Streaks fall to Albemarle in baseball opener

Owen Stewart, Sports Editor
March 13, 2019

The varsity baseball team had a completely new look as they took on Albemarle in a non-district road contest to open the season. The starting infield, consisting of sophomore Diego Gallegos, freshmen Evan Bert and Zach Cooper and senior Josh Lichti, had a combined zero games of varsity experience coming in. The young Streaks fell behind early and a late rally fell short as they took the loss by the final score of 10-5.

Due to weather, the game was the first time the Streaks had been able to perform any baseball activities outside for the season, and it caused a slow start for the team offensively. Neither team scored over the first two innings, but the Streaks drew first blood on a wild pitch in the top of the third, going up 1-0. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Albemarle put up four runs in the bottom of the inning off of senior pitcher Jose Rocha, who walked three Patriot batters in the frame.

Albemarle opened the lead up in the next couple of innings, tacking on a run in the fourth and five in the fifth off of Gallegos, but senior Noe Delgado was able to get the final two outs of the fifth, keeping the deficit at nine runs and saving the Streaks from the slaughter rule of ten runs through five innings.

The Streaks chipped away over the final two innings, scraping two runs across in the sixth and seventh innings, but the final out was recorded on the base paths and Albemarle was able to come away with the win.

Freshman outfielder Dylan Burnette had three of the team’s seven hits, finishing the game 3-for-5 with two runs batted in, and Lichti, playing in his first baseball game since the age of 12, was 1-for-1 with a double and three walks.

Harrisonburg’s next game is Wednesday away against Riverheads, as they’ll attempt to knock off the 2018 1A state champions.