by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond
Bruce Bower had not had a hit yet this season.
Now the Monacan left fielder has four.
Bower went 4 for 4 with three doubles and three RBI as the Chiefs defeated Meadowbrook 11-6 in the L.C. Bird tournament on Wednesday.
“I kept my head in,” Bower said. “Before I kept pulling my head out and today coach [Doug] Toombs worked with me in the cage and I just came through. Kept my head in there.”
Monacan (2-3) scored five runs in the seventh to bust open a tied game that was far from a thing of beauty as the teams combined for eight errors. Meadowbrook (0-4) contributed five of the blunders and were really hurt by them in the opening and final innings.
“There were errors all around,” Monacan coach Andy Daniel said. “I know we are a better baseball team than that. Some how we hung on.”
The Chiefs scored in the top of the first inning without getting a hit as back-to-back errors on pop ups in the infield led to two runs against Monarchs starter Todd Atkinson.
Bower drove in Monacan’s third run with a double in the second inning that scored Logan Staib from third base.
Chiefs starter Michael McCollum cruised through the first two innings then in the third Meadowbrook used three hits and two stolen bases to manufacture two runs.
“I’ve got a good group and they work hard,” Meadowbrook coach John Grubb said. “They battle.”
Monacan went up 6-2 in the top of the fifth inning scoring all three runs with two outs.
With runners on first and second base McCollum doubled in a run and third baseman Ryan Oliver followed with his own double that bounced off the top of the outfield fence and back into play to drive in two.
The error bug caught the Chiefs in the bottom of the inning and it allowed Meadowbrook to score four runs to even the contest.
After a single by the Monarchs’ Sean Lee led off the inning back-to-back errors at second base on attempted double plays resulted in the bases being loaded with no outs.
A pass ball scored Lee and after a strikeout, intentional walk and a pop out it looked like McCollum might be able to wiggle his way out of trouble.
But Meadowbrook left fielder Tony Domowicz had other plans and he hit a double that brought in two runs and that scored a third on the throw to second base.
The score remained tied until the seventh when Monacan broke it open thanks to three more Monarchs’ errors.
With one out consecutive errors and a single loaded the bases. A sharp grounder down to third by James Lawrence was not handled cleanly by the third baseman allowing a run to score and the bases to still remain full.
A single by Jordan Calfee and a sac fly by Dustin Woody both brought in a run each and then Bower hit his third double of the afternoon to bring in the final two runs.
“We let them get too many runs in the last inning,” Grubb said. “We gave them too many outs. We should have been out of the inning.”
Lawrence, on in relief since the sixth inning, walked the first three Meadowbrook batters in the seventh but Cam Shaw replaced him and struck out three in a row to end the game.
Theron Yancey went 2 for 2 for the Monarchs.
Monacan 210 030 5 – 11 10 3
Meadowbrook 002 040 0 – 6 8 5
McCollum, Lawrence (6), Shaw (7) and Woody; Atkinson, Blakley (7) and Rogers. W: Lawrence. L: Atkinson.
Records: Monacan 2-3; Meadowbrook 0-4
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