Settle leads Blue Devils past Vikings

By Jason simcoe

Published: May 15, 2008

When CCHS junior baseball player Brandon Mack was sitting in class Wednesday, he had one thing on his mind.

“All day in school, I was thinking .500,” he said.

Mack and his Blue Devils teammates entered the regular-season finale against Loudoun Valley needing a win to finish the season with a .500 record. They used an explosive first inning to pick up a 6-1 victory and pull their record even at 10 wins, 10 losses.

After the Blue Devils honored seven seniors — Joey Powell, Derek Shomo, Brad Settle, Jeremy Brown, Robbie Whitmer, Ross Karnes and Hunter Kenney — both teams came out swinging.

Loudoun Valley tried to spoil the Blue Devils’ afternoon from the start. The left-hander Settle opened the game by hitting Vikings leadoff hitter Iain Mottice with a pitch. Mottice then stole a base and tried to score on an Alex Owens single, but CCHS right fielder Shomo gunned him at the plate. But two batters later, Andrew Creamer lined a single to centerfield, scoring Owens.

Not to be outdone, the Blue Devils came roaring back in the bottom of the first. After Brandon Scott drew a one-out walk, Kenney brought him around with a double into the gap in left-center. Brown drew a walk before Brandon Mack singled to score Kenney.

Then the Blue Devils used some aggressive base running to tack on two more runs. Brown and Mack executed a double steal, then Brown scored on an errant pickoff throw.

Allen Beall walked and Karnes hit into a fielder’s choice to leave runners on first and third. The senior shortstop then broke for second while Loudoun Valley pitcher Kevin Rinek held the ball on the mound. Rinek’s throw got past the second baseman into centerfield, allowing Mack to score and Karnes to move to third.

Working with a comfortable 4-1 lead, Settle caught fire. He struck out the side in the second inning, and didn’t allow another hit until the fifth, a line drive that caromed off Settle’s throwing hand. He responded by striking out two more batters before exiting after six innings. He limited the Vikings to three hits and struck out nine.

“The first inning, I got discouraged,” Settle said. “(But) you just have to think about practice and your mechanics. Stay relaxed and the ball will go where you want it to go.”

All was quiet for the Blue Devils until the sixth. Brown led off the inning with a single, stole second, and scored when Mack lined a single up the middle. Later in the inning,

Karnes hit a double to left field to score Mack.

“We brought the sticks today,” Mack said.

The Blue Devils are playing their best baseball late in the season. They’ve won five of their last seven games and head into the district tournament as one of the Cedar Run’s hottest teams.

“We’re on fire right now,” CCHS coach Dan Nobbs said.

CCHS (10-10, 7-7 Cedar Run) is still in the running for the No. 4 seed in the district tournament, pending the result of the Stonewall Jackson/Loudoun Valley game Friday, a big turnaround from the team’s 5-15 record in 2007.

“There is a will to win right now,” Settle said.

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