Dragons capture big win over Black Knights

By Jeremy Knight, Special Correspondent
Published: April 10, 2008

On Tuesday April 1, the William Monroe Dragons varsity baseball team took on the Charlottesville Black Knights in a Jefferson District matchup. The Dragons came into the game looking for their first Jefferson District win of the year.
Monroe came right out of the gates playing well. In the Dragons half of the first inning, they rallied to score three runs and to get on the board first. Bruce Shifflett got the hitting started with a one out single to left.
Shane Racer followed up with a single of his own. Danny Morris then followed up with a double, scoring Shifflett for the first run of the game.
With two outs in the inning, Eric Utz came up with a two rbi single that pushed the lead to three.
After being held scoreless in the second and third inning, Monroe got their fourth run in the fourth inning, thanks to three straight errors by the Black Knight defense.
Racer would then knock in Jason Nave with a fielder’s choice to push the lead to 4-0.
Along with quick scoring and solid defense, Monroe was also getting excellent pitching from Bruce Shifflett as he had a no hitter through the first four innings. Charlottesville did not get their first hit until there were two outs in the top of the fifth.
Along with their first hit of the game, Charlottesville got two runs in the top of the fifth, thanks to a couple of walks and a two rbi single. Shannon Estes would then come in to relieve Shifflett after a great effort on the mound.
However, Monroe was not done with scoring. In the bottom of the fifth, Estes drew a lead off walk and quickly stole second base. He would eventually come home to score, thanks to another error by the Black Knights on a hit by Ryan Bouton to right field.
In the sixth inning, Charlottesville seemed to not want to go away—they scored with a double, followed by a Monroe throwing error that kept the Dragon lead to just 5-3.
Just like the first two Black Knight runs, Monroe would once again have an answer.
But this one would be the one that put the game away. 
The Dragons would score seven runs in the sixth, started by a two rbi double by Estes. Josh Hickman got his first rbi on a fielders choice, followed by an rbi single from Nave. Shifflett added two more rbi’s on a double to left field followed by the final rbi scored off Racer’s single to center.
Going into the seventh and final inning, the Dragons had finally put some distance between themselves and the Black Knights by pushing the lead to 12-3.
The Black Knights would not put up any fight in the seventh, and Monroe got their first Jefferson District win on the year.
When asked about the game coach Mark Arrington said, “We had good pitching from Bruce Shifflett. Racer had a good game at the plate. We also had a great defensive effort and took advantage of all opportunities.”
Coach also mentioned, “This win is a good confidence builder going into the Western game.”
Leading the Dragons in this one was Racer with three hits and two rbi’s. Shifflett helped his own cause in this one with two hits and two rbi’s, Utz had one hit and two rbi’s. Estes and Nave both had a hit and a rbi towards the win.
The Dragons improved to 3-3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Jefferson District.
At press time on Tuesday, April 8, the team was about to face Orange at William Monroe.