Saturday Six Pack: May 8, 2021

Welcome to the first edition of the Foul Ball area Saturday Six-Pack. This weekly newsletter will bring you up to date on a mix of baseball and beer news going on each weekend, focusing on baseball teams and breweries around Virginia. 

Each week, I’ll pick three newsworthy baseball stories and three beer-related stories that you need to know throughout the weekend. These could be anything from important games and baseball news to beer releases and brewery events. I hope you’ll find this newsletter, informative, helpful and maybe slightly entertaining. With that said, here is your Saturday Six Pack.

VCU Series at St. Louis
VCU is 30-14 on the season. They’ve gone 11-3 in A10 play and the latest Projected Field of 64 by D1Baseball has them as a four-seed in the Fort Worth region. The Rams are on a 14-game winning streak, with their last loss coming April 11 at George Washington.

Before this series against Saint Louis, VCU picked up a 7-5 midweek win against UVA on Tuesday that saw Connor Hujsak hit his fifth home run of the season, and his third in the last six games. Saint Louis is 15-26 on the season and coming off a split four-game series against George Washington last weekend.

The Rams took games one and two of the series yesterday in a doubleheader, putting up 33 runs. VCU won game one 14-6 before taking a 19-4 win in game two. 

The remaining games of this weekend’s series will be available to watch on ESPN+, beginning with game three today.

Flying Squirrels Finish Series Against Hartford
After losing game one of the season, the Squirrels have come back with a vengeance in the next two games against Hartford. Richmond won 6-2 on Wednesday night before the offense came alive in a 12-6 win on Thursday. 

Unfortunately last night’s game was postponed due to weather, but the good news is that means a doubleheader today! So grab your tickets, head on out to The Diamond, make sure to get yourself a Richmond Rally Cap, and take in the game.

Giants’ No. 3 prospect Heliot Ramos is leading the Squirrels’ offense so far this season, and by the looks of it, he won’t be in Richmond long. Ramos is 6-for-13 with two home runs, five RBIs and five runs scored for the Squirrels. If you wanna see him, you better get out to a game soon.

Virginia Tech Hosts Toledo
Like VCU, Virginia Tech is also having an impressive season on the diamond. The Hokies are 24-17 overall and 16-14 in ACC play. They’ve struggled a bit recently, getting swept by NC State two weeks ago and going 1-2 against UVA last weekend. They’re coming off a win against Georgetown on Wednesday that saw Ryan Okuda strike out eight batters and Gavin Cross go 1-for-4 with a triple.

John Szefc’s squad is currently projected as a two-seed in the Knoxville region, but with a strong finish to the season they could make a case to host a super regional in Blacksburg. This weekend’s series begins with a doubleheader starting today at 2 p.m. and is available to watch on ACC Network Extra. 

Hardywood Releases Capital Trail Pale Ale
Head on out to either of the Hardywood locations today for the release of their seasonal Capital Trail Pale Ale. According to the brewery, this beer is “a refreshing low alcohol (5.6% ABV) Pale Ale focusing on balance and drinkability on a hot day after a long walk, run, or bicycle ride along Virginia's Capital Trail.”

I’ve lived in Richmond for nine months now and I’ve somehow never been on the Capital Trail, but I have lots of friends who run/bike on it and I can always support public parks and recreation areas. This beer will support the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation and its efforts to maintain and enhance the 52-mile trail that connects Richmond and Jamestown.

Hardywood says the Capital Trail Pale Ale is brewed with Falconer’s Flight Hops to provide orange, grapefruit and lemon zest aroma and has a slightly sweet malty finish. Pale ales have recently become one of my favorite styles of beer, and there are some good ones out there (Sierra Nevada, 3 Floyds Zombie Dust), so I’m really looking forward to this release.

Three Notch’d Sour Apple Gose
The Three Notch’d Collab House here in Richmond does First Tap Friday every week, where they offer $3 pours of their latest release. While it’s too late to make it out to that event this week, you can still grab a pint of their Sour Apple Gose by heading down to their location in Scott’s Addition. The Sour Apple Gose is a 6% ABV, 10 IBU gose-style beer, which Three Notch’d has done particularly well in the past. 

I’m not personally a fan of goses or sours, but for people that are, Three Notch’d is the place to be. They’ve done Watermelon and Blackberry in the past, so one would have to think that they’re Sour Apple Gose would keep up the quality drinkers expect. 

Smartmouth Releases Fruitytoon’s Umbrellahead
We’re doubling down on the gose releases this week with Smartmouth’s Umbrellahead. If you’re down in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area this weekend, you can grab this new release from one of the best breweries in the region.

This beer is brewed with passionfruit, blackberries, honey, lactose and vanilla. That sounds like a little too much in one beer for me, but hey, if you like it go for it. Smartmouth says this beer is for you if you’re a fan of:

• Big fruit energy
• Drinking your dessert, or 
• The wacky world of sours

So yeah, that’s not for me, but I don’t represent all of beer drinkers and I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who will like it. This new release will be available in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans or on draft at the Norfolk and Virginia Beach locations. 

BONUS

If you’re heading to Smartmouth to grab some of the Umbrellahead, why not stay for Beach Chair Cinema. Tonight at their Virginia Beach location, Smartmouth will be showing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle outdoors under the stars. Bring your favorite blanket and beach chair, bring your dog and don’t forget to bring your mask.  
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You’re all caught up on your Saturday Six Pack. Whether you’re heading to a ballgame, trying some new brews, or just hanging out, we hope you have a great weekend.