This was the second game of the day for Fairfax under the blazing hot sun and the game was at a different location, Henrico High School. The final game for Fairfax saw a few new faces in the starting line up with Brandon Spoone pitching with Steven MacDougall and Cory Wever in the outfield. In his first starting appearance during this tournament, Spoone had to endure an ever changing strike zone. Ignoring the pressure of two outs and bases loaded, he went to work throwing great ground ball pitches allowing his defense to help him handle the Winchester challenge. The first inning ended with neither team getting a hit or scoring.

The first hit of the game for Fairfax was from a single by Murphy Luatua. Unfortunately, he was never able to score as Fairfax just could not put anything together. In the bottom of the second, Spoone matched the Winchester pitcher by allowing only one hit. Unfortunatley, this batter went on to score Winchester’s first run thanks to a sacrifice fly. The second inning ended with Winchester up 1 to 0.

In the third inning, Ryan Wever scores for Fairfax after getting on base with a walk. The Winchester crew was not prepared, as Wever easily stole second and third base. He made it home on a single by Mr. Reliable, Matt Taylor. Despite working the count and the pitcher, that was all Fairfax was able to string together that inning. The bottom of the third, Winchester scored 3 runs. Spoone was working hard but his arm was giving him some trouble. He signaled to Manager Brooks and, after a quick discussion, Brooks signals for second basemanMatt Taylor to take over. Taylor immediately got the next two batters out but the umpire changed the zone again - finding a pitch he liked was almost impossible. Brooks goes to the bullpen and taps David Grayson. Grayson pitched the first game of the tournament and, with a few days of rest, was available for a few innings. David quickly gets out number three, but Winchester has done some damage and they are up 4 to 1 over Fairfax.

In the fourth inning each team adds another run to their tally. Fairfax began their scoring drive as Luatua gets on base with a walk and then works his way home courtesy of a fielder’s choice by Ryan Michael and a single by David Grayson. Ironically, the only run scored by Winchester that inning was due to a walk as well. The fourth inning ends with a score of 5 to 2, Winchester.

Filthy Fifth

The fifth inning is when Fairfax traditionally seems to come alive. First to bat is Casey Sutton with a shot down the third base line and is easily on base. Moving him around is Matt Taylor with an infield single. Up next is Patrick Gidders who has a single to centerfield - Fairfax is on a roll! The fans and players are pumped and Fairfax is gaining momentum. Then a highly controversial call at the plate bursts the bubble. Gidder’s ball was hit deep enough to centerfield that Sutton rounded third and headed for home. As Sutton rockets toward home plate, the catcher (about 5 inches taller and 70 pounds heavier) steps in and tries to block the plate. Too late to slide - Sutton speeds to the plate, knocking the catcher out of the way, avoiding a tag and was safe… or not? The umpire calls him out. Brooks protests. The official ruling was that Sutton is out because he did not slide. Interesting, but Babe Ruth plays according to Major League rules - sliding is not a requirement at home plate. Brooks protested and the umpire decides the runner was out because Winchester made the tag. Really.

[pause for everyone to completely digest the moment]

The revised call stands and there are no do-overs in baseball OR crying! Matt Taylor battled across the bases and successfully scored boosting Fairfax to 3 runs. Winchester matches that run and the fifth inning ends with a score of 6 to 3.

Fairfax ekes out another run in the sixth inning again with a walk by Ryan Michael and an RBI double by David Grayson. Ryan Wever hit a beautiful triple that inning, but never got the opportunity to score. As Fairfax moves back to defense, Grayson finds the pitch the umpire likes and quickly gets out of the inning without allowing Winchester a single run. At the end of the sixth, the score is 6 to 4 Winchester.

In the final at-bat for Fairfax, our favorites manage to get runners on base but cannot get anyone across the plate. The game ends with a final score of 6 to 4 to complete the 2008 season for the Fairfax Tournament Team. It is interesting to note that the Winchester team found themselves in the championship game against the Manassas Knights. The two teams that defeated Fairfax were the first and second place teams in the entire tournament. It is also notable that Fairfax held the Manassas crew to their fewest runs in any of their tournament games. Looking back, our Fairfax team was the toughest competition for the eventual state champs. Perhaps next year…

Fairfax wrapped up their 2008 season in their third game of that State Tournament on Saturday, July 19. Tom Gregg snapped a ton of photos and we have them assembled in a towering gallery of photography. Click here to see the photos in our Gallery page or you can click this to see them at Flickr.com. Don’t forget we have another gallery from the third game - click this to see that. You can also find every single photo every published on this website in our Photos page - click this to visit the Photos page or find the “Photos” button over on the left-side of any web page.

More video generously provided to us by Dave Grayson. This single video clip is from the final game for Fairfax as they met the team from Winchester at Henrico High School Saturday afternoon - click the arrow in the middle of the images, below, to make it go!

A big THANK YOU to Dave Grayson for contributing his videos to our website - greatly appreciated!

During the two-day break between games at the State Tournament the Fairfax crew had a workout at a local high school field. Tom Gregg was there and snapped this set of photos so you can feel like you were there! Click here to see the pics in our Gallery page or you can click here to see them at Flickr.com. Remember you can find our entire collection - some as far back as the 2007 tournaments - on our Photos page - click this to visit our Photos page.

Dave Grayson’s camera was burnin’ up on Saturday morning as he grabbed footage of our Fairfax team battling the Manassas crew. We have three video clips from the early morning game - click the arrows in the middle of the video screens below to see the footage! Stay tuned for more as we publish video from the final game Monday morning.

Thank you, again, to Dave Grayson for rolling tape during the Tournament and sharing it with us here. More to come! Monday morning we’ll debut the final footage from the final game. Keep watching!

Dave Grayson is our videographer for the 2008 State Tournament and he grabbed a ton of footage. You get to see a couple clips from the first States game right here, on this web page! Stay tuned as we will publish more Sunday morning - those clips from Game 2. for now, look below, and click the little arrow in the middle of the video screens.

Huge “thank you” to Dave Grayson for both shooting the video and sharing it with all the Fairfax fans following the team through the 2008 Tournament Season - Thank you, Dave!!

Kevin Brooks takes the field at Centreville High School Friday, July 25 with an 8PM game time. This is his men’s league team that will battle in the evening contest. Come on out and join us as we cheer-on Coach before he gets TOO old to play good, old-school hardball.

While You’re Here

Stay tuned as we add more stories, photos and videos to the site through this weekend. We will have a full, detailed recap of the Manassas game (you heard they won the State Tournament - right?) this Friday. Later in the weekend more photos from Tom Gregg and then some nifty video from Dave Grayson. Can ya stand the suspense?

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!

The season may be over but we ain’t done yet with photo galleries! Introducing the first gallery of the last game for the Fairfax crew - the end of another season. This collection of photos takes you back to Saturday afternoon to the second game of the day for our Fairfax Favorites. Click this to see the final game in our Gallery page or you can click here to see them at Flickr.com. Stay tuned as we expect to publish more photos in the near future - and maybe even a teensy bit of video. Also remember you can look back at any of our photos with a visit to our Photos page.

In the second game on a hot Saturday the 2008 Fairfax Tournament Team finished their season with a heartbreaking loss to the Winchester All Star team. The game ended after the top of the seventh inning with the third, and final, out on Fairfax with a final score of 6 to 4. The boys in the Fairfax crew are just plain worn out after what was, effectively, a hot Saturday double-header. The game was played at Henrico High School on Colley Field - a location change caused by a schedule conflict at the Glen Allen Stadium. The team missed playing at that fine facility. We’ll have more details later (after a long shower, some food and chill-out time) along with a pile of photos for you to enjoy - more soon!