Chesapeake Baseball Wins 3A East Title With 4-1 Victory Over Reservoir

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It’s no secret: Chesapeake baseball is going to pitch well, play solid defense and put runs on the board.

All the more true when there’s a ticket to the state tournament on the line.

It was classic Chesapeake baseball on Monday afternoon as the Cougars landed themselves back in the state tournament once again with a 4-1 win over Reservoir in the 3A East region final at Reservoir High School.

Chesapeake got a strong performance from starting pitcher Joe Seidler, RBI extra-base hits from Tyler Shadle and Colby Buckheit, strong team defense—and yet another region plaque.

It’s the Cougars’ third straight 3A East crown, fourth region title in five years, fifth since 2010 and ninth all-time.

“When you get momentum in the playoffs, it really means a lot,” said head coach Ken King, who saw his Cougars come out sharp and take an early lead on Monday. “When you get a team down, it changes the mindset everywhere, changes their mindset, changes ours. So we were fortunate today.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Chesapeake baseball vs. Reservoir, 3A East final, 5.21.18

Chesapeake took hold of the game right from the start on Monday, with Seidler leading the charge. The senior belted a line-drive single up the middle to lead off the game, and Dylan Young was hit by a pitch to give the Cougars two runners on. Andrew Colebrook came on to run for Seidler, and Shadle stepped to the plate with two outs looking to drive a pitch.

“I kinda tried to hunt fastball early,” said Shadle. “He came back fastball-curveball, then threw the fastball again, and I was ready to jump on it.”

Shadle crushed a fly ball to the opposite field, down the line in right and all the way to the wall, cruising into third with a two-run standup triple.

Seidler went to work with a 2-0 lead and pitched well all afternoon, mixing a hard fastball with a breaking ball. He scattered seven hits, walked two, struck out four and allowed only one earned run, which came in the bottom of the third inning, and he escaped without surrendering the lead.

Chesapeake built on its lead in the fourth. Shadle singled, Mike Cybert doubled, and Colby Buckheit brought two more runs in with a double of his own, scoring Cybert and Brandon Goodman, who was running for Shadle:

That was everything the Cougars needed. They made several fine defensive plays over the remaining innings, with Buckheit making a nice charge on a slow roller for a difficult 4-3 putout in the fourth and left fielder Jake Hynson breaking in to snare a line drive off his shoestrings in the fifth.

Seidler reached 105 pitches in the bottom of the seventh after getting the first two outs, and Young came on to close. He threw three pitches, and the third one was a knee-buckling curveball that put Chesapeake into the state’s final four:

Shadle led the Coougars with three hits, and Lee Robinson also added a base hit for Chesapeake.

The Cougars will face Huntingtown at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Joe Cannon Stadium in the state semifinals. Huntingtown defeated Chesapeake in the 2016 state final.

Shadle said the Cougars are not wide-eyed at being back in the state tournament; they’re here to take care of business.

“We have the potential,” he said. “We’ve been there the past two years. We know what it’s like. We just have to finish this time.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Chesapeake baseball vs. Reservoir, 3A East final, 5.21.18

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