DR softball, soccer victorious on Senior Nigh

This week was the final week of the regular season for Dan River's softball, soccer and baseball teams. With the exception of baseball, the Wildcats’ sports teams ended this week with multiple victories. The Region 2C playoffs will start on Wednesday, May 25 with baseball hosting Martinsville. Softball, boys' soccer and girls' soccer will start region play at home on Friday, May 27.

Softball

Wednesday was senior night in Ringgold as Dan River honored the trio of Emily McVay, Rebekah Stowe, and Katie Moser. All three members of the Class of 2022 would help lift the Wildcats to a 10-0 victory via the slaughter rule. McVay threw a no-hitter as the Radford-bound pitcher struck out nine and no walks, with Altavista’s lone base runner coming on a hit by pitch with the first batter of the game. Mckenzie McVay backed up her sister’s pitching with a 2-for-3 night at the plate, with a double and three RBIs. Emma Williams (double) also had three RBIs while Grayson Snead had an RBI double. Stowe finished with two hits, Moser had a double, while McVay, Olivia Morris, Ashlyn Chappell and Lila DeMott each had a base hit.

Dan River’s regular season finale at Chatham was much closer than the April 27 game in Ringgold. The Wildcats withstood an early challenge by the Cavaliers and used a five-run fourth to defeat Chatham 11-3 on the road Friday night. Junior Grayson Snead gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead on a first inning home run, her team-leading tenth homer of the season. Chatham would score a run in each of the first three innings as Dan River clung to a 4-3 lead entering the fourth inning. The Wildcats would break the game open as they batted around in that inning. After Lila DeMott (triple), Chappell, and Olivia Morris loaded the bases with no out, the three seniors would combine to drive in five runs. Stowe was hit by a pitch (5-3), Moser belted a three-run double, and Emily McVay had an RBI double to make it 9-3. DR added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI by Emma Williams and on an error.

Emily McVay moved to 13-1 on the mound this season as she went the complete game victory, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out nine batters. McVay also had an RBI double Moser went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Snead had three RBIs while Emma Williams went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lila DeMott had a triple that started the fourth inning run by the Wildcats, while Olivia Morris (two runs, two hits),  Chappell (bunt single, two runs), and Mckenzie McVay (single, run) rounded out the Wildcats’ 11 hits.

Dan River ended the season with a 16-2 record and with one of the most prolific offensive outputs in school history, outscoring their opponents 212-14. The Wildcats finished with 212 runs on 210 hits, with 186 RBIs and a team record 30 home runs. They also had four players - Mckenzie McVay (0.545),  Snead (0.545), Emily McVay (0.509), and Moser (0.500) - to bat 0.500 or better on the season. Additionally, Emily finished with an ERA of 0.57, with 133 strikeouts, six shutouts, and two no-hitters. Dan River will host the winner of Wednesday’s Floyd County/Gretna matchup on Friday, May 27 in the Region 2C quarterfinals.

Girls' soccer

The Lady Wildcats won their final three games of the season, defeating Martinsville, Nelson County and Altavista. With the victories, Dan River finished with a 12-3-1 record - the best season in the history of the Wildcats' girl's soccer program.

Dan River blanked Martinsville on Tuesday 7-0. Senior Kathryn Saunders had two goals and three assists, while twin sister Emily Saunders and Aaliyah Tate each had a goal and an assist. Senior Allye Wells, sophomore Laura Harville, and junior Q'Lexus Stork each had a goal. Jenna Fletcher had an assist while Alicea Farmer, Tate and Emily Saunders combined for the shutout at keeper.

The Wildcats would host Nelson County for senior night on Wednesday and they would defeat the Governors 2-0. Senior Tate scored in the 5th minute of the contest while senior Kathryn Saunders put the game on ice with a clutch penalty kick in the 75th minute. Farmer and the Wildcats' defense kept Nelson County out of the net for the night.

Despite being down a few players due to injuries, Dan River was able to leave Altavista with a 3-2 victory on Friday evening. The Saunders twins accounted for all of the Wildcat goals, with Emily having two goals and Kathryn added in one. The Wildcats are the second seed in the Mountain sub-region and will host Martinsville on Friday, May 27 at 5:30 p.m.

Boys' soccer

Dan River escaped Martinsville with a 4-3 victory in overtime on Tuesday. Nathan Blevins finished with two goals and two assists, while Josey Dauthe’ had a goal. Freshman Jordan Davis scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Jeffrey Compton added an assist while goalkeeper Hayden Phelps had four saves in goal.

Wednesday night was senior night in Ringgold as Dan River hosted Nelson County. After playing to a 0-0 draw back on May 2, sophomore Dauthe' scored within the first five minutes of the contest as the Wildcats pulled out an 1-0 win over the Governors. Hayden Phelps earned a clean sheet at goalkeeper as he had seven saves.

All four seniors scored on Friday as Dan River shut out Altavista 8-0. Ryan Fulk scored two goals, while Compton, Drake Zaher, and NBlevins had a goal in their final game against the Colonels. Juniors Hayden Phelps and Shawn Stork, along with sophomore Dylan McFalls had a goal. Caleb Brown and Kelsi Morris each had an assist while Lucas Watson earned his first shutout at goalkeeper. The Wildcats ended their season with a 7-8-1 record, winners of their last four contests. They are seeded second and will host Patrick County on Friday, May 27 at 7 p.m.

Baseball

Ethan Sowers finished with four hits and Noah Abercrombie blasted a solo home run as Dan River dominated Martinsville 25-2 on Tuesday night at Martinsville’s Hooker Field. David Wiles pitched four innings and got the win, surrendering two runs on four hits, with no walks and six strikeouts.  Sowers went 4-for-4 with a triple, four runs, and three RBIs. Dylan Howerton had two doubles and a team-high four RBIs. Blake Hughes (triple) and Luke Ewing each had three RBIs, Wiles and Tilden Garland each had two RBIs, while Mark Allen Porter, Brayden Harris, Christian Blackstock, and Austin Pritchett each finished with an RBI against the Bulldogs.

In a high scoring affair on Wednesday, the Wildcats rallied from a six-run deficit in the fifth to fall by a run as Altavista won 11-10 at War Memorial Stadium. Dan River would leave 10 runners on base and that came back to bite the Wildcats in the end. Ethan Sowers went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the first inning and a sac fly in the sixth to finish with three RBIs. Tilden Garland (two hits) and Brayden Harris each had two RBIs, while Mark Allen Porter added an RBI.  Ewing (single, double), Blake Hughes (single, two runs), and Austin Pritchett accounted for the Wildcats’ 10 hits. Sophomores Abercrombie and Howerton did not register a hit, but were each walked three times by the Colonels and combined for three runs. Howerton was saddled with the loss, giving up six runs (three earned) on seven hits with a strikeout and a walk. Hughes (2.0 IP, 3 R, 1 H, 4 K, 3 BB) and Porter (2.0 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 4 K) also pitched in relief of Howerton.

Dan River hosted Chatham for senior night in Ringgold on Friday as the Wildcats honored Porter, Hughes and Ethan Sowers before the contest. The Wildcats hung close in the first three innings before the Cavaliers scored 11 runs over the last three as Dan River lost 12-1 to Chatham in six innings. Sowers took the loss as he gave up six runs (three earned) on eight hits with a strikeout, but was hampered by eight walks. David Wiles relieved Sowers and pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up five hits and six runs. Dan River finished with three hits in the game. Abercrombie finished with a walk and an RBI, Tilden Garland singled, was walked, and scored on Abercrombie’s RBI single. Howerton had a single and reached on an error while Porter reached base via a walk.

With the loss, Dan River ended their season with a 9-10 record and will be the third seed in the Mountain sub-region of Region 2C playoffs. The Wildcats are set to host Martinsville on Wednesday, May 25 and with a win, will be on the road on Friday.