The Cavaliers never had a chance against Rustburg junior pitcher Eden Bigham, who threw a perfect game for the win. Bigham, who will play college ball at the University of Virginia after graduating from Rustburg next spring, retired all 21 batters she faced, including 18 by strikeout, to send the LB girls home shaking their heads.
“I saw her throw that first pitch and I thought, ‘we’re in for something today,’” said LB coach Cheryl Shockley. “She was the fastest pitcher we saw all year. You could see her ball jump.”
The Cavs could see it, but they couldn’t hit it. Lord Botetourt only put three balls in play. Audrey Butler hit a fly ball to the outfield and Gianna Sloan-Lebron popped up to the infield twice. The other 18 outs were “K’s,” a dozen swinging and half a dozen looking. Every girl in the LB lineup struck out at least once, including Liberty University bound senior Hailey Deter, one of the top hitters in the area.
“Hailey will get another chance to see her in college, and I’m sure she’s looking forward to that,” said Shockley, as Liberty is on UVA’s schedule. “Hailey was not happy after the game.”
With the loss the Cavaliers finished the season with a 10-5 record. They started the season 2-3 but got on a roll and won seven of their last nine, including a Region 3D championship win over Cave Spring. It was a great season for a team that wasn’t sure if they’d even have a season back in the fall, when the COVID 19 pandemic was raging.
“We’ve never been able to end a season on such a positive note,” said Shockley. “After the game we sat around and talked and the girls had smiles on their faces. They thought it was the best season you could ask for, and that speaks volumes for these ladies.”
LB has graduated four seniors from the team, Halle Reese, Audrey Butler, Carsen Brake and Deter. They’ll be missed, but the Cavaliers will return a strong nucleus and reinforcements are on the way.
“We have some good talent coming up,” said Shockley. “The eighth grade class reminds me of the 2020 class that missed their senior season (due to the pandemic). All of our underclassmen were at softball tournaments over the weekend. They just love softball.”
The Cavaliers will also have a great piece to build around in pitcher Rhyann Jones, who was named the Region 3D Pitcher of the Year. Jones threw two no-hitters this season and was one out away from a third when Karlee Eubanks of James River doubled with two outs and two strikes in the last inning.
Ironically, Jones was not the Blue Ridge District Pitcher of the Year. That honor went to Class 6 Franklin County’s Kaylee Manning, and Shockley pointed to that strong district competition as a big reason for her team’s success.
“The strong competition in our district prepared us for our region run,” she said. “Our district beat up on each other all season, there wasn’t an undefeated team. Then, when we got challenged in the (region championship) Cave Spring game we were ready for it, because we were in those situations so many times before.
“It was a great season and I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”
