There’s a log jam at the top of District 23-5A, as middle-of-the-pack Clements brought the front-running Bulldogs back into a four-way tie for first with Dulles, Kempner, and Travis, who all finished the first half of district play with 6-2 records. Clements have kept themselves in the hunt at 5-3, and Hightower and Elkins still have some life at 4-4, giving District 23-5A seven teams at 0.500 or better.

The Bulldogs got on the board first with a run in the third off Ranger Starter Brandon Wood. RF Tony Gigliotti started the rally with a mishandled shot to short, and 1B Drew Miller moved him to third when he cranked a double over the left fielder. After a walk to SS Barrett Barnes, Gigliotti scored on CF Daniel Rockett’s sacrifice fly to deep right center. The Bulldogs would add another run in the fourth. C Matt Hills worked a one-out walk, and pinch runner Eric Hughes moved to third on a stolen base and a passed ball. Gigliotti brought him home when he dropped a two-strike RBI single into shallow center, making the score 2-0.

Meanwhile, Bulldog Starting Pitcher A.J. Glasshof was cruising through the Ranger line-up, allowing only a walk and two hits through four, while logging 4 strikeouts. Trouble struck, literally, in the fifth, as Clements hung a 6-spot on the board. Lead-off batter Dillon Huff started the inning with a rifle-shot up the middle that caromed off of Glasshof’s elbow for an infield hit. Clint VanTilborg came on in relief on short notice, and struggled to fit strikes into a tightening strike zone, walking four of five batters and striking out one to knot the score 2-2, before giving way to Erik Schweiger. Schweiger would eventually get out of the inning, but not before giving up a bases-clearing double that sliced into left field, and a seeing-eye RBI single to right, to make the score 6-2.

As they did against Kempner last Friday night, the Bulldogs staged another late-inning rally. A four-pitch lead-off walk to LF Blake Doerr to start the sixth was followed by a double by Hills to score Doerr. Pinch runner Hughes moved to third on a wild pitch, and he held his ground on Gigliotti’s infield single to deep short. Miller brought home Hughes with a sacrifice fly to right, and Barnes followed with a single to right. Gigliotti and Barnes both moved up 90 feet on a passed ball, and both came around to score on Rockett’s single up the middle. Rockett alertly took second when the center fielder let the ball slip by. That would spell the end for Wood, who was relieved by Scott Ballard. 3B Ryan Dalton, who walked his previous two at-bats, was given a free pass. Schweiger then bounced one towards first, but the first baseman erred on the throw to the pitcher covering, allowing Rockett to score the go-ahead run and put the Bulldogs up 7-6.

Clements wasn’t about to give up easily, either. A one-out walk, a two-out hit batter, and a two-out 3-run homer to right center by Brandon Woods put Clements back on top 9-7. The Bulldogs had one last chance in the top of the seventh, but came up short. With 2B Luke Mulcahey on first courtesy of a walk, Miller lined a shot to left center that had all the makings of an RBI double, but the ball was tracked down and caught for the final out of the game by Woods.

Next up for the Bulldogs – the start of the second half of district play, Saturday at Marshall, 2 p.m.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 6 hits for the Bulldogs, 2 for extra bases: Two singles for RF Tony Gigliotti; a double each for C Matt Hills and 1B Drew Miller; and a single each for SS Barrett Barnes and CF Daniel Rockett.

· 6 RBIs on the game: 3 for Rockett; 1 each for Hills, Gigliotti, and Miller.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· A.J. Glasshof, 4 innings, 4 K’s, 1 BB, 3 hits, 1 run

· Clint VanTilborg, 0.1 inning, 1 K, 4 BB’s, 0 hits, 4 runs

· Erik Schweiger (0-1), 1.2 innings, 1 K, 2 BB’s, 1 HPB, 4 hits, 4 runs

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· An error-free ballgame for the Bulldogs, 3rd time in 8 district games.

· 1B Drew Miller was in on all three outs in the third on a tagout, putout, and popout: a bare-handed grab and tag for the 3U tagout by Miller for the first out of the inning; great snare by SS Barrett Barnes on a wicked hop to short for the 6-3 groundout, Barnes to Miller, for the second out of the inning; and a high popout behind first to wrap up a 1-2-3 inning.

· Miller flashed the leather again, with a shorthop snatch on the 6-3 groundout, Barnes to Miller, for the second out in the fourth.

Winning Pitcher: Scott Ballard

Losing Pitcher: Erik Schweiger (0-1, 0-1)

Extra Base Hits, FBA: 2B – Miller, Hills

Extra Base Hits, CLE: HR – Woods, 2B – Correro, Stanford

Score by inning:

Submitted by: Tom Miller