The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) – The Covington Lumberjacks carried a six-run lead into the eighth inning but were unable to hold off a late Culpeper rally, falling 8-7 Monday night at Casey Field.
Covington jumped on top early, scoring twice in the first inning and adding three more in the third for a 5-1 advantage. The Lumberjacks added a run in the seventh to build a 6-1 lead before both teams scored in the eighth.
Culpeper’s offense erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning, turning a comfortable Covington lead into an 8-7 deficit. The Lumberjacks were unable to answer in the bottom half and went down in order in the ninth.
Covington finished with seven runs on five hits while Culpeper collected eight runs on seven hits. Both teams committed three errors.
Caleb Miele led the Lumberjacks offensively, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, a run scored and a walk. Peter Crespo added a hit and RBI, while Darrius Brown drove in a run. Chris Carroll scored twice, collected a hit and stole two bases.
Frankie Clark and Crespo each recorded a hit, while Jacob Levesque reached base three times with two walks.
The Lumberjacks were aggressive on the bases, stealing eight bases. Carroll had two steals, while Brown, Emory Stephens, Zach Doorlag, Crespo, Bryant Zayas and Luis Acosta each added one. Jacob Smith turned in a strong start, allowing one run on four hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Carlos Manzueta worked 2.1 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on two hits while striking out three. Quindon Wright was charged with the loss after allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Eli Porter struck out all three batters he faced in a scoreless ninth inning.
Miele’s three-run homer highlighted the Covington offense, but Culpeper’s seven-run eighth inning proved to be the difference as the Lumberjacks dropped the contest 8-7.
The Jacks will now focus on their road game at Staunton on Wednesday night, the last match up with Staunton resulted in a 9-4 loss.
