Clover Hill claimed a third-straight RCBL title with a 7-11 win over Stuarts Draft in game seven of the league finals Friday night.
The Bucks, who rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits in the series, took advantage of one crucial D'backs error, 11 walks and two hit batters to score seven runs on just five hits. Draft, meanwhile, managed nine hits and three walks, but stranded 10 runners and was hurt by grounding into three double plays — all coming in the first four frames.
Draft looked good offensively early against CH starter John Sinclair. In the top of the first, Brandon Zollman led off with a bloop single to left, but Jason Butterworth grounded into a double play one batter later. After Jay Thompson's bloop single to right, Sinclair got Ryan Cooper to fly out to left to end the inning.
Draft lefty Zollman worked around a one-out single from Christian Simmers in the bottom of the first, fanning Addison Bowman and Shane Banks.
In the second, Brandon Clark smacked a one-out double and Lance Bragg added a two-out infield single, but Sinclair got Wes Harlow to fly out to center to end the threat.
The Bucks, with consecutive one-out walks to Dustin Bowman, Andrew Weaver and a single form Chris Cofer loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but Zollman struck out Aaron Martin and got Drew Easter to ground out to escape the jam.
Sinclair got an inning-ending double play from Thompson, after Butterworth had singled, in the third, and Zollman worked a 1-2-3 frame through the heart of the Bucks' order in the bottom of the inning.
Clark's double-play grounder ended the fourth for Draft, before the Bucks finally lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame.
With one out, Zollman hit Dustin Bowman and walked Weaver. Cofer then grounded into what appeared to be a tailor-made double play ball to second, but Thompson, at short, bobbled the exchange, with all runners safe to load the bases. After Zollman fanned Martin, he walked Easter to force in the game's first run. Zollman then walked Simmers to plate another run, with the ball getting away from catcher Wes Dimitt and Cofer alertly scrambling home from third base for a 3-0 lead.
The Bucks added two more runs in the fifth off reliever Jake Rule, who issued walks to Aaron Lough and Dustin Bowman, and later a two-out, two RBI single to Cofer for a 5-0 Clover Hill advantage.
Draft scored its lone run in the top of the sixth. With one out, Sinclair allowed an infield single to Thompson. One out later, he walked Dimitt and was relieved by James Lucas, who yielded a bloop RBI single to center from Clark. But Lucas struck out Rule to end the inning and cruised from that point on.
The Bucks got a RBI single from Banks and a sacrifice fly from Dustin Bowman in the eighth to push the lead to 7-1, and Lucas got a groundout and a pair of strikeouts — the last being to pinch-hitter Rajah Jenkins — to close out the series.
Simmers went 1-for-4 with a RBI, Banks was 1-for-5 with a RBI and Cofer was 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Bucks. Dustin Bowman was 0-for-0 with three walks, a hit by pitch and sacrifice fly and a RBI. Addison Bowman, who was named series MVP, went 1-for-5.
Butterworth and Clark both had two hits for Draft.
