A cool night at the Castle was filled with some late hot hitting by the Bulldogs, but a furious 5-run rally in the seventh wasn’t quite enough as FB Austin lost to host Elkins 8-7. With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to move to 8-6 in district play; whilte that puts a crimp in their playoff plans, the ‘Dogs are still in the hunt.

Elkins struck first in this one, getting a lead-off home run from Elkins 3B Arroyo on the first offering from Bulldog Starting Pitcher Robert Psenka. Psenka settled down after that, getting out of the first without any more damage, and setting down the side in order in the bottom of the second. Arroyo led off the bottom of the third with a full-count walk, and the Knights were able to work him around with a stolen base, a bunt, and a sacrifice fly to center, making it 2-0 after three innings.

The Bulldog offense took awhile getting started, managing only two base runners through three – a one-out walk to C Drew Miller in the first, and a one-out double by LF Ryan Dalton in the second. In the top of the fourth, 1B Adam Shank led off with a bad hop single over the second baseman, and moved to third on a couple of passed balls. Dalton came through with his second double of the night, a 2-out rope to left to score Shank, making it 2-1.

Psenka got another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth, but ran into trouble in the fifth. The first two Elkins batters of the inning were hit-by-pitch, and SS Drew Vest knocked one of them in with a first-pitch single to left. The next batter walked to load the bases, and put an end to Psenka’s night. Reliever Benn Fairbanks came in and got the first out on a sacrifice fly to center, then gave up a double to 1B Travis Crow to score two more before getting a strikeout and groundout to close out the inning, 6-1.

The Bulldogs would score again in the top of the sixth, starting with a two-out full-count walk to 3B Scott Viktorin. He went to third on Dalton’s third double of the night, and scored on CF Daniel Rockett’s single up the middle that bounced off Elkins Starter Myles Duvall, making the score 6-2. The Knights would tack on a couple more runs in the bottom of the sixth, on two walks and two singles (of note is the line score for 3B Arroyo, who scored four times tonight - HR, BB, HPB, BB). So after six innings, the Bulldogs found themselves down 8-2.

The Bulldogs would not go quietly, though. RF Blake Doerr (who had singled in the fifth), led off the top of the seventh with a 4-pitch walk. After PH Travis Goodrich forced Doerr at second for the first out, the Bulldogs had 6 straight batters reach base against three different pitchers. Miller put runners at second and third with a double to left-center (nearly robbed by LF Langner), which put an end to Duvall’s night on the hill. Lefty Kyle Rogers, who was brought in to face Shank, slipped the first pitch under his catcher to score Doerr; Miller then came home on Shank’s infield hit off of Rogers’ glove. SS Barrett Barnes then singled, and 3B Viktorin doubled home both Shank and Barnes on a tight rope shot down the third base line. Rogers was relieved by Burgess, who notched a small victory of sorts, holding Dalton to just a run-scoring single. Dalton, representing the tying run, moved up to second on a passed ball in the middle of a 4-pitch walk to Rockett. With the tying run at second, and the go-ahead run at first, Elkins went to their fourth pitcher of the inning, Matt Johnson, who notched 2 tough strikeouts to end the rally and earn the save, with the final score 8-7.

Next up for the Bulldogs will be a home game against Kempner on Friday night, 7 p.m.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 11 hits for the Bulldogs, 5 for extra bases: three doubles and a single by LF Ryan Dalton; two singles for 1B Adam Shank; a double each for C Drew Miller and 3B Scott Viktorin; and a single each for 2B Barrett Barnes, CF Daniel Rockett, and RF Blake Doerr.

· 6 RBIs on the game: two each for Dalton and Viktorin, and one each for Rockett and Shank.

· Dalton’s 4 hits was the first 4-hit game of district play for a Bulldog this season. (Miller and Doerr each had a 4-hit game in tournament play).

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Robert Psenka (1-3, 1-1), 4 innings, 3K’s, 6 BB’s, 2 hits, 6 earned runs.

· Benn Fairbanks, 2 innings, 1 K, 2 BB’s, 3 hits, 2 earned runs.

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· Daniel Rockett with a great grab of a line drive in left-center to rob always-dangerous 1B Travis Crow to end the third.

· Andrew Keplinger showing some range, arm, and accuracy at 2B to record a tough 4-3 putout to end the sixth.

From the consolation department:

· The Bulldogs out-hit the Knights 11 to 5.

· Six of Elkins’ eight runs got a free pass – 4 walks and 2 hit-batters; of those 6 free passes, 4 occurred on a full count.

Of special note:

· Thanks to two of the most faithful Bulldog fans, Tony and Blake. Thanks for cheering the boys on, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at our home game on Friday night!!!

Winning Pitcher: Myles Duvall

Save: Matt Johnson

Losing Pitcher: Robert Psenka

Doubles, FB Austin: Dalton (3), Miller, Viktorin

HR, Elkins: Arroyo

Doubles, Elkins: Crow

Score by inning: