ON THE CUSP

STUARTS DRAFT – Thanks to some small ball and stellar relief pitching, the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks are now one victory away from their first Rockingham County Baseball League Championship, taking a 3-1 series lead with an exciting 5-4 victory over Clover Hill in 12 innings.

With runners on first and second and no one out in the 12th inning, Diamondbacks manager Tinker Kiser gave Game 2 hero Jason Butterworth the bunt sign, a move that decided the game. Butterworth got the bunt down and Clover Hill pitcher Chase Hutchinson fielded it cleanly but threw it away trying to get the lead runner at third, allowing Lance Bragg to score the winning run.

“I’m really not a big fan of bunting, but I had no choice tonight,” Kiser said.

It wasn’t the only good decision the manger made on the night.  He scratched scheduled starter Brandon Zollman in favor of Game 1 winner Jake Rule. 

The hunch paid off. 

Rule pitched five and a third hard-working innings on a night when he didn’t have his best stuff.  Zollman, who is struggling with a heel injury, went the rest of the way throwing six and two-thirds innings of scoreless baseball.

“Jake is a real hard-nosed kid and he battled real hard for us tonight,” Kiser said. 

Rule allowed four runs, two of which came off a Christain Simmers two run homer in the fifth.

Diamondbacks catcher Trip Kiser provided the offense early with a two-run double in the second. The Diamondbacks tacked on another run that inning off a Clover Hill error.

Down 4-3, Zollman took over and held a tough Bucks line-up in check, pitching out of tough situations until the Diamondbacks offense could respond.

They did so in the eighth when right fielder Ben Wise hit a fastball over the center-field fence to tie the game at four.

Zollman continued to pitch on, even though Kiser had some reservations.

“Coach wanted to take me out in the ninth and save me for Game 6, but I told him that I felt fine and that this game comes before Game 6,” Zollman said. 

Kiser consented and Zollman stranded runners in the ninth and the eleventh before the team manufactured the winning-run in the fourth.

“It’s great to be up 3-1. It’s so much different from 2-2,” said a relieved Tinker Kiser. “We used up a lot of pitching tonight,  so it was real good to get this one.”

The Diamondbacks will try to wrap it up at Clover Hill on Tuesday.