Month: March 2018

Western Albemarle upsets Northside in state semifinal

The Northside Vikings were 28-0 and were playing in the Salem Civic Center but that didn’t seem to matter to the Warriors of Western Albemarle. The Warriors defeated Northside 68-64 in overtime to advance to the Class 3 state championship.

The Warriors got 17 points from Tommy Mangrum, 16 from Chris McGahren and 11 from Teo Rampini.

Kasey Draper led Northside (28-1) as he tossed in 18 points. Julien Wooden scored 16, Cameron O’Conner had 12 and Jordan Wooden came off the bench to knock in four three’s for 12 points.

The game saw 12 lead changes and four ties as the two teams battled. Northside has to play most of the first half without point guard Nick Price and Julien Wooden due to foul trouble. Without those two the Vikings were only down 31-30 at intermission.

Northside would lead 43-42 going into the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 59 and the Warriors (23-6) held the ball to take the last shot but the shot clanked off the side of the rim and the contest went into overtime. Above – Vikings- Devon Russell

Western took the lead as the overtime started and Northside came when one 63-62 with under one minute left but the Warriors would hit five of six free throws in the last 10 seconds. McGahren would hit all four of his freebies to put the game into the win column and the Warriors had advanced and upset the previous undefeated Northside Vikings.

at left- Northside’s Kasey Draper battles for rebound

 

W. Albemarle 13 18 11 17 9-68

Northside 17 13 13 16 5-64

W. Albemarle – Weyher 6, Payne 3, Rampini 11, Mangrum 17, Strickland 7, McGahren 16, Brown 8

Northside – Price 3, Ju. Wooden 16, Jo. Wooden 12, Draper 18, O’Conner 12, Russell 3

State Championships – Boys Schedule ( All Games @ VCU)

Class 1- Eastside ( 26-3) vs Lancaster ( 21-5) – Fri. March 9 – 4 pm

Class 2- Gate City ( 27-2) vs R E Lee ( Staunton) 26-3) – Fri. March 9 – 8 pm

Class 3 – Western Albemarle ( 23-6) vs John Marshall ( 21-6) – Sat. Mar. 10 – 1 pm

Class 4 – John Handley ( 25-3) vs Lake Taylor (26-1) – Sat. Mar. 10 – 6:30 pm

Results for March 6 – State Semifinals

BOYS

Eastside 69 Geo. Wythe 65 – Class 1 – OT

Lancaster 53 Northumberland 42 – Class 1

John Marshall 56 GW- Richmond 40 – Class 3

Western Albermarle 68, Northside 64 -Class 3 – OT

R E Lee ( Staunton) 62 Central-Woodstock 58 – Class 2

Gate City 70, Graham 59 -Class 2- ( Gate City- Mac McClung -42 Pts)

John Handley 54 Loudoun Valley 52 – Class 4

Lake Taylor 84, Huguenot 73 -Class 4

GIRLS

Central Wise 51, Virginia High 35 -Class 2

Buffalo Gap 36 George Mason 35 – Class 2

Lord Botetourt 54, Abingdon 51 – Class 3

Hopewell 67 Tabb 24 – Class 3

Parry McCluer 69, Eastside 29 – Class 1

Surry Co. 49 Stonewall Jackson-Quicksburg 43 – Class 1

Lake Taylor 57 King’s Fork 38 – Class 4

Millbrook 76 Loudoun Valley 64 – Class 4

 

Fort Chiswell Pioneers 2018 baseball preview

Max Meadows…The 2018 edition of the Fort Chiswell Pioneers baseball team will have six returning starters and lot of experience.

The Pioneers are under the direction of head coach Derrick Jackson who will be starting his 11th year. Coach Jackson hasn’t said, but he has to be up around 200 victories as headman of the Pioneers. Their top pitcher, Chance Davis, is back. So is catcher Sean Morgan, infielder/pitcher Leighton Dunford, outfielder/infielder/pitcher Cody Burks, and outfielder/pitcher Tanner Bailey. Aaron Crawford and Logan Edmonds also are returnees. Bailey had shoulder surgery the first of this year. He is hopeful he will be back before the end of the baseball season. Another Pioneer on the mend is junior Cy Underwood. He had surgery on his knee and is hopeful he can get back before the season is over.

Fort Chiswell will have four seniors: Chance Davis, Tanner Bailey, Sean Morgan, and Cody Burks. The juniors are Cy Underwood, Hayden Hawks, Brody Crockett, Logan Edmonds, Hunter Meadows and Aaron Crawford. The sophomores will be Leighton Dunford and Justin Porter. The lone freshman is Dylan Bailey.

Coach Jackson said, “We have some depth on the mound. Davis will be our number one. With Tanner (Bailey) out, Burks, Dunford and Edmonds will have to step up for us.” Coach then said, “We scrimmaged John Battle and I used seven different pitchers. They all performed well.”

The Pioneers will be severely tested within the Mountain Empire District. Grayson Co., George Wythe and Galax all will be very tough. That doesn’t even take into account Auburn, the defending state champions, are now in the district. Rural Retreat and Bland are very competitive too. Coach Jackson remarked, “Our district is tough and all the teams have a number one pitcher that they can count on.”

Besides the district games, the Pioneers will take on Radford, Chilhowie, Marion and Narrows twice each.

“This group has worked extremely hard,” Coach Jackson remarked. “I think we will hit the ball better and I like our pitching depth. It would be nice if we had Bailey and Underwood from the start, but it is what it is. I’m excited for the start of the season. The guys have been buying into what we are doing and trying to accomplish.”

The Pioneers will get their regular season started and under way Tuesday, March 13, as they host the Radford Bobcats.

Early season scrimmage between Pulaski and Floyd

Dublin…Playing on a pleasant Monday afternoon, the Floyd Co. Buffaloes and Pulaski Co. Cougars baseball squads got their first live action of the season in a scrimmage held at Cougar Field.

Floyd Buffaloes came away with a 5-2, four-inning win that was called because of darkness in the top of fifth inning. Floyd was lead by catcher Presley Yates as he knocked a run in and scored one. Lupe Carrillo doubled in two runs in the first inning for the Buffaloes.

Pulaski Co. scored their runs in the second and fourth innings. Trent Blankenship was one for two at the plate as he scored a run and stole a base. Kellen Dalton singled in a run, walked and stole a base in his two trips to the dish. Chris Remington scored the Cougars’ other run as he walked and then stole second. He then crossed the plate on a Drew Mabry base hit over the second baseman in the bottom of the fourth.

“I saw some good things and some not so good,” said Cougar head coach Jared King. It was our first action against live pitching and it showed. I thought Brandon Neel pitched well. Trent Blankenship did a good job at the plate and catching as well as blocking the ball. I was pleased with Kellen (Dalton) with his RBI single and his stolen base.”

The Cougars start the regular season on Monday, March 12, at 5:00 pm at Cougar Field. They will host the Jefferson Forest Cavaliers.

 

R H E LOB

Floyd Co. 5 6 1 6

Pul. Co. 2 5 0 6

Radford Bobcat 2018 Baseball Preview

Radford…The Radford Bobcats lost most of their infield and their ace pitcher in Reece Williamson. They will need to find replacements for all those positions.

Greg Ridpath the head coach of the Radford Bobcats is starting his third year as the head man, but it’s his eighth year in the baseball program.

The Bobcats will have six seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and perhaps two freshmen.

Coach Ridpath said, “We are a little behind due to the success of the basketball team. The two freshmen PJ Prioleau and Alex Kanipe are just now coming out.”

Radford seniors are Roman Bonet, Chance Morris, Eric Burdette, Bryce Young, Connor Phillips and Elijah Duncan.

Coach Ridpath will have Grayson Howard assisting him. Coach Howard is in his second year and will work with catchers, pitchers and coach first base. Drew Cox is in his second year and will also help with the pitchers. Jeff Woods with help with the infielders and will be the bench coach for Coach Ridpath. Nito Hamblin will be the junior varsity head coach and is in his sixth year with the Bobcat program.

Coach Ridpath said, “We will be counting on Morris and Phillips on the mound. Sophomore Justice Marshall will be the catcher. He’s improved greatly with a year under his belt.” He then remarked, “We will go with Jon Woods at first, Trace Shepherd at second, Conner Phillips at shortstop and Bryce Young at third. Marshall will be our catcher and our outfield will be Bonet, Clint Vaughn, and Duncan. Jaylen Taylor will see lots of action out there as well. Eric (Burdette) will see time as the designated hitter for now.”

Burdette, as most people know by now, was found to have cancer back in September after playing a couple of football games. At the time he was told he had cancer, Burdette told Coach Ridpath and everyone else that he would be ready for his senior season of baseball. Sure enough, he is practicing and getting stronger each day. Coach Ridpath remarked, “What an inspiration Eric has been to us all. We will be wearing some special hats and uniforms later this season for cancer awareness as well as donating money. When some of our kids start saying things about being tired and complaining, I tell them Eric has been through so much and he’s out here. The rest of us have it made. He has been a great inspiration to the entire community and us. He’s a leader and one strong kid.” When asked about how he is getting along, Eric said, “It’s awesome to be out here! I’m happy to be here and for all the people’s prayers and taking me under their wing. I lost 45 pounds after I started my treatments and have gotten a lot of it back. I started at 205 and fell to 188 and then got pneumonia and fell down to 165. I’m back to around 185 now.” Eric started hurting after a football game and was then taken to hospital where they found a mass in his chest. He had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and treatments were started. Coach Ridpath said, “We all were on pins and needles but Eric kept telling us all that he was going to be fine and was at the football practices for rest of the season. He said he’d be playing baseball come spring.”

Radford will be playing Glenvar, James River, Giles, and Floyd and will now also face Alleghany and Carroll Co. in their district play due to the rearranging of the VHSL after last year. They will play Christiansburg home and away as well as Fort Chiswell, Galax and Graham.

The Bobcats will have a couple good pitchers and if they can field and hit, it can be an interesting season if they can fill those positions. Radford season will start Monday, March 12 at Galax.

Pulaski Co. Cougar 2018 Baseball Preview

Dublin…The 2018 edition of the Pulaski Co. Cougar baseball team will contain a mix of skill and limited game experience. Winning 12 games last year, the Cougars lost 12 seniors from that squad. This year’s team will consist of 10 seniors and three juniors. Of those 10 seniors, five are returning starters.

Braeden Blevins, Trent Blankenship, Hunter Shrewsbury, Bailey Ayers and Jon Osteen are the returnees who saw the most playing time from last year.

The Cougars will need to find new first, second and third basemen. They will also need a new catcher, centerfielder as well as pitchers.

Pulaski Co. head coach Jared King, as well as his staff, will have to find a way to fill all those positions. Coach King is starting his fifth season as the head Cougar. He has a record of 37-46-4 in his four years. Zac Chrisley will be starting his fifth year as the pitching coach for the Cougars. Greg Allen will be the junior varsity head coach and is in his third year. Tanner Dotson, in his second year, will assist with both varsity and junior varsity. The Cougars will also have Harrison Adams, a student at Radford University, as a volunteer assistant.

The Cougars will consist of Blevins, Blankenship, Shrewsbury, Ayers and Osteen as previously named. Other seniors will be Brandon Neel, Jonathan Minnick, Lucas Ratcliffe, Drew Mabry and Kellen Dalton. The three juniors are Chris Remington, Caleb Kirtner and Jonathan Howlett.

Coach King said, “As of now, if the season was starting, Shrewsbury would be the starting pitcher and Blankenship would be the catcher. Ayers, Mabry, Osteen and Kirtner would be the infield from first to third. The outfield would be Blevins in left, Dalton in center and Remington in right.”

The Cougars, as in the past, will be only as good as their pitching. Behind Shrewsbury on the mound, the Cougars will use Neel, Remington , Dalton,Ayers and Kirtner.

The Cougars 12 victories last year were the most in many seasons and will be hard to match. The schedule will be tough as Cave Spring, Salem and Patrick Henry will be very challenging. Hidden Valley will have a new coach but are always right at the top of district play. Blacksburg and Christiansburg both will be more than competitive.

Coach King said, “We have some very good teams in the district and then we will also play in the Coppinger Tournament over in Bluefield. That tournament is very tough and has been around for years and years.

Speaking of the Coppinger, it consists of 12 teams. The teams are then broken down into four pods consisting of three teams. You then play the other two teams in your pod. Then the two teams with best record of each pod will advance to the elite eight. The tournament is held not only at Bowen Field in Bluefield, but games are also played at Princeton High School and Tazewell Middle school.

When asked about this year’s Cougar team, Coach King remarked, “We have a core of experienced players. I think we can be a good ball club. We graduated 12 players and there are positions to be had on this team. After Shrewsbury (Hunter) our pitching will be by committee. Neel, Remington and others will need to step-up. We are and will be a work in progress. Our schedule is demanding as we start off with a very good team in Jefferson Forest.” Coach then added, “We have some good athletes that can run and hopefully we can hit because we can use that speed and athletic ability.”

The Cougar regular season is slated to start Monday, March 12, against those Cavaliers of Jefferson Forest and will be at Cougar Baseball Field at 5:00 pm.

Girls- State Semifinals- Schedule

Class 1 – Eastside ( 25-3) vs Parry McCluer ( 25-2) – Tues. Mar. 6 – @ UVA-Wise – 6:30 pm

Class 2- Va. High ( 17-10) vs Central-Wise ( 26-2) – Tues. Mar. 6 -@ UVA-Wise – 5 pm

Class 3 – Lord Botetourt ( 22-6) vs Abingdon ( 23-6) – Tues. Mar. 6- @ Va. High – 6 pm