First-inning woes

The first time Culpeper American coach Lynn Hackley strode out to the mound Tuesday, it was to calm his starting pitcher down.

“I just told him to relax and breathe,” Hackley said. “I told him to think about every pitch and get back to his process before he throws it.”

But the coach’s second trip to the mound ended Culpeper pitcher L.J. Hackley’s day with two outs in the bottom of the first inning which saw visiting Monticello jump out to a commanding lead.

“It’s not like he pitched horrible,” Lynn Hackley said. “He left some over the plate, and when you do that they’re going to hit it. And they hit it long.”

Monticello came to town for third-round action in the District 14 Major Baseball All-Star tournament and rode an 11-run first inning all the way to a 14-4 victory that was decided in four innings.

“We got beat down Saturday in pretty much the same way,” Monticello coach Sean Stavitski said. “Coming back from something like that is borderline impossible, so this is a really nice turnaround for us.”

Monticello racked up nine hits during the win, including six in the game’s opening inning.

Brodie Phillips started the scoring with an RBI-double that plated leadoff hitter Cody Gibson. Monticello’s next batter Tre Francis bounced an RBI-single just over L.J. Hackley’s glove to score Phillips. Pitcher Robbie Dean brought two more runs home with a triple and scored on a throwing error to make it 5-0.

Troy Hughes then gave Monticello a six-run lead by scoring on a wild pitch, before back-to-back home runs put Culpeper American behind 11-0.

Zach Digregorio sent a pitch from L.J. Hackley over the left-field fence to score three runs and Francis — the first batter relief pitcher John William Anderson faced — connected on a two-run shot.

“Something like that is tough to come back from,” Lynn Hackley said of his team’s slow start. “But I’m proud of the boys because they didn’t give up. Our bats got a little hot and I think they got back into the game.”

Culpeper American got a big boost from the middle of its lineup in the next two innings.

Catcher Will Dwyer got Culpeper on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the second inning, and Anderson cut into Monticello’s lead with a three-run home run in the third, which made it 11-4.

“We’ve been having trouble hitting the ball,” Lynn Hackley said. “Those homers were a nice boost, but this is two games in a row we’ve struggled to hit, and teams at this level have to be able to hit the ball.”

Monticello put another run on the board in the bottom of the third after Dwyer overthrew a base-stealer at second, and forced the umpires to enact the 10-run rule in the fourth after Digregorio connected on an RBI-single and Phillips brought two more runs across the plate with a double.

Digregorio led Monticello from the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, while Phillips went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Francis finished 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs and Dean went 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

Dean also took the mound for Monticello and pitched a complete game, striking out eight while giving up four hits and four runs.

“He (Dean) hit the strike zone and we played defense behind him,” Stavitski said. “He mixed his pitches up well, his curveball was on and he just did a great job.”

Leading the way for Culpeper was Anderson, who went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs and Dwyer who finished 1-for-2 with a homer and an RBI. Bryan Ramey and L.J. Hackley also recorded base hits.

Hackley struck out one and gave up five hits in two-thirds of an inning, and Anderson struck out two and gave up two hits in three innings of work. Ben Bridges pitched the final inning, giving up two hits.

“We just have to come out and keep working,” Lynn Hackley said. “At this level you want to win, but at the same time we’re out here playing ball. Win, lose or draw these kids are out here on a baseball field and that’s what’s most important.”

Culpeper American will be in action again Thursday at 6 p.m. against Nelson at Dave Canavan Park, while Monticello will host East Orange at 6 p.m.

Next for American

Who: Culpeper American vs. Nelson

When: Thursday at 6 p.m.

Where: Dave Canavan Park