Generals fall to Braves

Staunton survived the walks and turned a few crucial double plays to help put Waynesboro away 7-3, in a huge game for the Generals at Fishburne Military School Park at Kate Collins Field on Wednesday night.

Twin killings doomed the Generals early in the game, getting Staunton starter Eric Berkowitz out of a couple jams long enough for him to settle in.

Sean Bukovich walked in the first with one out.

With Rob Kral up as the third batter, Berkowitz was struggling to throw strikes with the only one crossing the plate being grounded to the shortstop by Alex McClure.

Kral laced a grounder to Todd Brazeal at first early in the at bat.

Brazeal stepped on first and threw down to second to put the tag on Kral for the third out in the first inning.

With one out in the second inning, Cory Kovanda singled up the middle for the first Waynesboro hit of the game off Berkowitz.

Jose Rodriguez also swung early in the count against Berkowitz and Berkowitz got the same result, a double play initiated by the shortstop to second ending at first.

“Sometimes the balls just go that way,” Waynesboro coach Derek McDaniel said. “We hit the ball hard, but they made some plays.”

The Braves took advantage of the double plays, picking up two much needed runs against Mike Hernandez in the second inning.

Kyle Blackburn doubled to the gap in left-center field before a throwing error by Kovanda brought him home on an Anthony Mesa single.

Anthony Porter followed up Mesa with an RBI single back up the middle.

Staunton tacked on a third in the third and a fourth in the fifth inning.

Chris Clinton reached on a fielder’s choice that got Kent Burford out at second.The throw to first from Kovanda went into the dugout, keeping the speedy Clinton on base.

A groundout by Donovan Huffer to McClure allowed Clinton to score from third.

Kovanda made up for the errors in the bottom half of the inning, collecting his first home run of the season on a line drive over the left-field fence, ruining the shutout for Berkowitz.

Two more runs for the Braves in the top of the sixth thrust the dagger into the heart of the Generals.

Hernandez faced the first two batters of the inning, giving up consecutive doubles to Blackburn and John Dishon.

Following a sacrifice bunt by Mesa, Porter collected another RBI single, to right field this time, with the run charged to Hernandez.

Waynesboro had another chance to rally down six runs in the eighth inning, 7-1.

Another double play, the third one grounded into by the Generals, came off the bat of Ryan Mathews to end the threat with two runs scoring, leaving the bases loaded.

Bukovich and Kral walked in the ninth to load the bases, but a Brooks Cullen groundout ended the threat with no run scored.

The two walks in the ninth were part of nine total walks by the Braves, but they did not come back to hurt them.