When 90-feet Looks Like a Mile

Colley Field – Three times the Henrico “Warriors” had a potential go
ahead runner just 90 feet from home plate with less than two outs. 
Three times the inning ended with the runner still there.  The result,
an eight inning 9-3 loss to Deep Run, one of the top teams in the state.

“The ironic thing is that we worked on that very drill in practice,
getting the key hit with runners in scoring position,” said head coach
Ken Schrad. “What’s hard to practice is dealing with game pressure. 
Well, we got a lot of that tonight,” he added.

Deep Run’s six runs in the top of the eighth masks what was a well
played game.  Henrico starter Seth Cutler-Voltz was masterful on the
mound.  He struck out 11 and gave up three hits.  One was a solo home
run in the fifth by the “Wildcats” Matt Snyder.  Four walks, two to the
lead off man Mike Kaczka, were annoying.

Cutler-Voltz also had a strong night as the lead off hitter for
Henrico.  He went two for four with a triple and an RBI.  Taylor Smith
was two for three with a double and an RBI.  Also hitting a double was
J C Poma. Eric Thornton and Landon Prentiss each had RBI singles.

In the bottom of the seventh and Henrico down a run with one out,
Tyler Moses used his speed to reach first base on a bobbled ball by the
Deep Run shortstop.  Cutler-Voltz than ripped his triple over the
center fielder’s head, scoring Moses.  JC Poma walked.  Michael
Mansfield grounded into an inning ending double play.

The disappointment carried over to the top of the eighth.  Deep Run
combined three hits and three Henrico errors into a huge six run
inning.  Henrico went quietly in their bottom half of the inning.

“We can’t let a loss like this affect the rest of our season,” said
Schrad.  “It’s simply a non-district game that taught us a lot about
what it takes to finish the deal.  All of our goals are still ahead of
us.  We’ll have plenty of opportunities to see if we’ve learned our
lesson.”

It was also a tough night for the junior varsity squad.  One big
11-run inning by Deep Run determined the outcome.  The final was 16-6.