Rye Cove demolishes RR
Rural Retreat's Summer Shelton hits the ball against Northwood.
George Wythe's Bella Ozmar jumps the hurdles in the 100 meter hurdles.
Honaker’s Kate Jessee and George Wythe’s Zoey Childers fight for the ball during the Region 1 state semifinals.
Softball
Rye Cove demolishes RR
Rye Cove junior Allison Akers twirled a one-hitter against Rural Retreat, and Gracen Chavez roped a grand slam, highlighting the Cove’s 14-0 victory over the Indians on Wednesday in the opening round of the VHSL Region 1D softball tournament.
On a day in which she was downright dominant, Akers notched the 300th strikeout of her prep career.
She K’ed the first nine batters she faced and finished with 13 in total.
Of her 77 pitches, 51 were strikes and she issued just one walk.
Rural Retreat (12-12) had scored a combined 55 runs in its previous five games but could get nothing going against Akers. She continually painted the outside corner and her dropball was a dandy.
Summer Shelton snuck a single into right field with one out in the top of the fifth inning to produce what was the only hit for the Indians.
It was the first time all season the team had been blanked.
“She’ a good pitcher and really hit her spots well,” said Rural Retreat coach Johnny Dix. “She reminds me of [Northwood ace Bailee] Nutter a little bit, throwing breaking balls and we were swinging out of our shoes. We were able to fix it against Nutter [in the first round of the Hogoheegee District tournament] but didn’t fix it against [Akers].”
Rural Retreat committed five errors on top of its offensive woes.
“We just didn’t bring our good game today,” Dix said. “Probably the only way I’d sum it up.”
Sophomore shortstop Hailey Whalen made some solid defensive plays for Rural Retreat. The Indians had just three seniors and should be strong again in 2027.
Rural Retreat 000 00—0 1 5
Rye Cove 030 (11)x—14 10 0
Terry, Whalen (4) and Lilly. Akers and Edwards. W – Akers (8-4). L – Terry. HR – Chavez (RC), 4th, three on.
Maroons blank PM
Morgan Layne pitched a two-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and zero walks as George Wythe pounded Parry McCluer 12-0 in the first round of the Region 1C tournament.
Madalyn Morris went 4-for-4 in the win, while Emma Faulkner (3-for-3, two RBIs, four stolen bases) was also perfect at the plate.
Avery Cline and Madison Hatcher each had two hits and two RBIs. Brooklyn Ross contributed two hits to the win.
“The girls were locked in tonight,” said GW coach Amber Faulkner. “They brought great energy and played for each other.”
Parry McCluer (9-11) got its hits from the bats of Zoey Tolley and Lexi Armstrong.
The Mountain Empire District swept all four first-round games against Pioneer District opponents. George Wythe (21-4) faces defending Region 1C champ Auburn in the semifinals.
George Wythe 124 23—12 15 1
Parry McCluer 000 00—0 2 3
Layne and J. Faulkner. Watts and Chittum. W – Lane. L – Watts. HR – none.
Track and Field
Maroon girls runners-up in regional meet
George Wythe’s girls finished as runner-up on Tuesday during the VHSL Region 1C track and field championships in Elliston as Emma Faulkner won twice for the Maroons.
GW finished with 143 points, 18 points behind winner Auburn. Narrows was third with 137 points.
Faulkner was victorious in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:22.76 and crossed the finish line in 2:25.50 in the 800.
Fiorella Leon in the 100 (18.67 seconds), freshman Bella Ozmar in the 3,200 (13:33.19) and the 4x400 relay team (4:34.44) were also triumphant on the girls side for GW.
Skyler McBride was the only male winner for George Wythe as he was triumphant in the 200-meter dash in 23.26 seconds. GW finished fifth in the team standings with 40 points with Auburn amazing 197 points to take the top prize.
Soccer
GW gets by Bland
Zoey Childers scored two goals and dished out an assist as the George Wythe Maroons edged rival Bland County 3-2 in the opening round of the Region 1C/2C tournament.
Savannah Hodges added a goal and an assist for the Maroons, while Reese Patton also tallied an assist.
