.Front Royal, VA – The University of Valley Forge Baseball team traveled to Front Royal, VA to take on the Crusaders of Christendom College on Sunday afternoon. With the combination of outstanding pitching and timely hitting, the Patriots swept the double header by scores of 4-2 and 13-6.
Game 1
The Patriots wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the first inning.
Wesley Hetrick singled then stole second. Landed Traffas stepped to the plate and launched a ball over the left field wall for his first homerun of the season and gave UVF a 2-0 lead.
The Crusaders picked up a run in the bottom of the 2
nd inning and another in the bottom of the 3
rd. Both runs would be unearned. UVF retook the lead in the top of the 4
th inning. After a Crusader error that allowed
Landyn Traffas to advance to second base, the Patriots played small ball.
Jeffery Espinal grounded out to the right side of the infield that allowed Traffas to advance to third.
Marcus Fultz then got a pitch he could elevate and flied out to right field for the sacrifice fly that enabled Traffas to score. UVF led 3-2 after 4 innings of play.
With the score 3-2 heading into the top of the 6
th, the Patriots needed to add to their lead and they did just that.
James Jackson led the inning off with a double to right field. Jackson then advanced to third after
Wesley Hetrick grounded out to the right side.
Landyn Traffas picked up his third RBI of the game when he doubled into the left field gap to score Jackson to make the score 4-2 in favor of UVF.
The Patriots led 4-2 going into the bottom of the 7
th inning.
James Jackson continued his dominance on the mound and went on to finish off the Christendom offense with a strikeout, a popup to third, and a groundout. The Patriots won game 1 by a final score of 4-2.
A Look at the Numbers
James Jackson has been a rock in the Patriot rotation. Jackson got the win by going all 7 innings only allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Both runs were unearned. Jackson struck out 7 of the 31 batters he faced.
Landyn Traffas had a big game at the plate going 2-3 with a homerun, a double, and 3 RBI's. The Patriots scored 4 runs on 4 hits while committing 5 errors. Christendom scored 2 runs on 4 hits while committing 1 error.
Game 2
UVF fell behind 4-0 by the end of the first inning. The Patriots began to chip away at the Crusader lead in the top of the 2
nd inning. Thanks to 3 wild pitches, a balk and 2 walks, UVF cut the Christendom lead in half and trailed 4-2 after two innings of play.
Landyn Traffas led off the top of the 3
rd inning with a double to deep center field and would score thanks to a single from
Jeffery Espinal. Espinal would later score to tie the game 4.
Jacob Johnson was then hit by a pitch. Johnson then stole second and third base. A throwing error by the Crusader catcher enabled Johnson to score to give UVF its first lead of the game (5-4).
Christendom retook the lead in the bottom of the 4
th inning but it was short lived as UVF came right back in the top of the 5
th inning. With runners on second and third and 2 outs,
James Jackson singled to score
Jacob Johnson and
Daneiry Paulino. The Patriots led 7-6 and would not trail the rest of the game.
The Patriots picked up 2 big runs in the top of the 6
th inning.
Landyn Traffas blasted his second 2-run homerun of the day. The Patriots led 9-6 after the 6 innings. UVF added 4 more runs in the in the top of the 7
th inning to blow the game open and take a commanding 13-6 lead.
The Patriots received another outstanding performance on the mound. This time, it was
Wesley Hetrick. Hetrick closed the door on the Crusaders by getting strikeouts #7 and #8 on the afternoon to end the game. UVF completed the afternoon sweep by winning game 2 by a final score of 13-6.
A Look at the Numbers
Wesley Hetrick went 6 2/3
rds in relief allowing only 5 hits and 2 runs while striking out 8 to pick up his first win of the season.
Landyn Traffas had another great game for Valley Forge. Traffas went 3-3 with a homerun, 2 doubles, and 3 RBI's. Five different Patriots had RBI's in the game.
Jacob Johnson could not be stopped on the bases. Johnson finished the game with a total of 5 stolen bases. The Patriots scored 13 runs on 8 hits while committing 2 errors. Christendom scored 6 runs on 6 hits while committing 3 errors.
Game Ball Performances
Game 1 – James Jackson
Game 2 - Wesley Hetrick and Landyn Traffas