William Byrd relief pitcher Tyler Dean escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh by getting Noah Robbins to pop out, and the eighth-seeded Terriers shocked Liberty Christian by claiming a 4-3 victory in the quarterfinal round of the Region 4D baseball tournament in Lynchburg.
LCA, the region’s top seed and defending state champion, ends its season with a 17-1 record.
The Bulldogs trailed 4-2 heading to the seventh and Dean recorded two quick outs before LCA started a rally.
Wesley Clark (1 for 2) drew a walk, and pinch-runner Bryce Becker advanced to second on a single by Emmanuel Johnson (3 for 4).
Pell Collins (2 for 4) delivered a double to left that scored Becker and advanced Johnson to third.
Jacob Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases, but Robbins was unable to come through as he popped out to shortstop.
Byrd’s Bryce Boothe allowed two runs in the first inning but shut down LCA’s potent lineup over the next five innings. He scattered five hits and struck out three in six innings.
Dylan Hatfield went 1 for 1 with a two-run double in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Salem 7, E.C. Glass 5
In Salem, Parker Stallard drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, and the Spartans scored three times in the deciding inning to defeat the Hilltoppers.
Glass starting pitcher Matt MacCallum ran into trouble in the sixth. Three of the seven runs charged to MacCallum were unearned thanks to four Glass errors. MacCallum allowed seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
“Mac didn’t have his curveball today. For him to get as deep in the game with just his fastball, and me calling pitches it gets kind of funny and redundant. He battled. Our defense has let us down and that has hurt us in numerous games,” Glass coach Allen Jones said.
Glass (8-10) only scored in one inning but plated five runs on five hits in the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead.
Reese Evans drove in two with a bullet to the left-center field wall, MacCallum had an RBI single and Josh Kistler had a two-run double.
Amherst 4, Carroll County 3
In Hillsville, Tyler Hargis pitched into the seventh inning, and Timmy Byers recorded the final two outs as the fifth-seeded Lancers (13-9) edged the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
Amherst scored all of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Chris Martin and Byers drove in runs in the fifth, Chris Thomason had an RBI single, and Reed Dawson scored on an error.
Carroll cut the deficit to one run in the seventh, but Byers was able to get the final two outs.
The Lancers host eighth-seeded William Byrd in the semis Tuesday.
SOFTBALL
William Byrd 7, Liberty Christian 4
In Vinton, Ellasen Spangler drove in three runs to lead the Terriers over the Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the Region 4D tournament.
Jad Karns and Mara Strum added RBIs for William Byrd, which hosts Amherst in the semifinals. Cassidy Goggins led LCA with a three-run homer.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE LACROSSE
Nathan Truitte and Andrew Kayes each scored four goals, Kayes added two assists, and E.C. Glass clobbered Liberty Christian 19-0 to win the National Conference boys lacrosse championship.
The game was suspended Tuesday night with the Hilltoppers (16-0) leading 5-0, and Glass never relented in its attack Wednesday.
Neal Shabestar and Landon Collins combined for the shutout.
Glass hosts Hidden Valley at 6 p.m. today in the Region 4D semifinals, while the Bulldogs travel to Salem for a 7:30 p.m. start.
In the girls championship, Ellie Daily had four goals and two assists, and Liberty University signee Morgan Learn scored three times in Jefferson Forest’s 10-7 victory over Rockbridge.
The Cavaliers (11-3) host Hidden Valley at 6:30 p.m. today in a Region 4D semifinal.
REGION 4D SOCCER
Josh Davidson, Sam Schubert and Josiah King each scored a goal and Liberty Christian Academy defeated George Washington 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Davidson scored in the ninth minute off an assist from Ethan Dupin, while Schubert and King tallied unassisted goals in the 29th and 50th minutes, respectively.
Dan Guinan had two saves for LCA (14-3-1).
Charlottesville defeated Jefferson Forest 3-0 in another quarterfinal.
Playing at Smith River Sports Complex in Axton, E.C. Glass fell to Bassett after four overtime periods when the Bengals won 5-4 on penalty kicks. Hunter Diminick had the lone Hilltoppers goal off an assist from Seth Oliver.
In girls soccer, Jefferson Forest, the defending Class 4 state champs, defeated Charlottesville 4-2 in the quarterfinals.
REGION TENNIS
E.C. Glass, the top seed in the Region 4D boys bracket, claimed two victories in doubles play to outlast Charlottesville and claim a 5-3 victory in the semifinal round.
Wolfgang Ploch and Carter Rennyson won 6-2, 7-6 (5) at No. 1 doubles and Alex Betz and Cooper Layne won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 doubles to secure the victory for the Hilltoppers, who host Blacksburg in the region championship match at 1 p.m. Friday.
The Bruins defeated Jefferson Forest 5-0 by winning Nos. 1 through 5 singles in straight sets.
On the girls side, the Hilltoppers easily defeated Liberty Christian 5-1 and will play at Blacksburg at 4 p.m. Friday in the championship match.
In Region 3C, Rockbridge eliminated Heritage 5-0 in the boys semifinals, and Western Albemarle claimed a 6-0 victory over Brookville in the girls semifinals.
In the Region 1B girls semifinals, Stonewall Jackson (Quicksburg) eliminated top-seeded William Campbell 5-2.
The Roanoke Times contributed to this report.