|
CHASE MURPHY’S PRESS BOX SCRIBBLES — End Top 4th
Red Springs 3, Angier-Fuquay Springs 1
Mike Adams stays hot — rips another double into the left-field corner, his second of the night, and he didn’t even break stride rounding first. If we had a July MVP not named McSwain or Stubbs, it might be Adams. (Shane Hangen may have lost his starting job for the rest of the season).
But for the third time tonight, Red Springs leaves runners on. We are one clutch hit away from blowing this open. Instead, the Bulls are hanging around like that last gnat at a backyard cookout.
BTW, why is Adams batting eighth? He has eight hits in the last three games.
CHASE MURPHY’S PRESS BOX SCRIBBLES — End Top 5
Red Springs 6, Angier-Fuquay Springs 1
I’m not even sure I’m writing anymore — these might be love letters disguised as game notes.
Danny “Freaking” Abell does it again. Another RBI with runners in scoring position. Cool as a side of slaw. Then Mike Adams — still batting eighth for some unknown cosmic reason — drives in another with his third double in two nights.
And THEN. The moment we’ll all remember.
With two outs and the pitcher up, Shane D’Ovidio — yes, Shane — ropes a single to center. Solid contact, straight through the box. The best part: third base coach throws up the stop sign for Abell. Everyone knows the CF has a cannon. Abell? He yeets the stop sign, rounds hard, heads for home, dives headfirst — SAFE.
Crowd gasps. Dugout explodes. I nearly spilled my 7th soda of the night.
The Vibe Check:
Abell flexing at home plate
Stubbs banging the dugout rail
D’Ovidio smiling like he just got away with something illegal
Bench yelling “That’s why you run through signs!!”
CHASE MURPHY’S PRESS BOX SCRIBBLES — Mid 6th
Red Springs 6, Angier-Fuquay Springs 1
One quiet inning for Shane, one for the bats. Nothing wrong with a little calm in the midst of the storm — just long enough to catch our breath and check the out-of-town scoreboards (and grab another cold dog and soda).
And guess what? Whiteville is up 3-2 on Warsaw in the 7th, and Clinton leads Sanford 2-0 in the 6th. The Robins, if this holds, are about to soar into the playoffs as regular season champs. They're out of Orange Crush. Time for a Sun Drop.
CHASE MURPHY’S PRESS BOX SCRIBBLES — End 6th
Red Springs 6, A-F Springs 1
That’s now 6 innings from D’Ovidio, and maybe his best all-around outing of the season — not just on the mound, but at the plate too. He’s approaching 100 pitches, and you can tell his tank’s close to empty. But he just sent the Bulls down in order again. Total command.
Bullpen is stirring — Miguel Garcia and Dane O’Farrell both throwing. You have to think that’s the bridge plan. Garcia’s got the swing-and-miss stuff but can be wild, and O’Farrell brings the sinker when you need weak contact.
Meanwhile, McSwain hasn't even twitched. Arms folded. Focused. If he’s needed tonight, something went wrong.
Don’t jinx it, Chase. Don’t jinx it.
|