Monticello bounced back in a big way from Thursday narrow loss against Western with a quality victory over Fluvanna County Friday, but a tough midseason gauntlet continued for the Mustangs Monday night as Albemarle made the trip to MHS.
The Mustangs proved up to the task, shutting out the Patriots 3-0 to move to 4-1 in JD play.
Monticello cobbled together the five-hit, shutout pitching performance with four different pitchers. Luke Cieslewicz, Carter Lee, John Page and Sean Byrnes combined for the seven innings, with Cieslewicz starting and Byrnes closing the door. The defense behind that quartet was strong as the pitchers struck out five and left the rest up to nearly flawless defense.
Caleb Archer and Robbie Deane each had RBI singles with Tre Dudley scoring two of the runs. Kyle Jarrell went 2 for 3 at the plate and scored a run and Deane also finished 2 for 3.
Albemarle’s Connor Porco 2 for 4 including a double that came with just one out in the third inning, but Albemarle couldn’t capitalize in key situations, sending a pair of flyballs to the outfield to end that opportunity. In all, the Patriots stranded nine batters.
The Mustangs will try and keep their momentum going on the road Thursday against Orange while Albemarle takes on former Commonwealth District foe Stafford Wednesday.
