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HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Gage Hylton has himself a day as Richlands tops Tazewell in third-place game of Southwest District tourney (copy)
Tim Hayes
Gage Hylton of Richlands throws a pitch against Virginia High on
May 5.
Emily Ball / EMILY BALL,
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
LEBANON, Va. – Saturday afternoon’s third-place game in the Southwest District baseball tournament turned into a personal showcase for Gage Hylton of Richlands.
The 5-foot-9 junior went 2-for-3 with five RBIs and also pitched a two-hitter as the Blue Tornado triumphed 12-2 over archrival Tazewell at Lebanon’s Doc Adams Field.
Hylton raised his batting average to .453 and more impressively he has struck out just three times in 77 plate appearances in 2026.
“He’s the best player in the district and one of the best hitters in the region, I’ll say that,” said Richlands coach Ben Brown. “An absolute stud.”
Hylton walked and scored in the first inning, connected for a two-run double in the second, produced a run-scoring groundout in the third, and smacked a two-run single in the fourth to highlight his latest performance.
“I’ve just been trying to stay up the middle and make good contact every time,” Hylton said. “I’ve been dedicated in the cage. [Teammates] put in 100 percent, so I give them 100 percent.”
Oh yeah, he also went the distance on the mound and is now 3-4 with a 3.18 ERA.
“He was able to command his stuff and really worked through the rain,” Brown said.
William Fuller went 3-for-3, Andrew Boyd tallied three RBIs and Riley Perkins doubled, walked and hit a sacrifice fly in the victory.
It was the fifth time Richlands (11-9) had produced a double-digit run total this season and first occasion this month.
“Glad to get the bats back a little bit,” Brown said. “We’ve been missing opportunities, but I thought we did really well with runners in scoring position today. It was good energy for a third-place game.”
The Blue Tornado travel to Union (16-6) on Thursday in the first round of the Region 2D tournament.
Walker Johnson had both of Tazewell’s hits. The Bulldogs scored in the fourth inning via Johnson’s RBI double and an RBI groundout from Ellis Day.
Tazewell (11-11) hits the road to face John Battle (17-5) on Thursday in the regional tourney.
Tazewell 000 20—2 2 4
Richlands 341 4x—12 8 1
Patterson, Meyers (3) and Roberts. Hylton and Gillespie. W – Hylton (3-4). L – Patterson. HR – none.
Richland_clinch_valley
Tazewell girls second at District track meet
Jim Talbert
Bristol Va. – Tazewell’s girls finished second as a team and several county athletes brought home individualtitles at the Southwest District track meet May 20.
Virginia High swept the team titles with Marion second in the boys meet. Tazewell’s Drake Young won the 1,600 and Ethan Baker won the 3,200. Young was second in the 800 and Baker followed Young across the line in the 1600.
Graham’s Jysir Williamson was second in the discus. The G-Men got fourth place finishes from Gabe Lily in the 200 and Jayden Palmer in the high jump.
Parker Hamilton of Richlands was fourth in the 100 and sixth in the 400. Daniel Gross took fourth in the 110 meter hurdles.
Leah Keene led the way as Tazewell took second in the girls meet. Keene won the 200 and the long jump and finished second in the 100 and the triple jump. Zoey Woods-Abdullah won the 400 and finished second in the 800.
Maggee Rose finished second in both the discus and the shot. Graham’s Kadance Bowman won both the shot and discus. The G-Girls got third a third place finish from Teagan Merritt in the 100 hurdles and she was fifth in the 300 hurdles. Megan Rose finished fourth in the 200 meter run.
Jade Mitchell of Richlands claimed third in the high jump. Loralei Blankenship was fifth in the 100 hurdles and Katie Hylton was fifth in the 400.
BOYS
Team Scores
Virginia High 212, Marion 81, Lebanon 46, Tazewell 42, Graham 32, Richlands 9
Individual Winners
100 – Isaiah Jones (Virginia High), 11.23; 200 – Isaiah Jones (Virginia High), 22.60; 400 – Jacob Roe (Virginia High), 52.27; 800 – Zion Jemes (Virginia High), 2:04.08; 1,600 – Drake Young (Tazewell), 5:06.71; 3,200 – Ethan Baker (Tazewell), 11:30.25; 110 Hurdles – Daniel Lee (Marion), 16.14; 300 Hurdles – Tyler Pierce (Marion), 45.65; 4x100 Relay – Lebanon, 46.63; 4x400 Relay – Virginia High, 4:15.58; 4x800 Relay – Virginia High, 11:40.64; High Jump – Romain Mignott (Virginia High), 5-10; Long Jump – Dez Almany (Virginia High), 19-6 ½; Triple Jump – Kayden Laws (Virginia High), 41-0; Discus – Jacob Mooney (Marion), 169-7; Shot Put – Jacob Mooney (Marion), 54-8 ½.
GIRLS
Team Scores
Virginia High 216, Tazewell 69, Graham 48, Marion 47, Lebanon 17, Richlands 15.
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