WarHawks Stymie Saxons
Madison uses strong pitching to top Langley.
By Sean Dunn
April 3, 2003

The Madison WarHawks defeated the Langley Saxons 5-1 on Friday night in Vienna on the strength of great pitching, timely hitting and aggressive base-running.
"Tonight was a great team effort," said Madison coach Mark Gjormand. "We're a little bit ahead of where I thought we would be in March."
Madison pitcher Matthew Riffee threw five innings of shutout baseball against the Saxons' potent offense. By mixing fastballs with curveballs, Riffee was able to keep hitters off balance throughout the evening. Riffee struck out six batters and allowed just two hits in a superb outing.
"I definitely wanted to get ahead with my fastball and make sure I was throwing strikes and hitting my spots," said Riffee. "I just tried to get the curveball in there for a strike, and usually when I do that, it is pretty effective."
The WarHawks applied pressure to the Saxons' defense with outstanding base-running and were able to turn stolen bases into runs.
In the first inning, a leadoff single and a stolen base by shortstop Johnny Ayers were followed by a sacrifice fly by Riffee. A balk from Saxons pitcher Jay Sborz allowed Ayers to score, giving the WarHawks a 1-0 lead.
"You can't beat a kid like Sborz by sitting back and counting on hitting the ball all night," said Gjormand. "You have to put pressure on him."

MADISON ADDED two more runs in the second inning. Third baseman Christopher Wimmer drew a walk with one out and promptly stole second base. Wimmer advanced to third on a passed ball and eventually scored on an errant throw from Langley catcher Nicholas Zahra, as Zahra attempted to throw down a runner stealing second base. Later in the inning, DH Ryan Costello scored on an RBI groundout by second baseman Nicholas Tomasetti.
In the fifth inning, Madison increased its lead to 5-0. Catcher Matt Foley's one-out walk and theft of second base preceded a timely double from centerfielder Andrew Baird. Foley scored on an RBI groundout, and Baird crossed the plate when a passed ball skirted past Langley’s catcher.
The frustration felt by Langley was a combination of a lack of experience, poor execution of fundamentals, and perceived bad calls from the umpires.
"We start four sophomores, and we played like sophomores," said Langley coach Jeff Ferrell. "We got taken out of our game a little bit, we got a little too excited and caught up in the moment. We just didn't play the way we know we can play."
Langley's season record drops to 1-1, while Madison improves its season record to 3-1 after winning this very important district game.
"We beat a really good team tonight, and it's a big win because it's a district win. We always have things to work on and room to improve, but I’m proud of the team tonight," said Gjormand.