Baseball Preview: Eastern Mennonite Flames vs. Virginia Episcopal School Bishops
The Eastern Mennonite Flames will head out on the road to square off against the Virginia Episcopal School Bishops at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Eastern Mennonite is no doubt hoping to put an end to a seven-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
On Tuesday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Eastern Mennonite had to settle for a 6-5 loss against Fishburne Military.
Luke Stoltzfus put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). Stoltzfus has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Stoltzfus was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Will Gardner and Isaac Ott did some serious damage despite the final result: Gardner went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, two RBI, and a double, while Ott scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Virginia Episcopal School put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Roanoke Catholic a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for Virginia Episcopal School, who have now won four games by nine runs or more so far this season.
Like Eastern Mennonite, Virginia Episcopal School also got a great game from a two-way player: Lawrence Dempsey. On the mound, Dempsey tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Meanwhile, John Waterworth didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. At the plate, Dempsey scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2, while Waterworth scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Virginia Episcopal School let Caden Godsie and Nate Gobble loose on the outfield. Godsie scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances, while Gobble scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Campbell Howard, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Eastern Mennonite's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Virginia Episcopal School, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Eastern Mennonite has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Virginia Episcopal School struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Eastern Mennonite might still be hurting after the 15-2 loss they got from Virginia Episcopal School in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can Eastern Mennonite avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
