Post 330 baseball team hit by bad luck

By Jason simcoe

Published: June 26, 2008

The American Legion Post 330 baseball team has been hanging right with its competition. Unfortunately for the Culpeper players, the team keeps coming up just short.

The group, which is the first Legion team in Culpeper in six years, is 2-6 this summer, but three of the losses were by a single run, including two extra-innings losses. A few lucky breaks, team manager Jeff Crane said, and the team’s record could be a lot stronger.

“We’ve been in pretty much every ball game except the first one,” Crane said. “We continue to improve, but it takes the wind out of their sails when we keep losing these close games.”

The team, mostly comprised of varsity and junior varsity players from CCHS, has been bolstered by strong pitching thus far, including a brilliant performance by rising sophomore Geoff Ward, who threw a seven-inning complete game in a 9-1 win over Liberty June 23. He needed just 70 pitches to get through that game, striking out seven and allowing two hits.

The team also picked up a 4-3 win over North Rockingham in the second game of a doubleheader last weekend.

The group’s downfall, Crane said Thursday, has been an inability to advance runners. In an 8-1 loss against Stafford this week, the Culpeper team stranded 11 runners and struck out 12 times.

“At the end of the ball game, it’s who has one more run than the other guy who wins,” Crane said. “When you leave 11 runners on base, it’s going to be hard to win.”

Crane and Kyle Scott have been working closely together to jump start the new Legion team.

In time, Crane said, he hopes the Legion team will help reinvigorate the baseball culture here in Culpeper.

“Now with having the two (high) schools, there will be a lot more opportunity for kids to continue on with baseball,” he said. “Hopefully now having the Legion, Little League, the (Central Va.) Sting, and everything else we’re trying to do, we can build a stronger baseball program in the county.”

Post 330 is back in action Sunday when it hosts Purcellville at 1 p.m.

Jason Simcoe can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or