Dragons win an ugly one

While they may be tough to watch, ugly wins count just as much as their sexy counterparts.
After Monday’s game against Monticello, the William Monroe baseball team will gladly testify to the “a win is a win” mantra.
The Greene Dragons gutted out a 3-2 road victory against the Mustangs by scoring on a sacrifice fly, a balk and a wild pitch.
“I’ll take any win I can get, any way I can,” said Monroe coach Marc Arrington. “Hopefully this will get the good energy going for us.”
Monroe (4-6-1, 2-3 Jefferson District) picked up its first run of the night in the second inning. With Danny Morris on first base, the Dragons decided to bunt him over to second. Morris got such a great jump he was able to take third as well. Shannon Estes was then able to bring Morris home on pop fly to centerfield.
“Danny Morris just made a great read,” Arrington said. “We preach aggressive base-running and he read it perfectly. And that’s the difference in the ballgame right there.”
Estes led the Dragons’ offense, going 2 for 3 with one RBI.
Monticello pitcher Travis Smith was tremendous until the fifth inning, when he walked Estes and Ryan Bouton.
Things quickly unraveled. Both runners advanced on wild pitches. Fisher then balked in Estes, and Bouton scored on a wild pitch.
“It’s frustrating,” said Monticello coach Dick Hartranft. “We’ve lost too many one-run games this year, and it’s always mental mistakes.”
The Dragons nearly let the three-run lead slip away late in the game.
After pitching five shutout innings, Monroe’s Eric Utz walked a pair of runners in the bottom of the sixth.
Monticello (3-7, 2-3) struggled at the plate all night, but advanced those runners into scoring position on a pitch in the dirt. Mustangs third baseman Chris Coiner brought home both runners home on a single through the infield to give his team some life.
Coiner was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak day for the Mustangs. He went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI.
Danny Morris came on in relief for Utz in the seventh after Brendan Mullaney, representing the tying run, reached second on a double.
“When Danny stepped on the mound the first thing he said was ‘Eric, I’m going to shut them down for you,’” Arrington said. “And he went out and did it.”
Mullaney took third base on a ball in the dirt, but Morris managed to finish the job by striking out one batter and forcing the next two to pop out.
“We have a runner on third with one out and we just can’t bring him home,” Hartranft said. “I mean, we couldn’t hit a ball deep or get a ground ball. It’s the little things that are killing us.”
William Monroe hosts Spotswood on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Monticello plays Fluvanna County at home today at 7 p.m.