The Bulldogs were supposed to play a semi-final game against the Dulles Vikings Saturday morning at Butler. Instead, some overnight sprinklers forced a move to the cozy confines of Dulles Field, and a game of Home Run Derby broke out as the teams combined for 11 long balls. The Bulldogs won the derby battle 6-5, but lost a wild and exciting game 16-12.

This one was almost over before it got started. Bulldog Starter Taylor Rammrath (1-1) had trouble fitting strikes into a tight zone early and couldn’t make it out of the first. After a hit batter and a groundout to first, the Vikings had 6 straight batters reach base, running the score to 6-0; the big blow in the inning was a 3-run shot by Jake Kane. JV call-up Anthony DeJesus came on to record the last two outs of the inning and give the Bulldogs a chance to respond.

And respond they did, with a four-run frame in the home half of the first. Leadoff man Barrett Barnes was hit by a pitch and came around to score on 2 stolen bases and a wild pitch. LF Blake Doerr walked and cruised home on 1B Erik Schweiger’s two-out two-run blast. Walks to RF Tony Gigliotti and DH Matt Hills set the table for 3B Luke Mulcahey, who brought in the fourth run of the inning with a sharp single to right, the first of his three hits on the day.

The teams traded runs the rest of the game. Dulles added two in the second, with a two-run shot by Kane, his second homer of the day. CF Daniel Rockett responded with a solo blast to make it 8-5 after two innings. Dulles scratched out a couple of runs in the third, which the Bulldogs matched on a single by Mulcahey and a two-run HR by Barnes to make it 10-7.

Dulles tried to pull away with a solo homer in the fourth and four more runs in the fifth, but the Bulldogs were not going to go quietly. Hills and Mulcahey hit back-to-back homers to start the bottom of the fifth, and after C Drew Miller walked, Barnes made it three homers in four batters for the Bulldogs when he hit his second homer of the day to close the gap to 15-11. Dalton and Doerr followed later in the inning with back-to-back doubles to make it 15-12.

Daniel Rockett came on to pitch the sixth, and surrendered a lone run on a solo homer, Dulles’ fifth roundtripper of the day. Things then got interesting for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth. Miller had a two-out single and Barnes followed with walk. Rockett then lifted an opposite field shot to right that was going out, but the Viking right fielder timed his jump and robbed Rockett of a 3-run HR. Neither team, surprisingly, was able to score in the seventh, leaving the final score at 16-12.

The Bulldogs move on to the third place game against the loser of the Elkins-Stratford semi-final, with Dulles taking on the winner to close out the Ewell Jackson Tournament.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 13 hits for the Bulldogs, including 9 for extra bases: HR and 2 singles for 3B Luke Mulcahey; 2 HRs for SS Barrett Barnes; HR and single for 1B Erik Schweiger; two doubles for 2B Ryan Dalton; HR for CF Daniel Rockett; HR for DH Matt Hills; a double for LF Blake Doerr; and a single for C Drew Miller.

· 11 RBIs on the game: 4 for Barnes; 2 each for Schweiger and Mulcahey; and 1 each for Rockett, Doerr, and Hills.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Taylor Rammrath (1-1), 0.1 inning, 2 BB’s, 1 HPB, 3 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs.

· Anthony DeJesus, 4.2 innings, 4 BB’s, 1 HPB, 5 K’s, 8 hits, 9 earned runs.

· Daniel Rockett, 2 innings, 1 BB, 2 hits, 1 earned run.

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· Catch of a deep drive by LF Blake Doerr to end the first.

· SS Barrett Barnes showing his speed and glove work to snag a foul pop up the line in left for the first out in the fourth.

· Barnes and 1B Erik Schweiger teamed up to make the last four defensive outs of the game: a great dig by Schweiger on the 6-3 groundout to end the sixth; in the seventh, a liner to short that doubled off the runner at first, with Schweiger saving the throw and diving to the bag for the force; and another dig by Schweiger on the 6-3 groundout for the last out.

Submitted by: Tom Miller