It's Marshall Over Mason in F.C. High School Tourney

Sunny and warm baseball weather was at hand yesterday, and the conclusion of Falls Church division play in the Alexandria-Falls Church Spring Break High School Baseball Tournament proved to be an ideal way to celebrate it. On their home varsity field the George C. Marshall High Statesmen met the Mustangs of George Mason High to play for the title among the four Falls Church area schools composing the Falls Church division. Kept close for the better part of the game, in the end, the Statesman walked away with a 9-1 victory. They now face the Alexandria division's champion, Mount Vernon today.

The unique baseball tournament provided the four area Falls Church schools – George Mason, George Marshall, J.E.B. Stuart and Falls Church High -- with a rare chance to play one another, given they're otherwise in different divisions and leagues.

After losing 10-8 to George Mason in the tournament’s first round on Monday, Marshall gained retribution and sparked some new intensity yesterday into a match up known as the “Rt. 7 Rivalry,” according to Marshall head coach, Richard Sullivan

Coach Sullivan remarked on the unique competitive spirit inherent when these two teams met this week. “I’d like to see Falls Church stay competitive. It gets back to the Little League days,” said Sullivan, noting that students from both teams used to play together before high school.

Though memories of childhood play were present, the player who took control of Marshall’s defense, on the mound, spent his Little League days in California. Senior pitcher Matt Strong finished a complete seven full innings yesterday, striking out six batters and allowing eight runs. True to his name, Strong displayed consistent speed and accuracy against George Mason’s lineup.

On the offensive end of things, the Marshall Statesman batted first and got things going on sophomore designated hitter Jordan Culbreath’s RBI single, which sent senior Adam Engmen home for the game’s first run. Marshall’s defense then maintained this initial lead with sharp defensive play.

The Mustang’s defense answered right back as freshman pitcher Byron Mendenhall retired all three Statesmen batters in the top of the second. In the third, Mendenhall slipped early but the defense recovered after flipping a quick double play at third and first base for the innings' first two outs, limiting Marshall to only a run.

Andrew Yancey (’04) and John Schwengal (’06), began to warm their bats with hits in the third and fourth innings, respectively. However, as the game unfolded, the George Mason hitting proved too sporadic for the commanding presence of Strong’s pitching, in addition to the nearly flawless fielding and impending scoring onslaught of the Statesman.

“We hit well in the tournament,” said Culbreath, “I hope we’ll be able to carry it on to our district play.”

By the fifth inning, Marshall held a 5-0 lead, with Stephen Gooding (’06), Edward Soloman (’05) and Culbreath all driving in runs. Culbreath wound up going four for four on the day; following the six hits and nine RBIs during his last game against Falls Church High.. In the next round of batting, George Mason’s pitcher Matt Foley (’06), made his presence known with an RBI double smacked to right field that allowed Josh Sadtler (’04) to score. Afterward, the Mustangs would score no more, but Marshall’s offense was not finished.

Obviously impressed with Foley’s at bat performance and not satisfied enough with his own pitching contribution, Matt Strong ended his hitless day with a homerun rope to left field that gave his team four more runs, extending the Statesman’s lead to eight and securing the tournament trophy. “It felt good to unload on something after not batting well all day,” said Strong of the hit. Recapping what went well for Marshall, Sullivan explained, “We have six starting pitchers and they’re all strong.” On the tournament win against this rival he said, “We played horribly last game and that’s not the team we are,” he explained, “George Mason is young and talented but we’ve got a lot of experience in our seniors.”

“This win feels great. Everyone did what they were supposed to do, it’s a real confidence booster,” concluded Strong.

Earlier in the afternoon, on the George Marshall field, the JEB Stuart Raiders bested the Falls Church High Jaguars, 16-5, to walk away with the third place consolation honors for the Falls Church division of the tournament.

From the first pitch, the Raiders came out swinging looking to turn around a poor start that left them 0-3 in pre-tournament play. “To be honest, I entered us in this tournament to get rolling before we start district play,” explained Raider’s head coach Todd Burger. “Now, were back in the right direction.”

Capitalizing on fielding mistakes, Stuart High quickly had three hits and two runs after Sam Parelhoff (’06) scored on a throwing error and Casey Eliff (’06) brought in Patrick Sledz (’04) with a single.

After a shaky start, Falls Church freshman pitcher Bobby Stefanowicz stifled the offensive flow, striking out sophomore Tommy Palmiotto.

The next batter, pitcher Jesse Shapiro (’05), singled to load the bases. However, Stefanowicz prevented further damage by catching the next two batters swinging at his inside curve.

Leading off with Josh Knepley (’06), Falls Church aimed to assert its power behind the plate. Shapiro, however, had other ideas and quickly ended the inning after four batters, allowing only one hit and giving his teammates the opportunity to resume adding to the score. And resume they did, taking advantage of stolen bases, walks, and wild pitches to score three more runs in the second inning. After Vinh Trinh (’06) and Sledz worked their way around the bases and Palmiotto brought in another run, the Statesmen opted for a pitching change in favor of JP Klingenenberg. The senior finished the inning and proceeded to hold the Raiders scoreless for the next few.

Falls Church, however, continued to stumble against Shapiro’s fastball and senior Francis Solomon’s RBI in the third was the only scoring the Statesmen could muster over the next three rounds at bat.

By the top of the sixth, Falls Church continued its pitching rotation and brought in junior Jacob Pierce who was promptly assaulted by a resumption in Raider hitting that saw Casey Eliff (’06) and Derrick Rollins (’04) score one run each, extending the lead to six. Sophomore Wes Stansel went in to exchange places with Pierce. The bat connections of JEB Stuart didn’t subside until the team had four more runs on their opponent, leaving the score at 11-1.

The Raiders refused to fade away and took advantage of Shapiro as he began to show signs of fatigue in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Chris Edwards drove in a run with a bases-loaded single. With three runners still on, Knepley and Eric Gross (’05) were both walked, allowing two more runs to score. After Solomon’s sacrifice fly RBI, Shapiro found his composure and ended the comeback rally by forcing Brad Newell ('07) to pop out.

On how Shapiro felt as the Jaguars rallied in the sixth, he said, “I was never worried. I had confidence in the defense behind me.” Giving credit where it's do, senior Winston Rivas and sophomore Jason Trinh each had strong defensive showings. With a home run to left field, Rollins commenced one more Stuart scoring barrage. On the hit, Rollins said, “It felt great, first time this year. I think it’ll improve the rest of the season.”

Facing four more batters, Shapiro finished the game. The Raiders’ experience and depth proved just too much for Falls Church’s young roster.

Pressed on how this win will affect the rest of the season, Rollins shrugged, “We’re just going to go out and have some fun.”

In addition to the tournament's inter-divisional championship game today, all the teams will play their respective counterparts from the other division over the course of the day.