The Lord Botetourt baseball team is in a virtual three-way tie for first place in the Blue Ridge District after sweeping a doubleheader from William Fleming on Monday.
The Cavaliers are 5-2 in the BRD, tied in the loss column with William Byrd and Northside. LB is at Northside for a game this Friday but the Cavs are done with Byrd, having split that season series.
The two wins on Monday in Daleville gave Botetourt a five-game winning streak, as LB swept Fleming by scores of 8-0 and 15-3. The Cavaliers are 13-4 overall.
Nick Lancaster pitched a five-inning shutout in Monday’s first game, fanning 10 Colonels and walking none. Hunter Duke and Drew Bond had two hits each and Caleb Franklin jacked a homer.
In the nightcap Bond got the win with seven strikeouts in a four-inning slaughter-rule game. Drew also had a single, double and home run, making him five-for-six at the plate in the doubleheader and also picking up a win. Jared Arnholt had two hits.
The sweep followed a three-win week for the Cavaliers last week. On Tuesday of last week they won at Franklin County, 17-6, behind a big day from Patrick Kepler. The senior lefty was four-for-four at the plate with two triples and a double and also picked up the win on the mound.
On Wednesday in Lexington the Cavaliers defeated Rockbridge in a non-district game, 6-3. Lancaster went all seven innings on the mound for the win
Then, on Friday in Moneta, LB battled to a 2-1 win over Staunton River. Duke went the first six innings for the win and Arnholt pitched the seventh for a save.
LB scored in the top of the first when Duke walked and moved to third on two passed balls. He then scored on Franklin’s single.
Staunton River evened the score in the bottom of the first and that’s how it stayed until LB broke the deadlock in the top of the fifth. Bond reached on an error, moved to second on another error and scored on a single by Kepler.
The Cavaliers will put their five game win streak on the line today when they host Rockbridge in a rematch of last week’s win. On Friday they’re at Northside and a win would clinch at least a share of the BRD regular season title.