Gretna Girls, Radford Boys Claim State Titles

By Brian Stanley-Radford Sports Information
Drew Dickerson-Radford Sports Information,
and John Appicello WSLS
Published: June 7, 2008

Boys Soccer

Radford 4 / Galax 0
The Bobcat Boys complete a back to back state title run in Group A. Radford finishes 21-1, with their only loss being against state Group AA power Blacksburg. The Bobcats (21-1-0) have yet to be scored on in a state final, winning last year’s game 1-0. Galax wrapped up the season at (20-2-1).  Radford scored twice in the first half, the first goal coming at 18:45 when junior Brian Flynn scored off a pass from Jay Clark. Eight minutes later, junior William Saunders passed the ball out of the corner to senior Alex Khadan-Barani, who put the Bobcats up 2-0, a score that held through halftime. Flynn scored his second goal on an unassisted rebound in the 71st minute and senior Nao Masuda wrapped up the scoring with a direct kick goal at 73:51.  RHS outshot the Maroon Tide 21-4 and held a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks. Galax made nine saves and Radford tallied five.

Softball

Gretna 2 / Glenvar 0
The Gretna Hawks outdueled an experienced Glenvar squad to claim the Group A Softball title.  Teresa Dalton tossed a two-hit shutout and drove in the game-winning run to lead Gretna (20-4) to a 2-0 victory over Glenvar (21-6) in the Group A Softball Championship game from Radford University’s Dedmon Center Field. It was the first softball state championship for the Lady Hawks, who were making their first finals appearance since 1981. Dalton was stellar in the circle for Gretna, having a no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the sixth. She finished the game, striking out 13, allowing just a pair of singles and not walking a batter.  In the fourth, she provided herself with the only run she would need. Nicole Mills led off the inning with a double down the leftfield line and was sacrificed to third by Nina Compton. Dalton stepped up a hit a deep fly to center that plated Mills with the game-winning run.  Compton would get out of Glenvar’s only scoring threat in the bottom half of the fourth. A hit batter and an error put runners on second and third with no outs. The Gretna defense stepped up, snuffing out a suicide squeeze for the first out. After that, she would induce a foul out and a ground out to end the inning.  Gretna added an insurance run in the top of the sixth as Ceseley Haynes, who was hit to lead off the inning, scored on a wild pitch with two outs.  Meredith Buckley was the tough luck loser for Glenvar. She allowed just two runs on two hits, striking out seven and walking two. Chasidy Williams and Julianna Calwell recorded the Highlanders’ only hits. Read the full story

Softball

Broad Run 4 / Tunstall 0
Broad Run completed its second straight undefeated season with a 4-0 win over Tunstall (23-4) to claim its second consecutive Group AA State Softball Championship from Radford University’s Dedmon Center Field. The No. 2 (USA Today) ranked Spartans have won 57 straight games, finishing 2088 with a 28-0 mark.
Caitlyn Delahaba completed a spectacular jubilee with her second straight one-hit shutout in the championship game. Today, she struck out 15 and was three outs from a no-hitter before an high chopper to third was legged out for Tunstall’s only hit. For the two days, Delahaba punched out 34 batters and allowed just a pair of singles.
The Spartans gave her all the runs she would need with two in the top of the first. Ashley Kramer led off the game with a double and was sacrificed to third. She scored on a fielder’s choice ground out by Karla Powell. Pwell came around to score on a three-base error to centerfield.
Broad Run added single runs in the third and seventh innings to close out the scoring.
Kramer was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored for the Spartans. Tunstall’s lone hit was recorded by Sarah Smith.
Brittany Arnn suffered the complete game loss for the Trojans. She allowed just two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

Tennis

Western Albemarle 5 /Salem Boys 2
Western Albemarle (18-0) completed an undefeated season with a 5-2 victory over Salem (14-4) to claim its second straight Group AA Boys Tennis Championship at Virginia Tech’s Burleson Burrows Tennis Center.
The Warriors jumped out to a 4-2 lead after singles, claiming wins from No. 3 through 6. The Spartans were able to notch victories at No. 1 and 2, but a straight set win at No. 3 doubles by Western Albemarle clinched the title for the Warriors.
Singles
No. 1: Patrick O’Keefe (SHS) d. Joey Manilla (WA) 6-0, 6-2
No. 2: Will Drougas (SHS) d. Gabe Kosowitz (WA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 3: Alex Preve (WA) d. Laven Newsom (SHS) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
No. 4: Jamie Thomas (WA) d. Lucas Hakkengerg (SHS) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5: Nico de la Pointe (WA) d. Chuck Farabaugh (SHS) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6: Brennan Dougherty (WA) d. Jay Patel (SHS) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 3: Preve/Teddy Nelson (WA) d. Patel/Toph Blankenship (SHS) 6-1, 6-1

Gate City Boys 5 / Radford 3
Gate City (15-4) claimed the Group A Boy’s Tennis with a 5-3 victory over Radford (14-3) High School, Saturday afternoon from Radford University’s Dedmon Center Courts. It was the first trip to the finals and first title for the Blue Devils. The Bobcats finished as runners-up for the third straight year.  Gate City jumped out to a 4-2 lead with victories at No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 singles. Radford won at No. 1 and 6 singles and got within 4-3 with a straight-set victory at No. 1 doubles, but the Blue Devils clinch the championship with a three-set victory at No. 3 doubles.

Singles
No. 1: Malik Mubeen (RHS) d. Chad Sheppard (GC) 6-2, 6-0
No. 2: Dalton Moore (GC) d. Sanay Kishore (RHS) 6-1, 7-6 (7)
No. 3: Tyler DeBoard (GC) d. Jay DeSai (RHS) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2)
No. 4: Jordan Owens (GC) d. Jeff Brooks (RHS) 6-0, 6-0
No. 5: J.T. McConnell (GC) d. Sean Weston (RHS) 6-0, 6-2
No. 6: Chris Wojtera (RHS) d. Evan DeBoard (GC) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1: Mubeen/Kishore (RHS) d. Samuel Cox/T. DeBoard (GC) 6-1, 6-0
No. 3: Sheppard/E. Deboard (GC) d. Weston/Wojtera (RHS) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4

Group AA Girls Doubles Tennis Final

Northside’s Dynamic Duo of Rachel Fertitta and Ashley Masterson finished one match short of state gold on Saturday. James Wood’s duo of Kari Pope and Headley Wilson claimed the Group AA Girls’ Tennis championship from Saturday afternoon from Radford University’s Dedmon Center Courts. Pope and Wilson won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 over Fertitta and Masterson to win their first state championship.

Baseball

Powhatan 7 / Alleghany 4
The best season in Alleghany HS Baseball history came to a close one win from a coveted state title. Having already advanced further than any team in the school’s history, the Mountaineers 7-4 loss to Powhatan left them at 25-2--the most wins in school history. Powhatan opened the game with a lead-off home run by Ethan Lewis, a fly out at the fence by Paul Nice and another solo shot by Hunter Gordon. Alleghany (25-2) scored one in the second on an RBI double by Skyler Keene and another in the third on a RBI single by Steven Keener to tie the game.  The Indians (21-8) broke the 2-2 game open with a four-run fourth inning, starting with an RBI-single by Will Dinghus. A fielder’s choice by Lewis drove in two more runs and Nice’s double scored Lewis to give Powhatan a 6-2 lead. Alleghany got one of the runs back in the fifth inning when Ryan Kessinger reached on a single and then scored on a Steven Keener single. The Mountaineers closed to within three with another run in the seventh. Keener’s one-out double turned into a rally when Ethan Craft doubled home Keener. A fly out and a ground out to first ended the rally and gave the Indians the win. Lewis earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Kessinger took the loss for Alleghany, going 3 2/3 innings allowing five runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Dinghus and Lewis each had two hits and two RBIs to lead Powhatan. Kessinger and Keener each had two hits for Alleghany and Keener had two RBIs.