In Gretna, Cole Rigney gave the seventh-seeded Hawks their only scoring of the night on his two-run homer in the first, but the hit was all Gretna needed to beat No. 10 Nelson in the first round of the Region 2C baseball tournament Thursday, 2-1.
Lucas Burnette connected for a single in Gretna’s first at-bat, setting up Rigney’s homer two batters later. With two outs, Rigney sent the first pitch over the right-field fence to drive in the two runs.
Nelson (7-12) answered in the third when Jack Rogers (2 for 3) stole home, but the Governors couldn’t overcome the Hawks.
Gretna (9-11) outhit Nelson 4-2, with Nick Higgins also delivering a double for Gretna.
Ethan Osborne pitched a complete game for Gretna and took the win. He allowed one earned run on two hits, walked four and struck out 15.
Devante Rose took the loss. He went five innings in the start, giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits, issuing five walks and striking out 10.
The Hawks advance to the Region 2C quarterfinals, where they’ll meet No. 2 seed Appomattox. The game is slated for Monday at Appomattox; the time has yet to be announced.
Cave Spring 5, Staunton River 3
In Roanoke, fourth-seeded Cave Spring took a four-run lead early and held on to beat fifth-seeded Staunton River in the Region 3D tournament quarterfinals.
In the second inning Thursday, Cave Spring (18-6) used three hits, an error and a walk to increase its 1-0 lead to 4-0.
Caleb Wetzel started the scoring in the frame with an RBI single to center field, scoring Wyatt Hage, who also reached on a single. An error gave Cave Spring its next score, and Trey Hodson’s double to left field drove in the final run of the inning.
Staunton River (14-6) scored one run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to cut it to 4-2. The Golden Eagles then answered Cave Spring’s one-run sixth inning with a run of their own in the seventh, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Clay Shell, Nick Funk and Josh Thomas had one hit and one RBI apiece for Staunton River.
Brock Porter took the loss and pitched just 1 2/3 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on two hits, walking three and striking out two.
Hodson earned the win after scattering two hits and allowing two runs (one earned) in 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four.
SOFTBALL
Staunton River 7, Abingdon 1
In Moneta, Maddy Buchanan and Avery Adkins each hit three-run homers, and Audrey Barnes went 2 for 3 with an RBI to lead the Golden Eagles (13-8) to a first-round win over the Falcons.
Adkins was also the winning pitcher, throwing a complete-game five-hitter with five strikeouts.
Chatham 12, Gretna 7
Chatham scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh inning, highlighted by Keslee Hylton’s grand slam, and the Cavaliers eliminated the Hawks in the Region 2C quarterfinals.
Gretna took a 7-2 lead in the final frame.
GIRLS SOCCER
Salem 2, LCA 0
In Salem, fifth-seeded LCA dropped a tight contest to fourth-seeded Salem, ending the Bulldogs’ season in the Region 4D tournament quarterfinals.
Salem’s Lily Barnes and Sarah Mobray each scored in the second half. The Spartans found the back of the net in the 53rd and 56th minutes.
LCA finishes its season at 12-4-2.
Blacksburg 2, E.C. Glass 0
In Blacksburg, the second-seeded Bruins struck twice in the second half, and seventh-seeded E.C. Glass couldn’t find an answer, losing in the opening round of the Region 4D tournament.
Ashlen Burch found the back of the net first for the Bruins in the 63rd minute of the quarterfinal matchup, and Skyler Prosser scored off Burch’s corner kick 10 minutes later to make it 2-0.
E.C. Glass ends its season at 11-6, while Blacksburg is now 14-1-1 and advances to the Region 4D semis.
Hidden Valley 1, Staunton River 0
In Moneta, fifth-seeded Hidden Valley scored its only goal in the second half, ending fourth-seeded Staunton River’s season in the Region 3D tournament quarterfinals.
Staunton River closes out its season at 9-4-3 while Hidden Valley improved to 9-8-2.
Appomattox 17, Parry McCluer 0
In Appomattox, the top-seeded Raiders scored early and often in a matchup with Parry McCluer to easily advance to the Region 2C tournament quarterfinals.
At the half, Appomattox had a 10-0 lead before tacking on seven more goals in the final 40 minutes.
Nine players scored for Appomattox (17-0), led by Samantha Paulette, who had four goals. Taylor Fulcher added three goals, and Abby Ranson had two goals to go along with four assists.
Madison Kirkpatrick made 10 saves in goal for Parry McCluer.
Appomattox advances to face Nelson (7-6-1) in the Region 2C quarterfinals. That game is slated for 6 p.m. Monday at Appomattox.
Nelson beat Chatham in another first-round matchup Thursday.
BOYS LACROSSE
Salem 8, LCA 6
In Salem, LCA took an early lead well into the second quarter, but the Spartans grabbed the momentum and took a 4-3 lead into halftime and held on to beat the Bulldogs in the Region 4D tournament semifinals.
LCA jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game, but the Spartans stormed back, scoring four unanswered goals in about 3½ minutes.
The teams traded goals in the third quarter, with Remy Newton scoring two of his three second-half goals for LCA and Evan McMillan and Wyatt Whitlow scoring for Salem as the Spartans maintained a one-goal edge at 6-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Salem scored twice to start the fourth, getting goals from JR Wallace and Chisom to open up an 8-5 lead with just over 10 minutes left.
LCA scored just once in the last 17 minutes, with Salem goalie Peyton Woodward making 11 saves.
The Spartans (12-4-1) advance to play E.C. Glass in Lynchburg on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the region championship.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Hidden Valley 15, Jefferson Forest 3
In Forest, the host Cavaliers kept it close early, but a one-goal lead for Hidden Valley ballooned to eight by halftime as Hidden Valley routed Jefferson Forest in the Region 4D tournament semifinals.
Halfway through the first half Thursday, JF got within one goal, but Hidden Valley outscored the Cavaliers 8-1 for the remainder of the period.
Hidden Valley added four goals in the second half and held JF (11-4) scoreless.
REGION 4D TRACK & FIELD
The E.C. Glass girls won 10 events to easily claim the Region 4D championship at William Byrd High School, and sophomore Jade Lane paced the Hilltoppers.
Lane captured five region titles, notching individual wins in the 100 dash, 200 dash, long jump and triple jump, while also running the anchor leg of Glass’s championship 4x100 relay.
Jette Davidson also carried the Hilltoppers, taking the 3,200 run and running the anchor in the 4x800, which Glass won with a speedy 9:56.37.
Then there was Taliyah Wade, the stellar senior, who won both the shot put and the discus. Glass freshman Amanic Brown won the high jump.
Jefferson Forest’s Gracie Jauch hit 12-06 to win the pole vault, while Amherst’s Amani Hankton continued what has been a successful school year by winning the 100 and 300 hurdles.
The Glass boys finished in second place behind Blacksburg, getting double wins from senior Emmanuel Waller in the 110 and 300 hurdles. Theo Woods won the 800 run and Glass also claimed the 4x4 and 4x8 relays.
Amherst’s Caleb Coles won the high and triple jumps and the Lancers’ Kyle Mosteller leapt to 14-00 for the pole vault title. Amherst placed fifth overall. JF’s Logan Sheppard won the 1,600 run and LCA (third place) took the 400 title courtesy of Nathan Kirk.
The top four athletes in each event advanced to the Class 4 state championships.
The Roanoke Times contributed to this report.