Maia Folk pitched a five-inning six-hitter, giving up all singles, and helped her own cause with a two -un home run and a double as Lord Botetourt crushed James River in softball, 13-1, in five innings last Wednesday in Daleville.

The Cavaliers pounded out 13 hits, including five doubles and the Folk long ball. Kenleigh Gunter, Emma Layman, Emma Tyler, and Folk collected two hits apiece.

Cameron Hildebrand, Lakota and Lacey Lucado, Evie Melvin, Josey Lackey, and Anna Schroeder all had one hit for the Knights. Lacey Lucado knocked in the only run with a first inning sacrifice fly. Hildebrand scored the run, her 14th run of the year, and upped her season on base percentage to .758.

“We were completely dominated by a much better team on Wednesday,” said River coach Steve Austin. “Two of our promising innings where we had multiple base runners were snuffed out on well executed double plays on hard hit balls. They were good in all phases.”

LB kept up the strong play on Friday with a 16-0, five-inning slaughter rule win at Northside. It was a bittersweet day for the Vikings, who named their field for former coach Lynn Richmond prior to the game. After that it was all Botetourt as the Cavaliers pounded out 16 hits for 15 earned runs, giving them 29 runs in 10 innings against two quality opponents over the span of three days.

“I never thought in all my years of coaching I would see a score like that on Northside’s field,” said LB coach Cheryl Shockley.

Meredith Wells shut out the Vikings on two hits and LB slammed three home runs. Kloe Bacon had two home runs, including a grand slam, as she drove in six runs. Bacon now has five home runs for the season.

Folk hit a solo homer while Hannah Mundy contributed three hits to the attack and drove in two. Maegan Barnes had three hits, including two doubles, and four RBIs while Lauren Hoffman, Wells and Gunter had two hits each for the Cavaliers.

With the win the Cavaliers improved to 7-3 overall. LB had lost three in a row prior to the win over River, and last week’s results gave them their swagger back.

“They’ve been really focused at practice, and I feel like they have their confidence back,” said Shockley. “We lost those three in a row and it was time to see what we were made of. They dusted themselves off and came back fighting.”

James River was also back in action Friday with a home game against Floyd County. Buffalo freshman pitcher Olivia Yates stiffened in the seventh inning with the potential tying run on third base and one out to close out James River’s comeback bid and lead her team to a 2-1 victory in Springwood. Yates got a strikeout and an infield pop up to end the tightly played contest and dashing the Knights hopes.

Cameron Hildebrand led off the home seventh with a walk. Lakota Lucado laid down a sacrifice bunt and Hildebrand raced to an uncovered third base, sliding, and narrowly evading the tag of a late arriving defender.

The Buffalos scored one run in the third inning on a two out RBI triple by Amanda Whitlow and another run in the fourth inning on a two out RBI single by Morgan Harris. The Knights scored their run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Josey Lackey.

James River’s Kaitlin Simmons and Floyd County’s Yates both pitched well and their respective defenses played outstanding. Simmons allowed seven hits with no strikeouts and only one walk. Yates  scattered six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. There were no errors on either team in the game in a contest that had only the four strikeouts.

Lakota Lucado led the home team with two hits and Hildebrand reached base three times with a hit and two walks. League-leading Floyd County elevated its record to 9-3 overall and 5-0 in Three Rivers District play. James River fell to 5-5, 2-2.

“This was a heart-breaking loss, but even though we lost, it was a great game,” said Austin. “No errors in a high school game with only four total strikeouts won’t happen very often. I’m proud of the effort of my kids against our district’s best team. We had some chances but we just didn’t hit in the clutch. We left nine base runners and that kind of sums it up for us.”

River had a Tuesday game at Carroll County rained out and the Knights will be at Glenvar on Thursday. LB had a Tuesday home game with William Byrd postponed until Thursday, followed by a doubleheader at William Fleming on Friday.