PREP ROUNDUP: Abingdon moves closer to SWD baseball title

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
ABINGDON, Va. – The Abingdon Falcons overcame the elements to post a landmark win late Friday.

In a game which lasted until 10:53 p.m., AHS posted a 9-1 decision over Southwest District rival Marion. The contest did not start until 9:14 due to a wild
thunderstorm and a long junior varsity game With the win, AHS (11-8, 9-2) clinched at least a tie for the SWD regular-season title. The Falcons close the
regular season Tuesday at SWD foe Grundy in a 5 p.m. start.

“The kids were excited and felt confident coming in, and I’m really glad to get the game in,” AHS coach Mark Francisco said. “It was just a total team effort.
Now, we’ve got the opportunity to reach one of our goals Tuesday.”

The Falcons scored seven runs in the first inning en route to a 14-4 victory against Virginia High Thursday. AHS continued its hot hitting against Marion,
collecting three runs in the first inning behind a run-scoring double from Josh Barker and a run-scoring single by Heath Shelton.

Barker, one of three AHS seniors who were honored on Senior Night, finished with two of Abingdon’s 10 hits and reached base three times.

“We had a pretty good effort all-around,” Barker said.

Shelton, who added a run-scoring single in the third inning, also starred on the mound. The sophomore right-hander struck out seven and allowed just one
hit.“Heath was on tonight,” AHS senior catcher Kenny Pope said. “He was hitting his spots perfect.”

Including Thursday’s game, AHS had scored in eight straight innings before Marion senior Tyler Thomas held the Falcons scoreless in the fourth. Seth Kegley
supplied a solo home run for the Falcons in the fifth inning. Kegley and Shelton each collected two hits.

Marion (7-9, 3-8) broke loose for 17 hits in a 9-8 against Abingdon earlier the season. But Shelton worked ahead in the count and kept the Scarlet Hurricane off-
balance Friday. The Scarlet Hurricane was also hurt by eight errors.

St. Paul 5, Castlewood 0
Tyler Phillips struck out nine in allowing a two-hit shutout as St. Paul downed Cumberland District rival Castlewood.
Phillips also had two hits, along with teammates Dillon Cridlin, Bryce Lawson and Corey Ellis.
Castlewood (5-13, 4-8) managed just two hits, both by Gavin Collins.
St. Paul (14-4, 10-1) travels to Twin Springs on Tuesday in a game that has Cumberland District title implications.

George Wythe 7, Northwood 0
George Wythe’s Chris Scott came close to a perfect game, but had to settle for a no-hitter as the Maroons blanked Hogoheegee District rival Northwood.
Scott struck out seven in holding the Panthers hitless. An error in the fourth inning by GW allowed Northwood to put on its lone baserunner.

SOFTBALL
Holston 7, Chilhowie 0
Morgan Lowe struck out 10 Chilhowie batters and added a two-run homer in the third inning as the Holston High softball team clinched the regular-season Hogoheegee title with a 7-0 road win over Chilhowie on Friday.
Faith Ritchie, Megan Honaker, Brittany Boyd and Devynne Stiltner all had two hits for the Cavaliers (16-1, 9-0 Hogoheegee) in their district-clinching victory. Lowe added another hit to go with her two-run shot. She is now 15-1 from the circle this season.

Northwood 5, George Wythe 1
Caddisy Hayden’s bases-clearing double in the first inning provided Chelsey Cardwell with all the runs she would need en route to her 13th win of the season.
Batting out of the No. 5 hole, Hayden, a freshman, drove in three runs with her double. Cardwell finished off the rest by fanning 11 batters. Carrie Hartzog added two RBIs off a double in the decisive opening frame.
On Thursday, Cardwell pitched her fifth consecutive shutout as Northwood (16-3, 7-2) earned a 3-0 victory over Lebanon. Kelsee Smith added three hits for the Panthers.