Stone Bridge Storms Back

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Stone Bridge's Johnny Bladel has grown accustomed to the surge of energy that comes with being a closing pitcher. When the seventh inning rolls around in a tight ballgame, it's his time to step on the mound and get the final three outs for his team.

Bladel, who in addition to pitching is the reigning Virginia AAA Liberty District offensive player of the year, toed the rubber with the pressure on Friday night at Madison, his team leading 8-6 with runners on first and second, one out and the winning run at the plate. But on this night, Bladel was finishing what he started six innings before, when he threw out the first pitch as the Bulldogs' starter.

With a 1-1 count on Warhawks senior slugger Ricardo Perez, Bladel delivered his 105th pitch of the night, which Perez grounded hard into the hole for a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and seal the win for Stone Bridge.

"He gave me that look in the sixth inning, and I knew we were okay," Stone Bridge Coach Sam Plank said of Bladel. "He's a senior leader, and he wanted the ball tonight. He fought through some early troubles, but he got back to that closer mentality in the seventh inning, and there was no way we were going to take him out at that point."

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Stone Bridge Rallies to Beat Madison

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Stone Bridge teammates congratulate Johnny Bladel after Stone Bridge defeats Madison, 8-6. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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In the seventh inning, Stone Bridge's Johnny Bladel beats the throw to Madison's Dan Cate and scores as teammate Michael Prince looks on. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Stone Bridge's Dillon Berger scores his team's first run in the second inning. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Johnny Bladel went the distance for Stone Bridge, keeping Madison in check after the Warhawks jumped out to a 5-1 lead. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Madison's Matt Moore runs into Stone Bridge third baseman Taylor Lambke in the third inning. Lambke maintains control of ball and Moore is out. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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The Bulldogs (10-3, 5-2) fell behind early as Madison scored one run in each of the first three innings and two in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Senior right-hander Andrew Bayer kept the Stone Bridge lineup in check with a mix of off-speed pitches, and he allowed only two hits through four innings. But a Bulldogs offense that was averaging 12 runs in its past four games picked it up in the fifth, chasing Bayer by loading the bases with no outs.

Sophomore second baseman Spenser Rositano and senior third baseman Taylor Lambke hammered back-to-back two-run doubles to tie the score, and sophomore catcher J.J. White gave the Bulldogs their first lead with an RBI single up the middle. Senior first baseman Patrick Thompson added an RBI single to give Stone Bridge a 7-5 lead.

"I told the guys: 'This is a seven-inning fight. Let's use every out,' " Plank said. "We preach every day that you win games by producing the big inning or lose games by giving up the big inning. We avoided giving up the big one and got it done at the plate there in the fifth."

The Warhawks (7-3, 4-2) came right back in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back hits, including an RBI single by junior Teddy Turner that cut the lead to a run, and threatened to retake the lead when Perez singled to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with one out. But Bladel dug in and struck out Ryan McGuire swinging and then got Cam Cassady looking to end the threat. The Bulldogs tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Bladel scored on a wild pitch.

In just his second career start, Bladel scattered nine hits, giving up five earned runs while walking four and striking out four.

"When the sixth inning started and I had that lead, the adrenaline just kicked in, and I got pumped up and felt a lot more confident," Bladel said with a bag of ice taped to his shoulder. "And then in the seventh, I was back in my normal role. I just went in there looking to gas it."

Rositano, Lambke and Thompson each had two RBIs, and White went 2 for 4 with an RBI as the Bulldogs won their fifth straight.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks