Capital City wraps up summer season with twinbill vs. Blair Oaks

Cole Jungmeyer of Blair Oaks fist bumps a teammate after scoring a run during the second game of Tuesday night's doubleheader against Capital City at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.
Cole Jungmeyer of Blair Oaks fist bumps a teammate after scoring a run during the second game of Tuesday night's doubleheader against Capital City at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.

WARDSVILLE - The Capital City Cavaliers didn't have the typical first baseball season. But at least they got to have a first season.

"We've seen some games," Capital City coach Brett Skinner said after the Cavaliers dropped both games of a doubleheader Tuesday to the Blair Oaks Falcons at the Falcon Athletic Complex. "There are games where we do things really, really well, and the next game we took a step back.

"When we can eventually put all the pieces together, we're going to be really good. We're learning, but with minimal time, I've liked what I've seen."

Capital City was competitive in Game 1 with Blair Oaks, the defending Class 3 state champion. The Cavaliers led early on before dropping a 10-6 decision.

Blair Oaks followed with a 9-2 win in Game 2.

"I've said all along that I think the one school around here that really got hurt by not having baseball in the spring was Capital City," Blair Oaks coach Mike DeMilia said. "You know when you start a program, you're going to take some lumps.

"They're improving and getting better. They made some mistakes, but they're making them with freshmen and sophomores."

Capital City scored a run in the top of the first inning in Game 1 without hitting the ball out of the infield. Jaden Chapman reached on an infield single, Caydin Engelbrecht reached on a bunt single and back-to-back infield errors allowed Chapman to score.

Skinner said he has been preaching the simple concept of putting the ball in play, and good things will happen.

"We do a good job of getting good hitters' counts," he said. "When you get guys on base, then you can be more aggressive and do more things offensively."

However, Blair Oaks answered with six runs in the bottom of the first. David Dell smashed a two-run home run to left field, while Levi Haney had an RBI triple and Lane Libbert and Devin Koelling each had RBI singles.

"David has only played the last two games," DeMilia said. " We were really excited about the spring. I felt this team could have been really good."

Capital City followed with its biggest offensive inning of the night in the second. Grayson Jones scored on a sacrifice fly, then Ben Turner hit a bases-clearing single into the right-center field gap, closing the Blair Oaks lead to 6-5.

"Ben's come a long way since the beginning of the summer," Skinner said. "He's recovering from an ACL tear in the fall, and he's going to be a big bat for us. He's going to hit in the middle of the lineup in the spring."

Blair Oaks never gave back the lead, though. The Falcons scored three runs in the third and added another in the fourth on an error to take a 10-5 lead. The Cavaliers could only answer with an RBI single from Jones in the fifth.

The Falcons kept the Capital City infield busy all night, stealing a total of 14 bases in the doubleheader. However, the Cavaliers were able to throw out five more baserunners attempting to steal.

"I really like what I've seen from him," Skinner said of Brock Miles, who was the starting catcher in Game 1. "He's going to be a really good player for us."

Chapman went 3-for-3 with three singles and two runs scored for the Cavaliers in Game 1. Hayden Salmons was also 3-for-3 with two singles and a double for the Falcons.

"Hayden can really hit," DeMilia said. "He couldn't get in the lineup consistently as a sophomore because we had older players in front of him. He just needed more at-bats. We expect him to be a middle-of-the-lineup guy like he's been all summer."

Blair Oaks held Capital City to three hits in Game 2. Josh Isaacs has struggled at times on the mound this summer, but he tossed three scoreless innings and struck out four in relief.

"He puts some pressure on himself when he doesn't need to," DeMilia said. "When he relaxes and believes in himself, he can be really good."

Libbert had a pair of RBI singles to lead the Blair Oaks hitting attack in Game 2.

Capital City finishes the summer schedule with a 5-17 record. Skinner said he hates to see the season end just as the players were coming together, but he doesn't have to worry about losing anyone off the roster to graduation for a couple more springs.

"It stinks that this marks the end," Skinner said. "A majority of them will continue to do things outside the summer league. Some will play fall ball, some will play other sports, and I think that's a good thing.

"We'll get back at it close to Christmas-time. We'll be fine, but they need to fall in love with the weight room."

Blair Oaks (9-6) wraps up the summer league Thursday with a doubleheader at New Bloomfield.