Reservoir baseball defeats River Hill, 4-2, behind three-run sixth inning
Trailing by one entering the top of the sixth, Reservoir altered its approach at the plate and it paid dividends.
Nate Del Tufo ripped a lead-off single, quickly followed by senior Ben Davis’ triple to deep right-center that tied the game and set the Gators up to take the lead.
Shortly after, Quinn Dean snuck a base-hit through the right side, giving the Gators their first lead of the game. Justin Gutierrez added an RBI in the three-run sixth, which propelled Reservoir to a 4-2 victory over River Hill, spoiling the Hawks’ hopes of finishing the season undefeated in Howard County.
“We just knew that we needed to stop trying to do too much with the ball and just put it gap-to-gap, that’s our approach,” Davis said. “He’s been getting us with that changeup all day, so we really preaching to stay back and don’t let him beat you with that changeup. I think we really made that adjustment the third time.”
Six outs from defeat, River Hill started off the bottom of the sixth strong. Brady Young and Daniel Sheehan reached and advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. However, Gators reliever Connor Fleming remained unfazed, getting out of the jam with a strikeout and a line out to shortstop.
“After the bunt that I messed up, I just needed to get these outs,” Fleming said. “I just kind of settled down and said to myself, ‘Just get these outs.’
The teams exchanged runs in the opening inning. Jordan Peguese delivered an RBI triple for Reservoir (14-4, 12-4 Howard County), while Henry Zatkowski matched it for River Hill.
Reservoir’s Cameron Whitehead pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly. Spending much of the season on junior varsity, Whitehead quickly settled down after the second, throwing three consecutive scoreless innings.
“It started off pretty rocky and I just battled through it,” Whitehead said. “It felt great to be out there. Just happy I got the job done.”
As Whitehead gained confidence, the Gators’ bats stepped up with the timely hitting in the sixth. With the top of the lineup coming up, Reservoir answered the bell with three of the team’s eight hits coming in the frame.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our offense,” Reservoir coach Adam Leader said. “They’re a good group of guys and 1-9 can put the bat on the ball and be big. Everybody’s had big games. So, I’m just really proud that they didn’t fall apart and they stayed in there and got the job done. It was great.”
Leading by two entering the seventh, Fleming faced the top of River Hill’s lineup. He remained composed working a 1-2-3 inning as Reservoir celebrated their come-from-behind victory on the mound. The Gators have one game remaining Tuesday vs. Oakland Mills, while the Hawks await their opponent in regionals.
“I think it [benefits] us, I think a little reality check at the same time,” River Hill coach Craig Estrin said after his team fell to 15-3, 14-1. “They’re a quality team, it’s the first time we’ve seen them. We just didn’t hit today. We just really never got our bats going, all the credit in the world to them.”
