Daily Staff Reports

WINCHESTER — Impossible is nothing.

That was James Wood's motto entering the Northwestern District tournament. The team even bought shirts with the Nike slogan on it. On Tuesday they used the motto as motivation and did something no other James Wood team had done — they beat Handley. The win ended the Judges' streak of eight consecutive Northwestern District tournament titles. The victory also moves the Colonels into today's final with Sherando with a Region II berth at stake.

"Handley's a real good team. It was a tough battle," James Wood coach Joey Dawson said. "The guys just played their hearts out. They played with a lot of heart."

Boys soccer

Judges 3, Falcons 1

WOODSTOCK — Handley wrapped up a top seed in the Region II tournament with a Northwestern District win over Central.

"That was a focus for us — wrapping up the season undefeated," Handley coach Cosmo Balio said. "It's nice to be able to stay home. As long as we keep winning we won't have to travel in the postseason until at least the state quarters."

Matt Brannon, Randolph Boppe and Zac Gordon each scored a goal for the Judges (14-0-2, 12-0-2 Northwestern). Josh Flax had two assists for Handley. Andrew Heishman had a goal for the Central. The Judges outshot the Falcons, 12-4.

Baseball

Rams 5, Panthers 3

WASHINGTON, Va. — Justin Rush picked up his first save, getting the Rams out of a bases-loaded situation in the sixth as Strasburg beat Rappahannock 5-3.

"He came in and threw well there," assistant coach Joel Morgan said. "Got those last six outs for us coming out of the bullpen."

Timmy McDonald went 2-for-4 with a double, and Jordan Reynolds and T.J. Downey each added a pair of hits and an RBI.

"Both teams, defensively, played pretty well behind their pitchers," Morgan added.

The Rams, who host Madison County at 7 tonight, improved to 15-2 and 6-2 in the Bull Run.

Eagles 14, Mustangs 12

FALLS CHURCH — Cliff Webb picked up the win from the hill, but also stayed in the game to launch a three-run, seventh inning homer to secure Clarke County's 14-12 win over George Mason.

"It was huge," Eagles coach Casey Childs said of Webb's blast. "We were up two, and they had guys drawn in on the infield, and he tomahawked a ball to left field. When he hit it, you know it was gone."

Webb finished 3-for-4 with 6 RBIs and Tyler Lee went 3-for-3 with two steals and two RBIs. Cord Keating drove in four runs with a 4-for-5 night, including two doubles, and Zach Shiley was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs as Clarke improved to 5-13 and 3-5 in the Bull Run. The Eagles have won three out of their last four.

Judges 7, Wildcats 6

FRONT ROYAL — David Joyner's suicide squeeze in the sixth inning gave Handley a Northwestern District win over Warren County.

"It was a great play," Warren County coach Vernon Matthews said. "It was a 3-1 count. It was a high, inside fastball and he laid it down."

The Judges scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-2 lead, but the Wildcats battled right back with four in the top of the fifth to tie the game.

Jon Nicholson went 3-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the Wildcats (6-13, 3-10 Northwestern). Sean Hoisington went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and Thomas Tudor was 1-for-4 with an RBI for Warren County.

Softball

Panthers 13, Generals 0

QUICKSBURG — The Generals lost 13-0 on Tuesday, but at least they avoided a no-no.

Kaitlyn O'Donnell led off the seventh inning with a double to right center to save Stonewall from a combined no-hitter, but she couldn't prevent the Generals from dropping to 2-16 (2-7 in the Shenandoah).

"Really the main thing just was that Page hit the ball very well," Stonewall coach Mike Hunt said.

Stonewall plays at 5:30 today at Buffalo Gap.

Eagles 20, Mustangs 0

FALLS CHURCH — Clarke County exploded for 12 runs in the third inning of a 20-0 rout of George Mason.

"We took advantage of five walks, which kind of got us jump started, but then we had seven hits," coach Susan Grubbs said of the inning, in which the Eagles sent 17 batters to the plate. "The walks opened the door for us to be a little more selective at the plate and get our pitch."

Tara Fields went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI for Clarke, which improved to 10-8 and 5-3 in the Bull Run. Rachel Buckner went 4-for-5 with three driven in, and Katie Poston had two hits.

From the mound, Jordan Wolford struck out three and allowed one hit, to go along with her grand slam from the plate on a 3-for-4 night.

The Eagles host Manassas Park at 5 today before traveling to Strasburg at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Panthers 8, Rams 7

WASHINGTON, Va. — Strasburg took a five-run lead into the bottom of the seventh, but committed four errors and allowed Rappahannock to rally for an 8-7 win.

"Just didn't close the game out," said Strasburg coach Suzanne Mathias, whose team allowed six runs (four unearned) in the final frame. "It's a real confidence blow, because we played well for six innings and we played solid defense for six innings. We hit the ball well."

Samantha Funkhouser led the Rams, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Bethany Doman and Tiffany Milgrim each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as Strasburg dropped to 10-7 and 3-5 in the Bull Run.

"To come out of there with a loss and to have to turn around and play two games back to back, I'm hoping the girls can bounce back from it and play well tomorrow," said Mathias, whose squad hosts Madison County at 7 today.

Judges 8, Wildcats 5

WINCHESTER — A four-run fifth inning paved the way for Handley's 8-5 victory over Warren County on Tuesday. A double by Emily Ensor sparked the rally, which included a single by Lauren Yaider (who went 3-for-4 with a triple and RBI) and an RBI single by Logan Clark.

Danielle Walls doubled, tripled and drove in two runs, and Caitlin Johnson and Kirstin Hill each went 2-for-3 for the Judges, who improved to 3-15, and 3-10 in the district.

"It keeps our momentum going," Handley coach Tim Mondell said. "We've won two in a row."

Tigers 6, Colonels 2

WINCHESTER — Alex Zitsch went 2-for-2 and scored a run in James Wood's loss to Brentsville in Northwestern District action.

Shiela Armel had a triple and a run scored and Whiteny Dennis and Sara Price had RBI groundouts for the Colonels (9-10, 6-7 Northwestern).

Girls soccer

Pioneers 2, Wildcats 1, OT

FRONT ROYAL — The Pioneers were in dire straits, but with time winding down MacKenzie Witt and Becca Costello came to the rescue. Costello assisted Witt on a goal in the 75th minute to force overtime before Millbrook went on to beat Warren County 2-1 on Tuesday.

"I was very worried," Pioneers coach Keith Kilmer said. "Warren County's a very good team, but my girls have had this attitude that they're not going to quit right now. It's not going to happen."

Rhonda Runion took a through ball from Erin Unger in the 83rd minute, dribbled in on goal and flicked a left-footed shot into the right side of the goal, helping the Pioneers to their first-ever winning record at 9-7 (7-7 in the district). Millbrook hosts the Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Friday in the first round of the Northwestern District Tournament.

Judges 5, Falcons 0

WINCHESTER — Elise Delmerico had her first career varsity goal to lead Handley past Central in Northwestern District action.

Paula Delmerico, Lillie Rupert, Kirsti Campbell and Ciara Hockman each added goals for the Judges (11-3-2, 11-2-1 Northwestern), who clinched the No. 2 seed in the district tournament.

Alison MacDonald, Paula Delmerico and Rupert each had an assist for the Judges. Handley outshot Central, 22-1.

Panthers 3, Rams 2

WASHINGTON, Va. — Rappahannock scored a pair of second-half goals to pull away from Strasburg for a 3-2 win.

"They played a good game," Strasburg coach Jonathan Dodd said of the Panthers. "They had a lot of opportunities that just didn't go in for them."

Kayla del'Aguila scored on a first-half penalty kick, then Ann Keller added one of her own on a blast from outside the 18-yard box.

Strasburg dropped to 2-14 and 2-8 in the district with the loss.

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