Lord Botetourt had a full slate of spring sports openers scheduled for Tuesday but spring failed to arrive. Instead, winter hung in there and postponed all scheduled sports.
Tuesday’s baseball game with Glenvar is now scheduled for Thursday at LB. The home softball game with Blacksburg has been rescheduled for May 23 and the boys’ soccer game with Glenvar has been moved to May 1. Both tennis matches with Glenvar are now on Thursday of this week, with the boys at home and the girls at Glenvar.
The baseball team will now open today, Wednesday, at home against Salem, weather permitting. Coach Todd Smith is looking for a good season despite losing some key players from last year.
“We had a bunch of very talented and hard working players that graduated last year, and three of them went on to play college baseball (Connor Fuhrman, Owen and Nate Prince),” said Smith. “We did have several underclassmen that saw playing time last year, so hopefully with their growth and the new guys that are up from last year’s JV team, we can build a solid ball club. We are going to be tested early in the season, so hopefully we can learn from these games and get better as the season progresses.”
The softball team is now set to open Friday at Abingdon. The girls will host Halifax at the Botetourt Sports Complex at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“My hope for this season is to take advantage of the power and speed we have on our team this year,” said coach Megan DeHart. “Although we are young, we have already bonded together so well and I am excited to see our talent and skill take us far this season.”
The boys soccer team will open today at home against Salem.
“I am very excited for this year,” said second year coach Taylor Leonard. “Our team is very young this year and we have a bunch of new faces to the program. Out of our 21 players on the varsity team, 14 of our guys are either new to the program or moving up from last year’s JV team.
“I believe we will have a strong competitive team as we head into our regular season matchups. Our youth is what makes these types of season’s fun because of all the development you get to see over the next few months. These boys come out every day ready to learn and are willing to learn new positions on the pitch that will help us succeed.”
The girls soccer team is home today against Salem, followed by a home game against Jefferson Forest on Friday.
“The girls have worked hard in the off-season,” said coach Giuseppe D’Arpa. “We have a good group of talented young ladies. Our goal is to play strong and consistently throughout the regular season and make a good showing in post season.”
Both tennis teams will now open today against Salem. The boys will play at Hollins University and the girls are at Salem High.
“It’s a new, young team with only one returning player from last year, so I’m excited to watch them grow and improve individually and as a team every day as the season goes on,” said girls coach Shannon Quinn.
Among the boy returnees is senior Tyler Meade, who was undefeated in district play last season.
“We have lot of players playing in new spots in the lineup and a few new additions to the top six,” said coach Blake Johnson. “I’m excited for the season.”
