Fairfax fought hard but came up short in their second game of the State Tournament against the Manassas Knights, with a final score of 3 to 4. Fairfax scored 3 runs on 4 hits and Manassas scored 4 runs on 3 hits. Each team had 3 errors. Really!

There was a buzz in the air as Lee Strutzel again the mound for Fairfax on a beautiful, but hot Saturday morning. The Fairfax stands were packed with families and friends, some arriving in Richmond just in time for the 9AM game. After reading the Babe Ruth Pledge and honoring our country, it was finely time to play ball. Fairfax was ending a two day break during the tournament. Players and fans were anxious for the competition to begin again.

The Manassas players are an experienced power hitting team and their first two batters hit long singles to get on base. Heads-up playing by third baseman Steven Gregg, who throws the ball to catcher Ryan Michael, makes the first out of the game when a Manassas runner tries to steal home. After walking batter #3, Strutzel found his groove and gets out of the inning thanks to a pristine play by short stop Casey Sutton and a big ‘K’ for out #3. Halfway through the first inning Manassas has posted two runs on the board.

All District Competition

Fairfax steps up to the plate to face the All District Pitcher from Manassas. While this pitcher throws only fastballs, he has excellent control and easily moves the ball around the plate. For experienced ball player Ryan Wever, an All Concorde District selection, this type of pitching is not a problem. He gets on base with a hard hit that just grazes the pitcher’s leg and bounces over second base. Next into the batter’s box is Casey Sutton, himself an All Concorde District honoree, to begin a battle between pitcher and batter. During this battle the fastest man in Fairfax, Ryan Wever, takes advantage of the dual and steals second base. Sutton eventually wins the 7-pitch war, hitting a line drive double up the middle and scoring Ryan Wever for the first run of the game.

Things were looking good for Fairfax as Manassas seemed a bit stunned. Matt Taylor continues to show why he is batting in the 3-spot with a smart at bat. Refusing to chase the fast high balls, Taylor is on first base with a walk. Next up is Patrick Gidders with a text book bunt. This is when things fall apart for Fairfax. Gidders is clearly safe at first, beating the ball to the bag by at least ten feet, but the umpire calls him out. The umpire actually made the call before player and ball arrived at the bag. No Kidding! With one out, Ryan Michael steps up to the plate and hits the ball back to the pitcher who turns towards first to make the throw. Manager Brooks sends Sutton home from third base. The pitcher hears him coming and at the last moment spins around and fires the ball to home. In a very close play Sutton is called out at the plate. The fans were outraged and even the Manassas coach was not sure the call was correct. With two outs, Matt Newman steps into the batter’s box, but before he can pick out his pitch, a successful pick off play by Manassas makes the third out. The inning ends with Manassas ahead 2 to 1.

Second Inning

At the top of the second inning, Manassas leads off with another single. Strutzel makes some adjustments and the next two batters hit ground balls to third baseman Gregg for outs one and two. The next batter gets on base due to an error by Fairfax which allows the lead off runner of the inning to score. The fifth batter grounds out to Sutton at short for the third out. The top of the second inning ends with Manassas adding another run to their tally.

Matt Newman gets another chance at the plate but advances to first getting hit by a pitch. Unfortunately, that was the only way Fairfax got on base that inning, as the next three batters were out one, two and three. At the end of the second inning it’s Manassas 3 and Fairfax 1.

Third Inning

Despite pitching well the first two innings, Strutzel comes out of the game. Apparently he started the game with a very sore arm and after two innings, the pain was too much. Manager Brooks confidently calls for veteran closer Sean Burke to pitch for Fairfax. After teaching the first two batters to back off the plate, Burke gets two quick outs thanks to a double play by outfielder Ryan Wever and second baseman Matt Taylor. Burke strikes out the next batter for the third out and Manassas has their first scoreless inning.

Defense Mechanisms

The bottom of the third and the fourth inning are pitching battles with neither side scoring. Burke did an outstanding job battling Manassas, adding another K to his stats and again facing only four batters in each inning. Each team left an unearned runner on base. For Fairfax, it was Casey Sutton who was hit by a pitch in the third and Steven Gregg in the fourth.

In the top of the fifth inning, an error by Fairfax puts the first batter on base who will eventually score. Backed by his speedy outfield, Burke and company easily got the next two batters out. The fourth batter hit a single and the fifth batter is out with a tight throw from Sutton to first baseman Murphy Luatua. Manassas is up 4 to 1.

Fairfax steps in to the batter’s box again and this time Ryan Wever draws a walk. Manassas still has not figured out how to stop Wever on the base path and he again steals second base. Wever eventually scores on a well hit ball by Matt Taylor. The inning ends with a score change for the first time in a while. Fairfax 2, Manassas 4. Fairfax is still in this game and veteran players Sutton and Luatua work hard to rally their team to keep fighting.

Getting the Job Done

Burke knows what he needs to do in the sixth and gets it done. A quick three outs from a ‘K’ and ground balls to short and third ends the inning and it is time for Fairfax to bat again. Never giving up, Gregg steps up to the plate and hits the ball hard to third . A call finally goes to Fairfax and Gregg is safe on first. Up next is Murphy Luatua who has hit the ball to deep, deep, deep left several times in this game, but had not yet made it on base. This time he draws a walk. Pinch hitting for Burke is ace pitcher Dave Grayson. With two men on in scoring position, he smacks the ball hard back towards the pitcher who stretches for it but misses. The ball grazes the pitchers glove as Grayson is safe on first and Gregg scores Fairfax’s third run of the game. Manassas makes a pitching change and Fairfax is out of the inning. The sixth inning ends with a score of 3 to 4.

Mix Artist

In the seventh inning, Brooks goes to his bullpen again and this time selects centerfielder Ryan Wever to take the mound. While Wever is not typically in the rotation, he comes in from time to time to mix things up. He has great speed and movement on the ball and a slightly different delivery which makes it hard for Manassas batters to pick up the ball.Wever faces only four batters, striking out two and walking one. The fourth batter flys out to Patrick Gidders, who has moved over to centerfield while Wever pitches. Fairfax holds Manassas for another inning.

Casey Sutton leads off the seventh inning for Fairfax and refuses to go down without a fight. He again battles in the box, but this time the pitcher wins and Sutton is the first out of the inning. Matt Taylor goes down swinging and Patrick Gidders flies out to second. The game is over with a final score of 3 to 4.

The good thing about baseball is that anything can happen. The bad thing about baseball is that anything can happen. The Manassas Knights are a talented team that had an advantage over Fairfax, having played together since their Little League days. Fairfax never lost focus and kept fighting but in the end there can only be one winner. Both teams were victims of surprisingly bad calls by the umpires. Unfortunately for Fairfax, the bad calls for them were more costly.

Instant Doubleheader

With this defeat Fairfax must complete a doubleheader on this hot Saturday. The next game begins at 3PM at the Henrico High School field against the Winchester All Star team. It’s already a hot July Saturday, and now the Fairfax crew leaves in search of some air conditioning and lunch as they prepare for their second game of the day.

Post-Tournament Analysis

It is interesting to note that the Manassas Knights continued in the winning spot throughout the tournament and ended the weekend as the undefeated State Champions - click this to download the final bracket PDF. Fairfax held Manassas to the fewest runs they scored in any game during the tournament. The final score of 3 to 4 was also the closest game the Manassas team experienced during the tournament. Even with the loss, nicely done, Fairfax - nicely done.

Photo Momentos

Click here to see our gallery packed with pics from the second tournament game for Fairfax. Be sure to keep your eyes open for more as we continue to gather photos from our correspondents. Ya just can’t get too many pics! You know you can visit our Photos page to be just a click away from every gallery we’ve posted for the Fairfax Team - click here to visit the Photos page right now!

Coming Up

A detailed report about the third and final contest for Fairfax as they battled the Winchester squad at dusty Colley Field next to Henrico High School. Stay tuned!