In their only meeting this year, the host Bulldogs spotted the visiting Bush Broncos an early 2-run lead, then stormed back in convincing fashion to win 15-3. Bulldog Starting Pitcher Scott Duncan had a shaky start, giving up back-to-back homers to start the game, but finished the first inning with no other damage and had a 1-2-3 second inning.

The Bulldog offense had a little trouble getting started themselves, but got on a roll and was hard to stop. After a quiet first and two quick outs in the second, the Bulldogs staged an 8-run rally. DH Erik Schweiger got things going with a misplayed groundball to short, and moved to second on a walk to C Matt Hills. 2B Luke Mulcahey put the ‘Dogs on the board with a single to left, and RF Tony Gigliotti tied it up at 2 with a double down the right field line. CF Daniel Rockett doubled the score with a single to left, and 3B Ryan Dalton followed with a walk. SS Barrett Barnes doubled in Rockett, and after 1B Drew Miller walked to load the bases, LF Blake Doerr added two more RBIs with the Bulldogs fifth hit of the inning. Schweiger added the eighth run of the inning when his pop-up to center was dropped.

The Bulldogs added 3 in the third. Rockett started things off with a double down the left field line. Barnes followed with a misplayed fly ball to center, which allowed Rockett to score with Barnes hustling in to third, who then scored when the relay to third was overthrown and went into the Bush dugout. Miller followed with a double to center (just out of the reach of a diving center fielder); he would come around to score on Schweiger’s single.

The Bulldogs added another 4 in the fourth. Gigliotti and Rockett were aboard courtesy of a fielder’s choice and a walk; both scored on Dalton’s double, and Dalton alertly took third on a bobbled relay. Barnes plated Dalton when his hot shot to second kicked off the second baseman for a two-base error, and Barnes sprinted home when Miller’s grounder eluded the shortstop. That made the score 15-2.

Bulldog Reliever Cale Winans handled the third, fourth, and fifth innings, the only blemish being a consolation run in the fifth, on a home run to center by Bush Starting Pitcher Eric Pesek, his second of the game. That would close out the scoring, 15-3.

Next up for the Bulldogs – on the road at Kempner on Tuesday, at Dulles on Wednesday, and at Elkins on Friday.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 11 hits for the Bulldogs, 5 for extra bases: a double and single each for RF Tony Gigliotti and CF Daniel Rockett; a double each for 3B Ryan Dalton, SS Barrett Barnes, and 1B Drew Miller; and a single each for LF Blake Doerr, DH Eric Schweiger, 2B Luke Mulcahey, and PH Austen Smith.

· 14 RBIs on the game: 3 for Barnes; 2 for Rockett, Dalton, Doerr, and Schweiger; 1 each for Gigliotti, Miller, and Mulcahey.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Scott Duncan (2-0, 1-1), 2 innings, 2 K’s, 4 hits, 2 runs

· Cale Winans, 3 innings, 3 K’s, 1 hit, 1 run

Winning Pitcher: Scott Duncan (2-0, 1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Eric Pesek

Extra Base Hits, BSH: HR – Pesek (2), Martinez

Extra Base Hits, FBA: 2B – Gigliotti, Rockett, Dalton, Barnes, Miller

Score by inning:

Submitted by: Tom Miller