Captains tame Tigers in home opener 13-0

Not many opening day baseball games take place in 40 degree overcast weather, with no sunshine in sight, but that is exactly how the Captains kicked off their season last Wednesday, as they took on Hampden-Sydney. They would not let dreary weather put a damper on their game though, as they would come out the victors of a 13-0 win against the Tigers. The win came with help from the Hampden-Sydney pitching staff and a nine-run 2nd inning from the Captains.

The trouble would start in the bottom of the first inning. As junior outfielder Shannon Mark led off the inning, he was drilled by a fastball from Tigers’ pitcher James Shahayda. The Captains failed to capitalize on the Shahayda error. While it wouldn’t be the last time a Captain was hit by a pitch, it would be the last time the Captains failed to take advantage of a mistake by Shahayda.

In the top of the second, Captains’ junior starting pitcher Sean Chitsaz struck out the first two Tigers to come to the plate. After working Hunter Lewis to a full count, Chitsaz gave up his only walk of the day. He quickly recovered and induced a weak ground ball to junior second basemen Matt Shoemaker to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, the Tigers started looking rattled up.

Shahayda, a freshman making his first appearance in collegiate competition, walked junior catcher Steven Lindemuth to start the inning. He would then hit Shoemaker, for his second hit by pitch of the game. He then plunked sophomore infielder Steven Keener. Concerned with his pitcher’s failing accuracy, Tigers’ catcher Zach Harrelson asked for a timeout and made a quick visit to the mound to give Shahayda a quick pep talk.

Eight pitches later, Shahayda walked senior outfielder Travis Medina to force home the first run of the game. That’s when it all fell apart for the Tigers.

The Tigers bobbled a possible double play ball hit by junior outfielder Connor Madden, and nobody was out as a result, and the Captains quickly took a 2-0 lead. Mark quickly followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the Captains another run. 3-0 Captains. Freshman infielder Billy Steel delivered a sac fly of his own. 4-0 Captains. Madden stole second to put himself in scoring position, and he would cross the plate on the next play when Tigers’ third baseman Hunter Lewis made an errant throw to first. 5-0 Captains. At that point in the game, the Captains had one less hit than the Tigers.

That would change when junior catcher Ben Lenda laced a single between the left side of the infield. That would be the end of a rough day for Shahayda. He gave up three earned runs on one hit, plunked five batters and gave up two walks. He was replaced by another freshman, Aaron Stidham.

The pitching change did not help to sway the luck in the Tigers’ favor. Stidham walked the first batter he faced, which loaded the bases for Shoemaker. Shoemaker promptly deposited a fastball just inside the left field foul pole for a grand slam, stretching the Captains’ lead to 9-0.

“In the at-bat I hit the grand slam, I was looking for a fastball so I could just get a base hit and score again,” said Shoemaker. “It was a great feeling to be able to go up 9-0 at that point in the second inning.”

CNU would load the bases once again in the bottom of the third, behind singles Madden and Medina and a walk by Steel. Junior infielder Luke Saunders brought Madden in from third on a looping single to right field and Lenda followed with a sacrifice fly for the Captains’ 11th run of the game.

Chitsaz gave the Captains a solid performance, as he struck out three Tigers through five innings, allowed no runs on five hits and only one walk. Chitsaz didn’t allow a base runner in three of his five innings of work. “Even though the weather was cold, it did not bother me because I was concentrating on pitching and helping out my team,” said Chisaz. “I block out everything that can negatively impact me.”

Coach John Harvell pulled him in the sixth in favor of sophomore Matt Verdillo. The last thing Harvell needed was his ace pitcher going down with an injury, especially with the game in the bag.

The Captains’ bullpen was impressive in relief of Chitsaz. Verdillo struck out two batters in his one inning of work, freshman Bryan Bierlein struck out three across the seventh and eighth innings, and freshman Ryan Fleishmann struck out the side in the ninth to bring the game to its conclusion. None of the three underclassmen allowed a run.

At the plate, the Captains were led by Lenda, who was 3-5 with 2 RBI, Shoemaker, who was 1-2 with a grand slam and 4 RBI, and Madden, who was 1-4 with 2 RBI.

“I was very impressed with the way we performed,” stated coach Harvell. “The weather wasn’t the best but we fought through it.” The Captains will travel to Mary Washington next Tuesday before returning home on Wednesday to face St. Mary’s College of Maryland. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.  ν

Posted by Darryl Fetz on Feb 16 2011. Filed under Baseball, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.