Bulldogs fall to Generals in Region 1B championship, 4-1

LHS boys soccer only other team to advance to state tournament

By Randy Arrington

STAUNTON, June 4 — Luray got a solid performance from junior Eli Wood on the hill Thursday at Riverheads, but the Bulldogs could only put together three hits while leaving seven runners stranded on base as they fell to the Gladiators, 4-1, in the Region 1B championship.

“It’s a big loss,” LHS head coach Josh Wood said after the game. “These kids are a lot better than what they played today, we just gotta get the bats going…I know they can hit a lot better than what they did today.”

In the first two rounds of the Region 1B tournament, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 16-2 — with a 9-2 win over Buffalo Gap in the quarterfinals on May 28, and a 7-0 shutout of William Campbell in the semifinals on Tuesday. However, against the top-seeded Gladiators, Luray only produced two hits in the third and one hit in the fourth against Riverheads’ starting pitcher Cason Croft. The freshman went five innings and picked up the win, allowing no earned runs and only three hits, while striking out two and walking five.

Riverheads entered the game with a record of 18-4, with two of those losses coming to Shenandoah District opponent, Class 3 Wilson Memorial — a perennial powerhouse in baseball. The Gladiators shutout Rappahannock in the region quarterfinal, 10-0. The semifinal was much closer, with a narrow 3-2 win over Smith Mountain Christian Academy.

The Gladiators got on the board early in Thursday’s region title game with two runs off a single to right field in the first inning by junior Kendal Edwards. The two runners that scored reached base after one was hit by a pitch and the other on an infield error. However, after that first inning, Eli Wood settled into a groove on the hill for Luray and only gave up one more hit and no runs… until the sixth inning. The junior would finish the day with a complete game in six innings, allowing only three hits and striking out nine, while giving up no walks.

“That one hit batter at the very beginning kind of got us a little bit and then we had a little error….but hey, that’s baseball. It’s any given day…their pitcher pitched a good game, and Eli pitched a great game and hit his spots, commanding the curve ball and the fastball good,” Coach Wood said. “We just didn’t get the bats going.”

Trailing 2-0, Luray got an unearned run in the third off an errant throw, and stranded a runner at first in the fourth. But the Bulldogs didn’t threaten again until the sixth. Benefitting from three walks, Luray loaded the bases with only one out, but then stranded all three runners. The inning ended on a questionable interference call.

Riverheads tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth after an RBI-double by senior Chase Donathan and an errant throw, to secure the 4-1 win and the Region 1B championship. The title game was evenly played as both starting pitchers only allowed three hits, each team had an unearned run, and the score was 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The big differences in the game came when Luray couldn’t covert with bases loaded in the top of the sixth, and the Bulldogs committed one more error in the field than the Gladiators.

“I’ve seen this team come together and it’s gelling good and everything, and it’s a great bunch of kids to coach. I’m really having a lot of fun coaching these kids,” Coach Wood said after Thursday’s loss. “We’re gonna get it… they just need to believe in themselves like [the coaching staff] believes in them and they are gonna get it.”

LHS senior Landon Wood went 1-for-2 with a single to right field in the fourth. Senior Nick Cubbage (above) collected a single to centerfield in the third to go 1-for-4, and junior Camden Boyd (below) went 1-for-3 with a lead-off single to centerfield in the third.

Both teams now advance to the VHSL Class 1 state quarterfinals on Tuesday, June 9. Luray (11-10) will travel to Region A winner Rappahannock High School (Warsaw / Northern Neck — not Sperryville) for a 7 p.m. start, while Riverheads (19-4) hosts Region A runner-up Lancaster at 3 p.m.

“I think we gotta good chance…as long as our kids come together and hit together, we’re gonna make a run for the state championship,” Coach Wood said on Thursday at Riverheads. “It’s gonna happen if they want it to happen, when they come together and start hitting…like they’ve been doing all year…just start hitting it and then we’re gonna roll.

“We got the pitching and the defense, we just need our bats.”

BOYS SOCCER

ALTAVISTA, June 4 — Luray fell to top-seeded Altavista on Thursday in the Region 1B championship for boys soccer. The Bulldogs (6-12-1) will now advance to the VHSL Class 1 state quarterfinals, as they travel to Northampton for a 6 p.m. match on Tuesday, June 9.

Luray advanced to the region title game after defeating Franklin, 6-0, in the quarterfinals on May 28, and then the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, 3-0, on Tuesday. Both wins came on the road as the lower seed.

REGION 2B ROUND-UP

Page County lost to Central on the road Tuesday in a Region 2B semifinal in both baseball and softball. The Panther baseball team (10-12) dropped a 7-4 decision after defeating Clarke 7-5 in the region quarterfinals on May 29. The Panther softball team (14-7) lost a heartbreaker, 5-4, after defeating Fort Defiance, 9-4, in the quarterfinals on May 28.

Both teams finished one win away from qualifying for the state tournament.

Page County’s girls soccer team lost a region quarterfinal at top-seeded Clarke, 4-0, to finish the season at 5-10-3.

For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.

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