Luray softball program showing improvement after three-year restart
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, April 24 — For anyone who has been watching softball in the Bull Run District for a few years, the Bulldogs of Luray have not drawn much attention. For a few seasons, there was no team at all…then three years ago, only a junior varsity program…and two years ago, the reboot of the varsity softball program at LHS.
Over the last two seasons, lop-sided losses have lined the schedule… but now, in year three of the reboot, things are starting to change.
“We’re still gonna struggle a little bit against some of the better squads,” LHS head softball coach Timmy McClung said on Friday, “but this is a group that hopefully everybody should see as ‘here they come’.”
With a roster full of freshman and sophomores, Luray (4-2, 6-4) is currently sitting firmly in fourth place in the Bull Run District, just ahead of Clarke County (3-4, 4-8) and just behind Page County (5-2, 6-5). Coach McClung credits his player’s worth ethic and dedication for the noticeable improvement in the program.
“They’re working hard. We’ve got a good group of kids that come in and are willing to learn, willing to listen and they just bust their butts at practice,” he said. “We’ve still got a little work to do in the circle, but … with so many freshmen and so many sophomores, you can’t complain with the way it’s going.”
The Bulldogs recently lost back-to-back district games against No. 1 Strasburg, 9-1, on Monday, and No. 2 Central, 13-3, last Friday. Those losses broke up a five-game winning streak.
On Friday, Luray got back to its winning ways with an 11-7 district win over Madison County (0-6, 0-13). Sophomore Madison Eavey picked up the win on the mound after 4-2/3 innings of work. Eavey struck out seven and walked four, while allowing six earned runs off six hits. Freshman Carleigh Good picked up the save.
Three Bulldogs posted multiple hits. Good went 2-for-4 with a single, a triple and two RBI. Eavey also went 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI. Sophomore Madelyn Alger went 2-for-3 with a single and a double.
Overall, Luray had seven of its starting nine record hits on the day, 10 in total. The Bulldogs left six runners stranded on base and committed six errors in the field.
The Mountaineers jumped on the scoreboard first off an RBI-double by junior Emily Danuser in the first. Luray answered back with one run of its own off an RBI-single by Eavey. The 1-1 tie remained until the bottom of the second, when Luay tacked on five runs off two hits and two errors. Good belted a two-run triple, two more runs scored off an error, and sophomore Kamdyn King stole home on a passed ball. Luay lead 6-1 heading into the third.
Both teams posted two runs in the third. Madison got a two-run home run from sophomore Lillian Kirk. Luray scored on a fielder’s choice and when Alger stole home on a passed ball. Luray added to its 8-3 lead in the fourth off two errors to go up 10-3 heading into the fifth.
Madison had its biggest inning of the game in the fifth, scoring three runs to cut the deficit to 10-6. Kirk knocked in a run with a single to left field, while junior Madeline Dean picked up two RBI off triple to right-center.
Luray would pick up one more run in the fifth off a double by sophomore Lakin Vile, and Madison added one in the top of the seventh when Danuser scored on a passed ball at home plate. Luray closed out the 11-7 win and moved up to 4-2 in the Bull Run.
The Mountaineers were lead by two players with multiple hits — Danuser went 2-for-3 with a double, a single and an RBI; and Kirk went 2-for-4 with a single, a home run and three RBI. Overall, Madison had seven hits on the day, left six runners on base, and committed three errors in the field.
Madison County (0-6,0-13) continues to search for their first win as they host Clarke County (3-4,4-8) at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28.
For Luray (4-2, 6-4), the season hits a special milestone on Tuesday, when the Bulldogs travel to Alan Knight Field to face the rival Panthers of Page County, a longtime, perennial powerhouse in softball. The two teams will be on more evenly matched this season than they have been for a long time. Page is said to be in a three-way fight for the district title with Strasburg and Central, but Luray is still sitting in fourth…thinking they could be competitive with the district’s top teams.
“In order for that to happen, I think our bats need to be on…we can do it…we have to have a really day in the circle,” Coach McClung said on Friday. “If we do have that good day in the circle, I think we can play with anybody.”
Coach McClung’s limited roster is down one more player, who he hopes to get back for Tuesday’s matchup with Page. Sophomore catcher Emilee Hassett “threw her shoulder out,” according to the coach, but he’s expecting doctors to release her to play soon.
“That’s a huge bat in our lineup,” McClung said. “Hopefully Tuesday, she will be released and be able to come back. She was actually my No. 3 batter… I think she had a .450 or .500 batting average.”
Regardless of how the season ends up in 2026, Coach McClung knows he’s building something in Luray.
“A lot of these kids have buckled down and worked their butts off and gotten better,” he said, “and some of the older kids… like Kelsi Caputo [the team’s lone senior], she doesn’t get a whole lot of playing time, but when you’ve got a senior like that, that does what she does inside the dugout, that’s what helps a program. Maybe one of the best kids, attitude wise, that I’ve ever coached in my life.”
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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