Reaction from Wednesday's High School Events

Yesterday, Chatham was very impressive winning 11-1 against William Campbell in Dogwood district baseball. The Cavaliers host Appomattox in Friday's Dogwood regular season finale. When asked yesterday what went right, Andy Haga, Head Coach of the William Campbell Generals said, "Nothing went right for us and everything went right for them." Haga also noted that he was impressed by Gavin Hylton's three home runs. Hylton set a single season record for the Cavaliers with the three jacks.

William Campbell must get back on the horse today though as they battle Altavista. Haga said in today's outing, the whole pitching staff is going to have to contribute, as it will have to be a staff victory, with this being the Generals 3rd tilt in three days. Altavista and William Campbell always have some tight, hotly contested games, and Haga said he expects nothing less today.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jason Kilbourne's group had the bye yesterday and did not have a game. Altavista is already locked into sixth place in the Dogwood district, and will either have to travel to play Dan River or Nelson County (the Wildcats and Governors tangle on Friday, Dan River is currently 7-4, Nelson is 6-5 in district play. If Dan River wins, Altavista will definitely travel to Ringgold for next week. If Nelson wins, the Governors and Wildcats will split and the tie breaker will come into place) next week in the district tournament. I asked Coach Kilbourne, if he is concerned about complacency within his team, since they are locked into the district's sixth spot. He said, "We talked yesterday about having momentum going into the tournament and stopping a recent slide. Our pitching and defense have not been as sharp over the past 4 games. We have given up double digit runs over our last 4 games. We had only given up 10 runs or more once. I really think we will play with a lot of desire and intensity." Kilbourne also noted, he expects the Generals to be hungry, with them having dropped two games in the past two days.

Coach Barry Godsey's Rustburg Red Devils, were involved in a good one last night with the Heritage Pioneers. Gregg Chewning fired 1 hit ball over 7 1/3 for the Pioneers, but the Red Devils played solid defense, and had good pitching from starter Kevin Wade (no relation to former Red Devils player, Jake) and Chris Walker pitched out of jams from the bullpen. The Red Devils will most likely host Brookville in next week's Seminole District quarterfinal, while Heritage could have a first place tie with Jefferson Forest, if the Cavs fall to Amherst on Friday night in Forest.

The Brookville Bees softball team capped off the district regular season with a win at Amherst. Coach Larry Kidd was impressed by his pitcher, Nicole DeFilippo's control in the circle, as well as her fielding. The Bees also featured good defense from shortstop, Sarah Truxell. Coach Kidd was concerned with the Bees effort in the 7th, but the Bees still record the win. Coach Kidd was impressed by Amherst's Kyla Rose, commenting that she is so quick and a real tough out. The Bees open the Seminole District tournament with a bye, as they will not be on the field until the district semifinals.