Broad Run Baseball Rallies to Win

Two-Out Double in the Seventh Is the Difference

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Broad Run senior Chris Jessop stepped into the batter's box. The bases were loaded with two out in the bottom of the seventh. The Spartans trailed the visiting Dominion Titans by two runs and were one out away from falling into third place in the Virginia AA Dulles District standings.

Dominion senior ace Chris Taylor toed the rubber and set himself for his 131st pitch of the night. Two future collegiate baseball players squared off in a one-on-one battle with the game on the line.

"I knew if I got a fastball that was a strike, the first pitch was going to be my hardest possible swing," Jessop said. "I was going to try and knock all three of those runs in if I got a fastball."

The first pitch was a belt-high fastball which Jessop crushed to the wall in left field for a line drive double that cleared the bases to give the Spartans a critical 5-4 come-from-behind victory.

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Jessop, Broad Run Defeat Dominion In Walk-Off Fashion

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The Broad Run Spartans huddle up just before the start of their game against Dominion on Tuesday night in Ashburn. (Matt Brooks)

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Broad Run seniors Patrick Murphy (1), Chris Jessop (7) and Andrew Hathaway (9) were honored before Tuesday night's game against Dominion at Broad Run High School. (Matt Brooks)

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Broad Run junior starter Chase Warren struggled in the early innings against Dominion, giving up four runs in the opening frame and leaving the game after just three innings on the mound. (Matt Brooks)

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Dominion senior Chris Taylor struck out 10 Broad Run hitters but was the hard-luck loser in Tuesday night's Dulles District contest. (Matt Brooks)

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The Spartans celebrate Chris Jessop's walk-off three-run double. (Matt Brooks)

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The Broad Run coaches congratulate senior Chris Jessop following his walk-off three-run double to beat Dominion on Tuesday night. (Matt Brooks)

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Despite the loss, Taylor – who will play for Rider University next year – was brilliant in a complete-game effort for the Titans, scattering six hits and striking out 10 batters. Four of the five runs he gave up were earned and he did struggle late with his control, walking five batters – including four in the final two frames.

"He's a senior, it's his game," Dominion Coach Jay Raines said. "He kept us in the game all night."

The Titans (9-9, 7-6 AA Dulles) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning with three straight singles off Broad Run junior starter Chase Warren. Ryan Doyle's single to short plated Jonathan Knight for the game’s first run and two batters later, Greg Smucker grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring Doyle around to score. Senior catcher Anthony Bartolotti followed that with a two-run bomb to left that gave Dominion the big lead early.

But the Titans couldn't capitalize on their numerous opportunities the rest of the way. They loaded the bases against Warren with two outs in the second but Smucker struck out swinging to end the threat. Then in the third, they got a lead-off single from Bartolotti, but courtesy-runner Sean Stubbs got thrown out trying to steal second. Matt Sherrill got aboard on an infield single and advanced to third with two out but was left stranded when Ryan Skeffington grounded out to third to end the inning.

Dominion again had a runner in scoring position in the fourth with men at second and first and two down, but sophomore reliever Taylor Clarke got Smucker looking to get out of the jam and keep the Spartans in the game. In all, the Titans stranded seven men on the night and left five in scoring position.

"This is maybe the third or fourth game now where we tack on a bunch of runs early in the game and we don’t do a single thing after that," Raines said. "We can't even manufacture a run. We can't bunt a guy over, we can't do what we need to do. We were putting two runners on base, but we couldn't get anything done."

Clarke's work on the mound in four innings of relief keyed their comeback. After issuing a walk and hitting Taylor in the fourth, the right-hander settled in and was nearly unhittable the rest of the way. He gave up just one hit while striking out seven and picking up the win.

"I'm used to coming out of the bullpen," Clarke said. "I like coming in and just throwing strikes and I was able to do that tonight."

The Spartans (9-7, 8-4) chipped away at the lead with a run in the fourth on a Jessop single, two stolen bases and a wild pitch that allowed him to score. They got one more in the home half of the sixth when sophomore catcher Ryan Johnston drew a walk, stole second, advanced to third when Bartolotti’s throw went into centerfield and scored on Jessop’s groundout to short.

Jessop -- who will play for Flagler College next year –- would not have seen his final at-bat in the seventh had it not been for the patience of the young hitters ahead of him in the order. First Nick Richardson drew a full-count walk to start the inning and after Tyler Small struck out swinging, junior Shane Vlasic singled to left. Following a Johnston groundout, senior Patrick Murphy drew a seven-pitch walk to load the bases and bring up the Spartans’ senior shortstop.

"For us, it was a great way to end a high school ballgame," Broad run Coach Pat Cassidy said. "You have a pitcher going up against a college shortstop a year from now. We hit it in the right spot and we had speed on the bases to get in on that. I think Taylor threw a great game tonight, but those guys ahead of Jessop had some great at-bats that really put us in position to win this game."

The Titans have lost their last two games and host crosstown rivals Potomac Falls tomorrow night for senior night. They gave the first-place Panthers their toughest district game of the season the first time around, losing a 3-2 decision. Dominion has now played 10 one-run games on the year and is 4-6 in those contests.

Following a 3-6 start to the season, the Spartans have now won six of seven – including five of their last six Dulles District contests – to put themselves in position to claim the No. 2 seed for Friday’s tournament. Five of their last six wins have come by a single run. Due to all the rain, the Spartans have scheduled an unusual doubleheader for Wednesday night to close out their regular season. First they travel to regular-season champion Potomac Falls for a 5 p.m. game and then they take the short bus ride across Sterling to Park View for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch. With Heritage currently sitting at 8-5 in the district with one game left, the Spartans must win out or earn a split and hope for a Pride loss to claim second place in the district. Even if they lose both games and Dominion wins, they'll hold the tiebreaker for third place.

"I don't think we’re young anymore," Jessop said. "At this point in the season, there are no young teams left. This team has 16 varsity games under their belt. It's been a challenge this year but this is a really good group of baseball players and we’re right where we want to be right now with a chance to get back to regionals."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks