First home win remains elusive for Front Royal Cardinals

The trouble started early for the Cardinals, when starting pitcher Kyle Choate, who hurt his back and subsequently struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning, faced nine Rebels batters and gave up four runs in the process. The Cardinals attempted to come back in the home half of the inning. Dylan Menhennett singled, then scored on Carson Bell’s single, and Steve Grober worked a walk, then scored on Arrison Perez’s single. At the end of the inning, the Rebels lead was cut in half.

A pitching change an the top of the second inning brought Trey Parr to the mound for the Cardinals. Parr managed to get three quick outs. In the bottom of the inning, Rebels pitcher Will Moore hit a batter, then issued three subsequent walks to allow the Cardinals to score, cutting the Rebels’ lead to one run.

After a quiet third inning, the Rebels pushed one more across in the fourth. Front Royal made another pitching change, bringing in lefthanded pitcher Andrew Hoguet, who was able to get the next two batters out in order. Rebels’ pitching remained dominant, and the Cardinals went down in order in both the fourth and fifth innings.

The sixth and seventh innings were particularly long for Cardinals’ pitchers Hoguet and Sean Miller. The duo faced 19 Rebels’ batters in those two innings, and the Cardinals committed seven errors. When the dust settled, the Rebels had scored an additional ten runs, and the score was 15-3.

In the eighth inning, looking to make a big change, the Cardinals brought in Levi Leisenring, typically a first baseman, to try to close out the game. Leisenring proved effective, striking out three batters and allowing no runs in his pitching debut. In the bottom of the eighth, Leisenring struck a single, scoring teammate Matt Cedarburg from third base. Although the Cardinals attempted a two out rally in the ninth inning, they were unsuccessful, and Leisenring’s RBI would be the last run of the game. The Cardinals fell to the New Market Rebels 15-4.

Coach Tony Hurla explained, “Our starter hurt his back in the first, and that played a big impact tonight. Defensively, we weren’t sharp and it was just a tough game for us. We will reset on the off day tomorrow, and look to come back strong on Monday.”

The Front Royal Cardinals travel to Harrisonburg’s Veternals Memorial Park to face the Turks on Monday, June 10th at 7:30 pm. At home this week, PaveMint Taphouse and Grill sponsors Tuesday’s 7:00 pm game against the Charlottesville TomSox, and the Cardinals host First Responders Appreciation Night during the game against the Strasburg Express on Thursday, June 13th, at 7:00 pm. For more information on these and other events, visit the website at www.frontroyalcardinals.org.