Culpeper American wins crosstown matchup

By Jason simcoe

Published: July 5, 2008

After locking down a 19-4 four-inning win over the Culpeper National All-Star team Friday, the Culpeper American players were busy trying to picture their manager as a blond.

The 9-10 American squad (3-1) inched closer to taking the district crown with the win at Dave Canavan Park, a title that would kick in an agreement between the team’s coaches and players forcing manager Gary Pittman and his staff to bleach their hair.

Not so fast, Pittman reminded his players in the post-game huddle. If the team fails to lock up the district crown, the kids agreed to shave their heads.
“Now they’re trying to say they didn’t say that,” Pittman said with a chuckle after the game. “Some of the guys love their locks.”

The deal is born from a fun-loving approach to the game that has vaulted the team into contention in District 14. The Culpeper squad will face off against Central or McIntire today.

On Friday, the American squad came out firing, scoring six times in the first inning to grab the lead for good. The group scored in every inning and hammered out 11 hits.

Jacob Settle, Josh Pittman, Ray Tricarico and Hunter Dowell led the squad with two hits apiece. Tricarico and Matt Hall each drove in three runs.

Hall, who tripled late in the game, was just as good on the mound. He pitched two-plus innings, walking three and striking out six. He didn’t allow a hit.
Josh Pittman and David Laird each pitched an inning for the American squad.

“These kids have played their hearts out,” Gary Pittman said. “They really have. We have a strong team top to bottom. This isn’t one kid doing it, it’s 13 boys.”

The National squad (0-4) had a short turnaround after a heart-wrenching 14-13 loss Thursday evening. But after a slow start Friday, the squad rallied to score four times in the third inning.

Luke Easter drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Timothy Crawford tripled to right field to score two more. Yarhoski Aldiva rounded out the scoring for the National team with an RBI infield single.

“It took us a couple of innings, but we started to hit the ball,” said National manager Rob Humphreys, who is also the managing editor of the Star-Exponent. “… I know we went 0-4, but we’re not an 0-4 team. We proved (Wednesday) we can play with the best.”

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