May 5, 2008 Clifton, Va. — Mickey Bozek was all over the place playing in his final regular season home game for the Wildcats but the Wildcats couldn’t pull out the victory for Bozek and fellow senior Nick Ellis, falling to Herndon 17-13.
Bozek, who started the game in center field, would move to right, come in to pitch and head back to center field. At the plate, he smashed a solo home run to right in the second, grounded out scoring a run in the fourth, hit a three-run home run to cap the fourth, walked in the sixth and struck out to end the game. He wound up with five RBI in the game and the loss from the pitcher’s mound.
Ellis scored twice, drove in a run and finished 1-for-3 while stationing himself at third base.
Had it not been Senior Night, the talk of the game would’ve been the Wildcat fourth inning when, trailing 7-1, the Cats plated nine runs. Cam Walter started the inning with an innocent single to center but 14 batters would come to the plate before it was all over. Bozek drove in Walter who’d moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. With the bases empty and one out, Ellis singled to center, Conor Bach was hit with a pitch and Zack Underhill singled to short right to load the bases. Bob McMican pinch hit for Kyle Hall and drew a walk scoring a run. Back to the top of the order for Andy Viands, he too drew a walk to score a run. Chris Campbell singled to left to score a run. Still, with the bases loaded, J. P. Nicholas popped into a fielder’s choice.
With the score now 7-5 and two down in the inning, Walter delivered a two-run single to right to tie the game. Bozek then delivered his second home run of the game to put the Cats up 10-7. The Cats looked to tack on more but with runners at second and third, Underhill flew out to center.
The Hornets, who had scored four runs in the top of the fourth, struck back again in the fifth off Bozek who was working his second inning of relief. The first three batters reached before Nick Impellizzeri hit a sacrifice fly to right to make it 10-8. Chris Medina got the Hornets within one with a single to right. An error on the play allowed another run to score and tie the game at 10. A two-out double by Allan Brownell made it 12-10 Herndon and the damage would be complete when Brownell scored on a wild pitch.
The Cats couldn’t score in the bottom of the fifth and the teams traded three-runs each in the sixth however the Wildcats had the chance to add more. With the bases loaded, Nick Ellis’ ground ball forced Bozek at second but scored the first run of the inning. Bach delivered an RBI single to short right before Underhill was hit with a pitch to load the bases again. A wild pitch allowed the final Wildcats run to score but there were still runners at second and third with one out. Hall struck out swinging and Viands was thrown out on a close play at first to end the threat.
In a game, that lasted two hours and 40 minutes, there was a total of 30 runs, 27 hits and 14 runners left on base between the teams. Walter went 2-for-3 with three runs scored in the game and only one player did not register a run, Kyle Hall. McMican pinch hit for hall in the fourth and that was the only time the 9-spot in the Wildcat line-up crossed the plate.
Notes: That’s great, but who are the Chefs? That old Snicker’s commercial came back to taunt a special dedication on the field. The numbers of both seniors were painted in the grass behind home plate. Bozek’s #11 and head coach Morgan Spencer’s #18, until a little handy work was done to fix the #18 into a #16 for the second senior, Ellis.
The CVHS Athletic Booster Club is sponsoring an old fashioned Carnival July 17 through 27 on the grounds of Centreville high school. Taylor & Sons of Annapolis, Maryland will be providing the fun and excitement with rides, games and goodies. The carnival will be open during weekdays with evening hours. Saturday and Sunday carnival activities will begin in the early afternoon. Gates typically remain open until 11pm. Tickets for rides and games will be priced right for this family-oriented event. A portion of the proceeds benefit the CVHS Athletic Boosters so please bring your friends, bring your family, have some fun and help support Wildcat Athletics!
All are invited to an information meeting conducted by George Mason University’?s Director of Compliance, Paul Bowden on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 in the Centreville High School auditorium. The meeting will be followed by a Question & Answer Panel of parents and students who have been through the recruiting process. The discussion will include information about NCAA recruiting and initial eligibility. Join us May 20 at 7:00PM in the Centreville High School auditorium.
Wildcat seniors Mick Bozek and Nick Ellis are featured in a recent article published at FairfaxTimes.com in a piece by Jason Mackey titled, “
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