singled, was sacrificed to second by Wayne Miller, and scored on a Stephen Ballard single. The Senators made it 4-2 in the 8th when Herbek, once again in the thick of things, was hit in the foot with a pitch while attempting to suicide squeeze with the bases loaded, scoring Joe Conforti.

Woodstock trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th when Hollensteiner led off with a high arcing triple down the right field line, and Santos followed with a single up the middle. Haymarket added a run in the 9th to cushion the lead, and Grant Sasser closed the game in the 9th.

Both starters threw well, Weston Szymanski for the Senators, and Kirby St. John for the River Bandits. Haymarket raised its record to 10-16, while the River Bandits fell to 11-16.

Observations

• I got a chance to sit with Woodstock's official scorer, Gordon Lambert, who showed me how the official program works. Fun stuff! (Wish I could score like that at home!)

• I also visited with Woodstock reliever Gary Kahn for a while early on- watch for an interview with Gary over the next week or so!

• David Herbek was in the middle of everything for Haymarket. He went 1-1, with a run, 2 RBIs, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. He was directly involved with 3 of the Senators' 5 runs.

• I ending up chatting with Jerry Carter for close to an hour after the game. Remember to head over to Jerry's site to catch up on the Around the Valley updates!

• I would give Herbek the hitter of the day award, and Szymanski, who went 7 innings and allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (earned), 0 walks, and struck out 3, the pitcher of the day.