Bulldogs down Black Knights to snap losing streak

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

Sporting special black and pink jerseys and locked in for battle with the traveling Charlottesville Black Knights, the Bulldogs walked on the field with more on their minds than just the game of baseball.

Hosting the matchup as the “Strike Out Cancer Game,” the idea to use their athletic platform to stand against the impact of cancer and support those who have suffered from it came from senior A.J. Condrey.

Condrey says he was inspired to put together the event for his senior project at the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor’s School, which allowed him to intern with the University of Virginia’s sports marketing department.

“We haven’t done this event in a couple years and it’s something that really benefits the community,” Condrey said.

Condrey designed the jerseys and the t-shirts worn by fans in attendance, set up a donation source for people to contribute that would go to the Massey Cancer Center at VCU and managed social media content to advertise the game. On top of all that, he made his impact felt as a player on the field, going the distance as the team’s starting pitcher and earning the 10-4 win for the Bulldogs. The game snapped a six-game losing skid for the Bulldogs.

“It’s definitely the best whole game we’ve played all year,” Condrey said. “We have stretches where we’ve played very good and then an inning or two where we just fall apart, but tonight was definitely the best whole game by everyone.”

Condrey and the defense did give up three runs in the first two innings, the first of which was the result of an error, but they settled down and held the Black Knights to just one run in the next five innings. In seven innings, Condrey allowed just five hits while striking out five batters and giving up a single walk.

“A.J. had good command tonight,” head coach Wes Farkas said. “The sun got in our eyes a couple times, but we’ve had games where we haven’t had the run production to support him, so tonight we were able to get that and he was able to pitch the lead. It was a good outing for him for sure.”

While the defense took some time to settle in and control the game, the offense was consistently finding players on base from the very beginning. After a leadoff single from senior Mason Gregory, the Bulldogs quickly earned two runs on a two-run RBI double from sophomore D.J. Jones that gave the team early momentum.

A four-run third inning propelled the Bulldogs to a 6-3 lead, with the runs coming on an error from a fly ball from senior Graham-Michael Fletcher-Mintz, Jones on a wild pitch and a two-run RBI single from Chase Breedlove.

Another RBI from Jones and an RBI single from freshman Jackson Bell in the bottom of the fourth made it 8-3, and errors from the desperate Black Knights contributed to the next two runs in the fifth and sixth innings to give the Bulldogs a comfortable lead they’d never relinquish.

Finishing the game with seven hits from five different players was a welcoming sign for Farkas, who says the team looked good hitting the ball and converting on the chances the Black Knights were giving them from their errors in the outfield.

“We’ve been leaving a lot of guys on base and tonight we were able to get those guys across which is big momentum for us,” Farkas said. “I was telling our guys that we need to keep our energy up and try to push guys across when we get our chances to.”

Two days later, the Bulldogs were again in the win column, scoring a season-high 11 runs to beat the Monticello Mustangs 11-7 to move their record to 3-7 on the season. Goochland’s next game will be on the road against the Orange County Hornets on Thursday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m.