Front Royal Cardinals honor Hall of Fame members, fall short against Harrisonburg

Photo by Ken Pullen.

The Valley Baseball League has been called “The Gateway to the Majors” and the Front Royal Cardinals celebrated that tonight, beginning the home opener with a ceremony to induct its first two Hall of Fame members. Inductees Roberto Hernandez and Dana Allison were both members of Front Royal Cardinals’ baseball teams on their way to professional baseball careers. Roberto Hernandez played for the Cardinals in 1984 and went on to a distinguished major league career, pitching in more than 1,000 games over 17 seasons, becoming the 11th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to do so. Hometown baseball star Dana Allison was a member of the 1986 Front Royal Cardinals’ VBL Championship Team, and accumulated several records during his career in professional baseball.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals were not able to follow the awards ceremony with a win. In what can only be described as a defensive duel, the Harrisonburg Turks got off to an early lead with a solo homerun in the first inning. The next score didn’t come until the eighth inning, although not for a lack of opportunity. Harrisonburg would put nine runners on base over the next six innings, while Front Royal would have six baserunners; however neither team was able to convert baserunners into runs.

Harrisonburg broke the game open in the eighth inning, scoring four runs. Front Royal’s only run was scored on a balk in the bottom of the eighth. Six Front Royal batters were credited with hits in the game; only Jose Hernandez, son of Hall of Fame Inductee Roberto Hernandez, had an extra base hit. Front Royal pitchers Kyle Choate, Sean Miller, and Trey Fields combined for five earned runs, seven walks and eight strikeouts during the evening. “It was a hard fought game. We battled but they got a big hit late in the game,” said Coach Tony Hurla. “Offensively we had an off night. We look forward to getting back after it on Tuesday.”

Your Front Royal Cardinals play again at Bing Crosby Stadium on Tuesday, June 4th, at 7:00pm, against the Purcellville Cannons.