COLONIAL HEIGHTS — From the moment Jesse Getchel stepped into the box in the top of first, the game belonged to Covenant. The leadoff hitter cranked a double and crossed the plate shortly thereafter on another double, this time from Logan Gower. Going forward, the Eagles offense applied steady pressure, scoring in six of the seven innings played.
With Sean Rutherford dealing on the mound and the Covenant defense on its toes, the Eagles finally got revenge against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. The Eagles owned it from start to finish, and with the 11-1 victory over Steward, Covenant will now play for the VISAA Division 2 championship.
“I really don’t know how to define this team,” said Eagles coach Doug Smethurst. “We’ve really just got great chemistry and poise and we’re having a lot of fun. The team, they’re just figuring it all out and they keep doing it. That’s the approach we’ll go into (the title game) with.”
Offensively, it was another steady day at the plate for the Eagles, who came into last weeks VIC tournament red hot and have remained that way. Whether it was Getchel, Gower, Sam Patterson, Chris Shifflett or even the freshman, Brady Doyle, in the ninth spot – Covenant peppered the ball by jumping out to a 4-0 start in the first two innings and then tacking on a 3-run fifth.
Steward broke the shutout in the bottom of the fifth when David Pierce came up with an RBI single, one of the Spartans five total hits in the game. But that was all the firepower they could muster up, and the Eagles added three more runs in the final three innings to seal up the win.
Getchel was 2 for 3 on the day and reached base in five plate appearances and scored two runs. Patterson was 1 for 3 with and RBI and two runs scored. The lone senior on the squad, Gower was 3 for 4 with two RBI and scored twice.
“Everyone through this lineup does their job,” Gower said. “Everyone has quality at-bats and that’s why we’re holding together so well right now.”
Depsite the team’s relative inexperience, the Eagles have remained poised throughout the post season, and celebrated the victory quietly as they quickly shifted their focus to the season’s final opponent.
“Really, you go out there everyday just trying to do your best,” said Getchel, who managed to string together eight consecutive hits between last Friday’s VIC title game, the state quarterfinals and his first two at-bats in the semis. “But this is the state tournament and the pressure is on. You’ve got to perform whenever you’re out there, and today I thought we all did that.”
Doyle was also efficient at the plate, executing a pair of sacrifice bunts, earning a walk and reaching base on an error. Like so many of his teammates, he finished with two runs scored.
One week after earning a complete game victory to give the Eagles the VIC crown, Rutherford gave up only five hits and two walks while striking out seven batters.
The Eagles will face Cape Henry today at 1:30 p.m. at Shepherd Park in Colonial Heights for the state title.
