Hilliard hurls three-hitter and goes 3-for-3 at the plate
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, May 10 — For the second time this season, Luray defeated their cross-county rival Page by way of the slaughter rule with an 11-1 win on Friday at Bulldog Field. Luray beat Page 13-3 on April 22 at PCHS.
Sophomore Connor Hilliard kept the Panther bats in check on Friday, only allowing one earned run on three hits in five innings, while striking out five and giving up no walks. Hilliard also went 3-for-3 at the plate with three singles and two RBI.
Luray got on the board first as Hood College-commit Landon Vile scored off a sacrifice fly to centerfield by fellow senior Cameron Weaver in the first inning. In the second, the Bulldogs racked up four more runs off five consecutive hits, including RBI singles from seniors Jacob Shenk and Christian Lentz, and a two-RBI single from Weaver.
Already leading 5-0, Luray exploded for six more runs in the third off five hits and a Page error. The Bulldogs would also benefit from two walks and a hit batter during the inning that helped produce one unearned run. However, Luray got a two-RBI single from Hilliard, another two-RBI single from Weaver, and an RBI-single from sophomore Nick Cubbage.
After having only one batter reach first base in the first three innings, the Panthers strung together a couple of hits in the fourth, including a solo home run by senior Sean Cave. It would be Page’s only run of the game. The only other hits came from junior Aidan Comer, who beat out a throw to first on an infield single in the third, and junior Tyler Monger, who smacked a nice single to left field following Cave’s home run in the fourth. Outside of that, the Panther bats were silent, while Luray gave up no errors, no walks and no hit batters.
Luray was lead at the plate by their big catcher Weaver. The clean up hitter went 2-for-4 and racked up five RBI. His two outs were deep shots to centerfield, including a sacrifice fly. Hilliard went 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Cubbage went 2-for-2 with two RBI. Lentz went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Vile finished 1-for-3. Even after scoring 11 runs, the Bulldogs left the bases loaded twice and stranded a total of eight runners.
The loss comes after back-to-back wins for the Panthers. Page started the season with a perfect 5-0 record in the Bull Run, but has since lost seven of the last nine games. Currently, they still sit in a tie for third place in the Bull Run with Clarke (7-6, 8-10), after the Eagles’ 11-1 loss to Madison on Thursday. Page County (7-6, 10-9) now has only one regular season game remaining at Rappahannock (2-9, 3-12) Tuesday at 6 p.m.
With Friday’s victory, Luray (6-6, 7-9) has now won three in-a-row after a sluggish start to the season. They currently sit in fifth place in the Bull Run. The Bulldogs finish out the regular season hosting Central (5-6, 6-11) on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then hitting the road for a non-district matchup with Buffalo Gap at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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