Fluvanna stops Staunton to reach final

ORANGE — In a game that featured 36 hits and 26 runs, Fluvanna Post 2003 survived the battle of the bats in a 15-11 victory over Staunton Post 13, advancing to play Albemarle Post 74 in the American Legion District 12 final at Porterfield Park on Tuesday.

The final of the double-elimination tournament, which began shortly after Fluvanna’s semifinal victory, ended after press time. Albemarle was unbeaten in the tournament entering the game, meaning that a Fluvanna win would force a decisive game today.

“We’re just hoping our bats stay hot,” said Fluvanna coach Eric Miles. “This is the rubber match for us. We’ve beat them and they’ve beat us. If we play like we did earlier, I like our chances.”

Fluvanna took a 6-2 lead in the top of the third on the strength of a Christian Oliver 2-run single and Tyler Denby’s RBI triple.

An inside-the-park grand slam from Staunton’s Zac Goodyear tied the game at six in the bottom of the third.

Fluvanna took a three-run lead in the fifth, only to have Staunton take the lead back in the sixth at 10-9.

However, Fluvanna answered — this time for good — by scoring six runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

“We just didn’t make the plays we needed,” said Staunton coach Mark Patterson. “I’ve got a lot of 19-year-olds on this team. I’m just going to thank them for playing and look forward to coming back next year.”

Ryan Foster went 3 for 4 with two RBI for Fluvanna. Teammates Kurt Fleming and Oliver went 2 for 5 and 3 for 5, respectively, and combined for eight RBI. Fleming hit the game’s second inside-the-park home run in the seventh inning to pick up two of his four RBI.