Baseball Team Struggles

The Virginia Peninsula Community College baseball team dropped a pair of doubleheaders last week, extending their losing streak to eight games.

After their game against Chowan University’s JV team was rained out Feb. 29, the Gators (4-14) lost two games to The Apprentice School on March 1 at War Memorial Stadium. In each game, they were done in by big innings.

In the opener, Apprentice scored five runs in the second inning and seven in the fifth for a 12-3 victory. Marco Fernandez had a two-run single for VPCC in the third inning. In the second game, Apprentice had a five-run fifth and held the Gators hitless for a 7-0 victory. Kaden Hunley pitched the last two innings for the Gators and gave up just one earned run.

Two days later, on Sunday, March 3, Montgomery Community College of Maryland swept the Gators 9-4 and 5-1. In the opener, VPCC scored a run in the top of the first to take an early lead and was down just 5-3 until scoring four runs in the final three innings to seal the game. Israel Dozier gave the Gators the early lead with an RBI double in the first, and later drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the sixth. Brandon Drewry added two hits for the Gators, and William Bennett pitched the last two innings and gave up just three hits and one run.

Another big inning proved to be the difference in the second game, with the hosts scoring four runs in the second to take control. The Gators had just four hits, two by Dozier, including a double. Devlin Roberts went the last three innings on the mound for the Gators, giving up just one hit, no runs and striking out four.

This week, the Gators travel to Virginia Beach on Wednesday, March 6, for a nine-inning game at Bryant & Stratton. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Gators return home March 9-10 for a three-game weekend series against Rockingham CC at War Memorial Stadium. The teams will play a doubleheader (two seven-inning games) March 9 starting at 11 a.m., and a single game (nine innings) the next day beginning at noon.

For more information on VPCC and its athletics programs, visit www.vpcc.edu.