Looking to start off Round Two of district play the same way they started Round One, the Bulldogs battled past the host Dulles Vikings, earning a hard-fought 4-2 victory, and sweeping the season series. The Bulldogs snapped a 4-game losing streak and got back in the win column courtesy of an outstanding pitching performance by Starter Robert Psenka, a gutsy relief effort by Ryan Dalton, and timely hitting by Blake Doerr, Tony Gigliotti, and Barrett Barnes.

The Bulldogs offense was slow getting started tonight, sending the minimum to the plate through 3 innings, and racking up 4 K’s against Dulles Starter Ross Miller (no relation to the Bulldog catcher) in the process. Bulldog Starter Robert Psenka matched zeroes the first two innings while allowing only 3 baserunners on a hit, a walk, and an error. Psenka ran into a little more trouble in the third, as the first four batters reached base – a lead-off single be Cernosek, an infield error on Merritt’s grounder, an RBI-single by Burnaman, and an infield single by Parisi. All of that only led to one run, as Merritt was caught in a run-down rounding second base on Burnaman’s hit, and SS Barrett Barnes’ diving stop of Parisi’s infield single held Burnaman at third. Psenka limited the damage by getting a strikeout and a pop-up to end the threat.

Pumped up by Psenka’s mound work, the Bulldogs responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Barnes got things started with a single up the middle, the ‘Dogs first hit of the night, and stole second. Miller buckled down against Dalton and Shank for two more tough K’s, but DH Blake Doerr came through in the clutch, driving the 1-0 pitch to right for an opposite-field Home Run, putting the Bulldogs up 2-1 after four innings.

The Vikings battled back to tie the game at 2 in the bottom of the fifth, getting a leadoff single from Burnaman, followed by a run-scoring double to the wall in right-center by Parisi. Psenka turned it up a notch to shut down the Dulles rally, first getting a fielder’s choice grounder to short by Owen. SS Barnes went to Dalton at third to get the lead runner Parisi, who lowered his shoulder rather than give himself up. Dalton was a bit shaken up, and all Parisi earned was being called out on the play, then being thrown out for initiating contact. Psenka finished off the inning with a strikeout, a walk, and a groundball out to keep the game tied at 2.

The Bulldogs were ready to pour it on in the sixth, getting a one-out walk to Barnes and a rip down the third base line by Dalton; a great play by 3B Merritt to knock the ball down held Dalton to a single and likely kept Barnes from scoring. 1B Adam Shank then launched a towering fly ball to right center, caught right at the wall and missing being a 3-run blast by less than a foot. Doerr walked to load the bases, but the ‘Dogs couldn’t capitalize.

Dalton relieved Psenka to pitch the bottom of the sixth, and held the Vikings in check after issuing a lead-off walk. The stage was then set for some late-inning heroics by the Bulldogs, and they delivered in the top of the seventh. A lead-off single and stolen base by Scott Viktorin put a runner on second with nobody out. Viktorin was still waiting there two outs later when Tony Gigliotti came through with a hot shot down the third base line that hugged the ground and slipped under the 3B’s glove for an RBI double. Barnes would then deliver an insurance run with an RBI single to right, his second hit of the night. That would be all the Bulldogs would need, as Dalton limited the Vikings to a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, and secured the victory with a strikeout to end the game.

Next up for the Bulldogs will be a home game against Clements on Friday night, 7 p.m. Tell all your friends, family, and neighbors to come out and cheer for the boys!

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 6 hits for the Bulldogs, 2 for extra bases: 2 singles by SS Barrett Barnes; a 2-run Homer by DH Blake Doerr (#1); a double by OF Tony Gigliotti; and a single each for 3B/P Ryan Dalton and CF/3B Scott Viktorin.

· 4 RBIs on the game: 2 for Doerr, 1 for Gigliotti, and 1 for Barnes.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Robert Psenka, 5 innings, 3 K’s, 1 BB, 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs.

· Ryan Dalton (3-4, 1-2), 2 innings, 3 K’s, 2 BB’s, 0 runs, and earned the win.

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· A running catch by CF Scott Viktorin in right-center to steal extra bases and end the first inning.

· On a run-scoring single, throw from LF Gigliotti cut off by 3B Dalton to catch the runner rounding second for the first out – score that putout 7-5-4-5, with 2B Keplinger in the mix as well.

· A great catch on a line drive by LF Aaron Marcynuk for the second out in the sixth inning.

Dodging Bullets:

· Errors and unearned runs did the Bulldogs in during 3 of their 4 district losses, and another 4 errors tonight do not look good on the ledger. However, the boys kept their heads and battled through tonight, not allowing any of those miscues to score.

Two streaks come to an end:

· Adam Shank went 0-2 tonight, to end his eight-game district hitting streak. During the streak, Shank was 14-for-27 for a 0.519 BA to lead the team, including 10 extra-base hits.

· Drew Miller went 0-3 tonight, to end his eight-game district on-base streak. During the streak, Miller reached base 16 times in 30 plate appearances, netting an on-base percentage of 0.533 (fourth-best on the team behind McKinley, Shank, and Rockett).

Winning Pitcher: Ryan Dalton (3-4, 1-2)

Losing Pitcher: Ross Miller

HR, FB Austin: Blake Doerr (#1)

Extra Base Hits, FB Austin: double for Tony Gigliotti

Extra Base Hits, Dulles: double for Will Parisi