Blacksburg defeated Salem 4-0 this past week during a River Ridge District match.
The Bruins scored twice in the first half on goals by Brendan Osebre on a cross from Luca Ripepi and Peyton Cruise on a pass from Keanan Kopp.
Kopp scored on a free kick in the second half and Ethan Eschenmann finished a feed from Connor Barrett to end the scoring.
Nathan Pratt had three saves and Toby Jones had a save in a shared shutout for Blacksburg, who moves to 14-0 on the season. Salem falls to 9-3 overall. Robert Herndon had 10 saves in goal for Salem.
Bruins defeats Pulaski
On Senior Night, the Bruins defeated Pulaski County 5-0. In the first half, Blacksburg went ahead 1-0 on Alex Doyle’s head ball off Keanan Kopp’s corner kick with under a minute to go.
Kopp, Esteban Carvajal, Craig Huxtable, and Garrett Andrews added goals for Blacksburg with assists from Andrew Linden, Luca Ripepi, and Kopp’s second of the night in the second half.
Toby Jones (5 saves), Nathan Pratt (1 save), and Landon Daily (1 save) shared the shutout. Cougar goalkeeper, Kasch Morrell turned back many Bruin shots on goal.
Auburn blows out GW
Auburn defeated George Wythe in a baseball game that started on March 27, which had been suspended by rain and completed this past week.
Alex Young picked up the win throwing two scoreless innings and striking out four. Offensively the Eagles collected 19 hits. Jayden Lawrence went 2-2 with 2 RBI. Young had three hits and four RBI and Colin Roark had four hits with two RBIs.
Brody Hensel led the offense and defense. Offensively Hensel went 5-5 with three triples and a double and three RBIs.
Defensively, Hensel made two of the best plays you will ever see. Playing first on March 27, the leadoff hitter hit a bullet down the line that Brody dove and gloved on one hop, got up and beat the runner to the bag. In the fourth inning while playing right field against the same hitter, Brody sprinted towards the RF foul line and laid out to make an incredible catch. Auburn is now 11-4, 8-2 in the district.
Auburn dominates Blacksburg
Ariel Mullins drove in four runs on two hits to lead Auburn past Blacksburg 19-4 on Thursday. Mullins hit a home run to center field in the second inning, scoring three runs, and singled in the fifth inning, scoring two.
Blacksburg got on the board in the first inning after Beila Watkins homered to center field, scoring two runs.
Auburn then flipped the game on its head in the top of the second, scoring six runs on three hits to take the lead, 6-2. The biggest blow in the inning was a home run to center field by Mullins that drove in three.
Auburn added to their early lead in the top of the third inning when Ava Marrs tripled, scoring one run, Kaylee Ramrattan tripled, scoring two runs, and Watkins induced Hope Wilson to hit into a fielder’s choice, but one run scored.
Auburn scored six runs on six hits in the top of the fifth inning. Kaylen Mitcham singled, scoring one run, Sophia Hambrick hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one run, Faith Wilson singled, scoring one run, Johnnie Gaynor doubled, scoring one run, and Mullins singled, scoring two runs.
Skyler Hodges earned the win, surrendering six hits and four runs (two earned) over five innings, striking out four and walking one. Watkins took the loss for Blacksburg Varsity Bruins. The hurler went three innings, giving up 10 runs (five earned) on seven hits, striking out none and walking six.
Auburn tallied 18 hits in the game. Mitcham, Gaynor, and Ramrattan each collected three hits. Marrs, Wilson, and Leah Wimmer each collected multiple hits.
Watkins provided pop in the middle of the lineup, and led Blacksburg Varsity Bruins with three runs batted in. The pitcher went 2-for-3 on the day. Sullivan Shealor and Watkins each collected two hits for Blacksburg Varsity Bruins.
Auburn shuts out Radford
The Auburn girls’ soccer team claimed a 2-0 shutout this past week over Radford. Sophomore Kaycie Smith had a goal and an assist. Senior goalkeeper Kennedy Marshall had the shutout.
Auburn is now 12-1, while Radford falls to 3-7-1.
Christiansburg walks off Botetourt
The Christiansburg softball team took Thursday’s game in dramatic fashion, with a 1-0 walk-off victory over Lord Botetourt Varsity Cavaliers. The game was tied at zero in the bottom of the seventh when Sophia Russell doubled, scoring one run.
The pitching was strong on both sides. Christiansburg pitchers struck out 10, while Lord Botetourt sat down 15.
Russell earned the win, surrendering two hits and zero runs over seven innings, striking out 10 and walking two. Olivia Pierce took the loss for Lord Botetourt. The right-handed pitcher went six and two-thirds innings, allowing one run on five hits, striking out 15 and walking four.
Russell led Christiansburg with one run batted in. The pitcher went 2-for-3 on the day.
Auburn over Galax
Auburn defeated Galax 9-0 on Tuesday as two pitchers combined to throw a shutout. Faith Wilson and Leah Wimmer each pitched for Auburn in the game. Wimmer induced a groundout from Kaden Cornelison to get the last out.
Auburn won thanks in part to six runs in the first inning. Ariel Mullins singled, scoring one run, Hope Wilson singled, scoring one run, Kaylen Mitcham doubled, scoring one run, Wimmer homered to center field, scoring two runs, and an error scored one run.
Wilson earned the win, giving up five hits and zero runs over six and two-thirds innings, striking out eight and walking none. Molly Plant took the loss for Galax. The righty went six innings, allowing nine runs (six earned) on nine hits, striking out one and walking one.
Wimmer went 1-for-4 at the plate and led the team with three runs batted in. Mitcham, Kaylee Ramrattan, and Wilson each collected two hits for Auburn.
Christiansburg over PH
Aubrey Davis struck out 10 batters as the starting pitcher to lead Christiansburg past Patrick Henry 14-4 on Tuesday. Davis allowed six hits and four runs over five innings while walking two.
Davis collected three hits in three at bats in the win, hitting a home run to center field in the second inning, singled in the first inning, and singled in the third inning.
Patrick Henry got on the board in the top of the first inning after Carlee Coleman homered to center field, and Jessica Eaton singled down the right field line, each scoring one run.
Christiansburg jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Davis singled to center field, Abby Neel singled down the right field line, Alliyah Akers tripled to right field, and Audrey Barrow singled to the left side of the infield, each scoring one run.
Four more Christiansburg runs crossed the plate in the second inning to extend the lead to 8-2. Reagan Smith doubled, scoring one run, Davis homered to center field, scoring two runs, and Barrow singled, scoring one run.
Christiansburg added to their early lead in the bottom of the third inning after Sophia Russell grounded out, and Smith homered to center field, each scoring one run.
Arianna Williams took the loss for Patrick Henry Varsity Patriots. The hurler went four and two-thirds innings, allowing 14 runs (11 earned) on 16 hits, striking out four and walking three.
Christiansburg tallied 16 hits in the game. Davis and Barrow each collected three hits. Smith, Akers, and Neel each collected multiple hits for Christiansburg. Kaedyn St Clair and Ali Taylor each stole multiple bases as the Blue Demons ran wild on the base paths, accumulating seven stolen bases for the game.
Auburn girls over Galax
The Auburn girls’ team downed Galax 6-1 in a mid-week soccer contest.
Sophomore Kaycie Smith had two goals and one assist. Sophomore Caroline Fultz contributed one goal and two assists.
Auburn is now 11-1, while Galax fell to 3-9-1.
Auburn boys ties Galax
The Auburn boys team finished tied 2-2 with Galax. Auburn had goals from Jude Miear and Cole Jones.
Auburn is now 11-0-2 on the season.
Staff report
