Virginia Episcopal’s boys lacrosse team is headed to its fourth straight Virginia Independent Schools Division II state title game.
The two-time defending state champs crushed Hampton Roads Academy 18-9 in the Div. II semifinal Friday afternoon at Ashland’s Randolph-Macon College.
Dylan James led the Bishops (9-6) with five goals and three assists, Thomas Battle scored four times, and James Hill added three goals and five assists in the victory. VES held a 5-4 advantage over Hampton Roads (12-7) at the end of the first quarter and then unleashed seven goals in the second quarter for a 12-6 halftime lead.
VES goalie Jake Baugher notched seven saves.
The second-seeded Bishops face No. 1 North Cross (15-3) in the title game today at 1 p.m. at Randolph Macon.
VES and North Cross split a pair of games in 2018, both of which ended with one-goal differences. The Bishops won a regular-season contest 9-8 on April 4, while the Roanoke-based Raiders defeated VES 7-6 in the Virginia Independent Conference semifinals May 7.
The VES girls play in the Div. II semifinals today against Norfolk Collegiate at 4 p.m. at Episcopal High School in Alexandria.
Region tournaments on tap
A few brackets for high school region play were released Friday.
In Region 4D baseball, Liberty Christian took the No. 1 spot in the eight-team field and hosts bottom seed William Byrd on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Jefferson Forest took the No. 3 seed and welcomes sixth seed Pulaski County to Thacker Field on Wednesday at 6. Amherst claimed the fifth seed and travels to No. 4 Carroll County on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Seventh-seeded E.C. Glass also will be on the road that same day, traveling to play No. 2 Salem at Kiwanis Field at 6 p.m.
The Region 4D softball bracket also was released Friday. Jefferson Forest is the fourth seed and hosts fifth-seeded Amherst. LCA is the No. 8 seed and plays at top-seeded William Byrd.
Region 4D tennis team brackets also were finalized Friday. On the girls side, second-seeded E.C. Glass hosts Pulaski on Monday at 1 p.m., while No. 3 LCA hosts No. 6 Jefferson Forest that afternoon.
On the boys tennis side, the Hilltoppers claimed the region’s top seed and hosts No. 8 Salem on Monday at 1 p.m. No. 3 Jefferson Forest also hosts No. 6 LCA that afternoon.
In the Region 3C boys tourney, No. 3 Heritage hosts No. 6 Liberty on Monday.
In Region 1B, the Altavista girls host No. 5 Stonewall Jackson Monday at 1 p.m., while No. 1 seed William Campbell gets a bye into the semifinal round.
For full region brackets as they are released, visit newsadvance.com and click on the “high school” tab.