The Lord Botetourt softball team saw their season come to an end Monday in a wild Region 3A West game in Daleville. The Cavaliers dropped a 9-6 game to visiting Fluvanna County.
The Cavaliers had a 4-3 lead after five innings in this game, only to see Fluvanna score four in the sixth and two in the seventh. LB rallied for two in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t catch up.
“It was a good ball game,” said LB coach Cheryl Shockley. “We hit the ball hard. We hit some line drives to the outfield that were caught. They had a very good defensive outfield.”
Meredith Wells started on the mound for LB and took the loss. After allowing four first inning runs she settled down and pitched four scoreless innings before yielding to Maia Folk with one out in the sixth.
Kloe Bacon and Kaitlyn Deeter had three hits each for the Cavaliers, while Hannah Mundy, Maranda Switzer and Folk had two hits each.
The Cavaliers made the regional by finishing second in the Conference 31 tournament at the Botetourt Sports Complex last Friday. LB clinched a berth with a come-from-behind 6-2 win over Northside in the semifinal round. The Cavs trailed 2-0 after four innings but scored three in the bottom of the fifth and three in the bottom of the sixth for the win.
Mundy and Deeter had key hits for LB and Switzer had two hits and two runs batted in. Wells picked up the win with three and a third no hit innings in relief of starter Lauren Hoffman.
In the championship game, also at the complex Friday, Rockbridge beat LB 12-7 in eight innings to win Conference 31. Bacon was four-for-four and Mundy, Switzer and Folk all had two hits.
The Cavaliers ended the season at 15-6 and graduate just three seniors, Switzer, Deeter and Mary-Hannah Jackson. Nine of the 14 girls on the final season roster were freshmen.
“We had a great season and our future is bright,” said Shockley. “The girls shouldn’t let the disappointment of the last game spoil a great season.”