2013 Pope Baseball Game Summaries

3/6/13 Pope vs. Osborne Final: Pope 15, Osborne 0

Pope 1-Hits Osborne; Homers by Lowe, Parker, and Smith Lead the Way

Pope combined a 17-hit offensive attack with strong pitching from Nathaniel Lowe, Chris Habla and Cameron Allison to crush the Osborne Cardinals in a 15-0 game that ended by run rule after 5 innings.

The Greyhounds set the tempo immediately with an 8-run first inning on 8 hits, sending 12 hitters to the plate. Leadoff hitter Jacob Culberson reached base on an error by the Osborne pitcher, and Carl Williams followed with a single to right to put two runners on base. Lowe then crushed a 3-run homer to right field for a 3-0 lead.

Stephen Skruck and Johnny Flading each followed with singles, and Patrick Wiseman’s double brought home another run for a 4-0 lead. Brett Lyle singled in a run, and Mason Shiflett followed with a sacrifice fly to right to extend the lead to 6-0. After Jared Parker reached on a fielder’s choice and Culberson singled, Williams tripled off the fence in right to plate both runs and round out the big first inning.

In the third inning, Pope put up 3 more runs on doubles by Logan Taylor and Lowe, before Wes Smith drilled a 2-run homer to left for a commanding 11-0 lead. In the fourth, Parker homered to right field to plate another run. In the fifth inning, Joe Arcieri singled and Teddy Chambers reached on an error, and back to back doubles by Wiseman and Lyle finished the scoring at 15-0.

Pope had plenty of highlights on the hill and at the plate. All three Pope pitchers threw very effectively and combined to narrowly miss a no-hitter, allowing only 1 hit to Osborne. Offensively, Pope received multi-hit games from Williams, Lowe, Skruck, Wiseman, and Lyle.

The Greyhounds improved their season record to 2-3 with the dominating win and play Friday night at home against Cambridge at 5:55pm.

3/4/13 Pope vs. Riverwood Final: Riverwood 13, Pope 4

With the weather finally warming up and in the high 50’s as the game began, Pope fell Monday evening to the Riverwood Raiders by a final score of 13-4.

Riverwood used a big inning in the first to jump to a 5-0 lead, and then put the game away in the sixth inning with 6 more runs, aided by the park’s very short right field fence.

Giving up no earned runs after the first inning, starting pitcher Patrick Wiseman settled down very effectively, striking out a total of 5 Raiders in 4 innings as he worked quickly and spotted his breaking ball well. Braden Zarbnisky also worked a solid inning in relief. Pope put 3 runs up in the third inning and another in the fourth on a long home run to right field by Nathaniel Lowe to close the score to 5-4, but the Greyhounds scoring ended there.

Offensive highlights included hits by Carl Williams, Wes Smith (2), Jared Parker, Johnny Flading, Jacob Culberson, Lowe, and Harrison Siegal. Defensively Smith played very well at first base, and he and Lowe combined on a sparkling 5-3 putout to end the fifth inning.

Pope travels to Osborne High School on March 6 for a 5:55pm game.

3/2/13 Fayette County vs. Pope Final: Pope 10, Fayette County 4

Pope notched its first win of the 2013 baseball season with a decisive 10-4 victory over Fayette County on Saturday.

Faced with another cold day for baseball, three Pope pitchers combined for a solid outing. Starter Chip Mattiford kept the game close in his 2 innings of work, followed by 3 innings of 1-hit ball from Chris Habla, with freshman lefty Cameron Allison striking out 2 in 2 scoreless innings of relief.

Early on, Pope found itself down 3-0 before putting its first run up in the bottom of the 2 nd inning, when a single by Johnny Flading, a walk by Patrick Wiseman, and a single by Wes Smith loaded the bases before Flading scored on a wild pitch by the Fayette pitcher.

The game turned in the 4th inning, when the Greyhounds stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to score 8 runs, sending 12 batters to the plate on the way to taking a commanding 9-3 lead. The inning opened with a bunt single from Jake Henson, and with the bases soon loaded on a Fayette error and a walk, Nathaniel Lowe hit an RBI single to left to move the score to 3-2. Stephen Skruck followed with a run scoring single, and successive bases-loaded walks to Flading and Wiseman, then an HBP of Smith, put 3 more runs across for Pope, which stretched its lead to 6-3. Henson then reached on a Fayette error that allowed 2 more runs to score, and Carl Williams capped the scoring with a long sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Pope added its 10th run in the bottom of the 6th inning. Smith led off with a single, then Logan Taylor followed with a fielder’s choice. He later advanced to second on a wild pitch, then took third on a single by Williams before scoring the final run on another Fayette wild pitch.

Offensive highlights for the Greyhounds included 10 hits from 7 different Greyhound players, including multi-hit games from Lowe, Smith, and Skruck.

Pope visits Riverwood High School on Monday 3/4 for a 5:55pm game.

3/1/13 Pope vs. Carrollton (at University of West Georgia) Final: Carrollton 9, Pope 7 Pope lost a close game Friday night to the Carrollton Trojans, 9-7, on a cold spring night. The game had something for all Pope fans, including home runs, a strong comeback, and some controversial calls by the umpires

With the temperature at 40 degrees as the game began, Junior Stephen Skruck started on the mound for the Greyhounds and came out strong, striking out the side in the bottom of the first inning. Skruck then led off the second inning with a long home run to left centerfield. In the bottom of the second, while on the mound he took a laser shot off his glove from the Carrollton hitter, and still made an excellent play to get the runner at first. He struck out two more hitters in the second as the inning ended with the scored tied 1-1.

In the bottom of the third, Carrollton manufactured a run on a stolen base, sacrifice fly, and Pope error, with the score 2-1 in favor of the Trojans. In the fourth, Carrollton put up 5 runs, including 2 close calls at home plate – with Carrollton scoring a run on one, then Pope ending the inning with another.

In the fifth inning, Pope made its comeback, plating 5 runs to tie the game and quieting a noisy Carrollton crowd. The rally began with a Wes Smith walk, followed by a long double to centerfield by Johnny Flading which scored pinch runner Mason Shiflett. Jake Henson followed with a single to score Flading, and Jared Parker kept the rally alive with a double. The next batter, Jacob Culberson, singled Henson home, and Nathaniel Lowe dug in at the plate with two runners on and the chance to tie the game, then delivered with a 3-run bomb to right centerfield to tie the game at 7.

Carrollton manufactured 2 more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning using a couple Greyhound walks, some small ball, and a controversial play at first where second baseman Harrison Siegal was hit by a Carrollton base runner while covering first on a bunt attempt by the Trojans. Coach Rowland twice visited the umpire in the field to discuss the play. The Trojans later put up another run on a sacrifice fly, moving the lead to 9-7, which is where the game ended.

Pope played a solid game on a very cold evening, battling back to tie the close game before coming up short. Offensive highlights of the game included the two long home runs by Skruck and Lowe, as well as a pair of doubles by Parker. Pope faces off with Fayette County on Saturday 3/2 at 12pm, looking for its first win of the season.

2/27/13 – Walton vs. Pope Final: Walton 15, Pope 4

The Greyhounds opened their 2013 season Wednesday night at home against rival Walton, losing by a final score of 15-4.

Pope started the game strong, with pitcher Patrick Wiseman on the mound, working out of a small jam in the first inning by stranding two base runners with a called third strike. In the bottom of the inning, Harrison Siegal became the first Greyhound base runner when he reached on an error by the Walton shortstop. After cleanup hitter Stephen Skruck walked to put two runners on, Wiseman cleared the bases with a 2-run double off the center field wall – with pinch runner Mason Shiflett scoring the second run on a hard head-first slide into home.

In the bottom of the second inning the Greyhounds stretched the lead to 4-0 when Johnny Flading doubled to center field, Carl Williams singled to right, Jared Parker walked, and Siegal later brought Parker home with an infield single.

Things turned south in the fourth inning as the Raiders scored 10 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks to move the score to 11-4. Walton later added 3 more runs to put the game away, and the game ended after 6 innings.

The Greyhounds now turn their attention to the next game on Friday 3/1 at Carrollton (with the game being played at the University of West Georgia).