Front Royal Cardinals fall short in season opener

On opening night of the 2019 Valley Baseball League season, the Front Royal Cardinals traveled to Staunton to take on the Braves at Moxie field.

Beginning the game strong with a two-run homerun by Derek Orndorff, immediately followed by a single round tripper by Mason Nadeau, the Cardinals put up three runs in the top of the first.

Despite a strong effort by Cardinals starting pitcher Henri Pratt, the Braves answered with a homerun of their own, making for an exciting first inning. Cardinals second baseman, Dylan Menhennet, kept the scoreboard ticking with an RBI single in the second inning. Despite a pitching change to Kyle Turner in the bottom of the third inning, the Staunton Braves fought back, posting seven runs before the Cardinals would score again.

In the top of the sixth inning, Cardinals’ Levi Leisenring scored the Cardinals fifth run on a wild pitch, ending the Redbird’s scoring drought. However, in the bottom of the sixth, errors proved costly, allowing the Braves to score an additional four runs. A home run by Braves’ Adams tacked on one more run in the eighth. The Cardinals attempted a late game turnaround in the top of the 9th inning, when Easton Waterman and Amir Wright scored, but the rally fell short, and the Braves topped the Cardinals 13 to 7.

Your Front Royal Cardinals play again Saturday, June 1st against the Winchester Royals at Bridgeforth Field in Winchester. For more information go to www.frontroyalcardinals.org or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.