Newly minted as the # 18 team in the U.S. by Baseball America,
the Rapids struck early against Birdâ??s ace, East Carolina-bound senior
lefty Matt Laney.  It would be the fourth time in their 8 district
games to date that the Rapids would have to beat a senior pitcher
heading to a Division I baseball program on scholarship next year.

Tyler Gruhl led off with a sharp single past Laneyâ??s feet into
center, then moved up on a ground out and scored when Austin Stadler
singled just inside the first base bag.  Two walks then loaded the
bases, giving the Rapids a chance to blow this one open early.  Laney
rallied to get back-to-back strikeouts and should have escaped the
inning, but a passed ball on the latter K allowed a run to score and
kept the inning alive.  John Nance then drew a walk to plate another
unearned run, making it 3-0, before yet another K from Laney finally
allowed him to escape the inning.  The extra batters did succeed in
running Laneyâ??s pitch count to 47 after one inning, however, pretty
much assuring that he would not be around for 7 innings in this one.

Taking the mound with a lead, starter Daniel Marrs walked the leadoff batter and then yielded a sharp single to Joshua Karr. 
The next batter grounded sharply up the middle, and it appeared Bird
would get something going to make a game of it right away.  But second
baseman A.J. Prill dove, knocked the ball down, then flipped from his
belly to shortstop Chris Briere, who completed the double play.  When
the next batter popped out harmlessly to right, the Skyhawks came up
empty.

It has been that kind of year for Bird.  Expected to contend for a
district playoff spot, Bird would fall to 2-6 in district play after
this game, having beaten only Huguenot and Wythe.  One thing Bird has
been missing is Joshua Karrâ??s hard hitting twin brother, Jacob.  Jacob
had a cast removed from a broken thumb Monday, and got his first swing
leading off the second inning for the Skyhawks.  He made it count,
drilling a Marrs offering deep into the trees in left center to make it
3-1.  Jacob Karrâ??s homer would be Marrsâ?? first earned run allowed in 29
innings so far this year, and the only homer allowed by the Rapids
staff in the teamâ??s first 12 games.

But if the Karrs were trying to spark their team back to life, Prill
and Briere had other ideas.  After a walk and a flyout, the keystone
combo turned another double play to end the inning.  They would repeat
that feat in the fourth inning as well, allowing Marrs to compile a
decent stat line on a night when he did not seem to be at his best.

In addition to the three double plays, Marrs benefited from an
excellent charging play by third baseman Chris Anderson, whose gun to
first on a slow roller got the final out in the third inning; had that
play not been made, a runner at third would have scored to make it 3-2
at that point.  Briere also ended the 5th inning with a fine backhand
play in the shortstop hole, making the long throw to first to strand
another runner.

With all that help, in the end Marrs went 6 innings and allowed only 3 hits, though he walked 4 and struck out only 4.

The Rapids got some much needed breathing room shortly after Andersonâ??s
play.  With 2 outs in the top of the fourth, Prill inside-outed a pop
down the right field line that just eluded Birdâ??s diving right fielder
for a double.  Three pitches later, Briere drove his first homer of the
year well out to left center to make it 5-1, which would be the final
score.  That drive seemed to take all the fight out of the Skyhawks. 
Briere put the final nails in the coffin, again closing with a perfect
7th inning.

The win marked the halfway point of the district season for both
teams.  With its next games against Wythe and Huguenot, and then an
open date, James River has run its
overall record to 12-0, and seems assured of being 14-0 two weeks from
now.  But after that, six straight tough district matchups await,
followed by the playoffs