By John Leonard
Down very quickly last night to the River Bandits, 3-0 in the first inning, the Winchester Royals stuck to the game plan and just started hitting.
They scored four in the bottom of the first, one in the second, two in the fourth, and three more in the eighth to send the higher seeded Bandits home early with a 10-3 victory.
The big offensive stars for the Royals were Nate Furman and Austin Bulman, both no surprise as they were first team All-League. Furman was on base five times, with a double, two singles, and two walks. In the series, Furman was on base 10 times in 12 plate appearances! Bulman went 2-4 with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 7-3.
Ramses Cordova, who easily has the best first name in the entire league, went 4-4 with a walk and two runs scored, and Theo Bryant added two hits and three RBIs for Winchester.
Jordan Wimpleberg got the win with two innings of shutout relief, and Garrett Gainey slammed the door with 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief to end it. Both pitchers struck out five batters each.
The Bandits were led at the plate by Marco Martinez, who was on base four times and scored once.
The Royals move on to face the winner of the Strasburg-New Market series, which is scheduled to resume tonight (assuming the New Market field isn’t still under water after that storm last night).
The Bandits conclude a successful season that saw them finish 26-16, the best winning percentage in the team’s history.
Tonight’s Games
-Strasburg at New Market, 7:30 PM (Express lead series, 1-0)
-Waynesboro at Staunton, 7:30 PM (Game one of the South Finals)