WOODSTOCK — Brea Hinegardner pitched a complete-game shutout and Krystin Romick had three hits as Central blanked Handley.

The Falcons struggled to generate offense early, but put together a four-run fifth inning to break the game open.

"We had a couple hits here and there, but we couldn't put anything together right away," Central coach Jill Yew said.

Central scored two runs on a hit-and-run with Hinegardner at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Romick finished with a run and a triple, and Emily Broyles and Ashley Ebersole each went 2-for-3.

Eagles 6, Cougars 0

BERRYVILLE— Sam Herndon went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs to lead Clarke County past Manassas Park 6-0.

Rachel Buckner struck out 11 and allowed no walks or extra-base hits in the complete-game victory for Clarke, which improved to 11-8 and 6-3 in the Bull Run.

"Winning today and hopefully another game [Thursday], we have a chance to be tied with Strasburg [for second place]," Eagles coach Susan Grubbs said.

"Then again, a coin toss might decide who gets second and who gets third."

Brianna Smith and Tara Fields each went 2-for-4 for the Eagles, and Lauren McCabe drove in two runs with a 1-for-4 day. The Eagles visit the Rams at 7 today.

Pioneers 4, Wildcats 0

WINCHESTER — An RBI single by Jessie Gustafson in the first inning gave Millbrook all the runs it would need in a 4-0 win over Warren County on Wednesday.

After Gustafson's single, Nicole Daily kept the Wildcats in check with six innings of scoreless ball, with eight strikeouts and just two hits.

"We needed a win, so she's just coming at them with straight pitches, nothing fancy," Millbrook coach Michelle Long said. "Just giving them something that they can't hit."

Stephanie Curry went 3-for-4 and Casey Ferrell added a pair of base hits as the Pioneers tacked on three insurance runs in the sixth.

The Pioneers wrap up the regular season 12-8 and 9-5 in the Northwestern District.

Warriors 5, Hawks 2

FRONT ROYAL — Amanda Lizama hit a second-inning home run to help Sherando beat Skyline 5-2.

The win, played in Front Royal with Sherando as the home team because of field conditions in Stephens City, gives the Warriors the fourth seed in the district tournament.

"That's a big deal," coach Erin Bundrick said, "Especially since our last game was supposed to be home anyway and we ended up playing at Skyline."

Kourtney Paige was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Warriors, who improved to 11-9 and 8-6 in the district.

Colonels 9, Hawks 1

FRONT ROYAL — Julie Shifflett went 2-for-3, but Skyline fell 9-1 to James Wood.

"We struggled defensively," said Skyline coach Richard Armstrong, whose team made eight errors. "And every mistake we made, James Wood took advantage of it."

The Hawks dropped to 7-9 overall and 6-7 in the district.

For James Wood, Sheila Armel went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple and Rachel Wetzel went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

Amanda Morrison tossed seven innings for the Colonels, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out eight.

The fifth-seeded Colonels play at Sherando on Friday in the opening round of the district tournament.

Bison 11, Generals 7

SWOOPE — Buffalo Gap used superior situational hitting to beat Stonewall Jackson 11-7 and earn the fourth seed in the Shenandoah District tournament.

"We were unable to execute our bunts in key situations and move runners up, and that ended up being the difference," Stonewall coach Michael Hunt said.

Lindsey Hoover went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Stonewall and Kaitlin O'Donnell went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run batted in.

The Bison and Generals will meet again on Friday at Buffalo Gap.

Baseball

Cougars 4, Eagles 1

BERRYVILLE — A sterling performance by Manassas Park's Brendan Settles stifled the Eagle bats and sent Clarke County to a 4-1 loss at home.

Settles pitched seven innings, striking out four and allowing just four base runners.

The Cougars preyed on three costly errors by the Eagles.

"The two runs in the third, [we] misplayed a routine double-play ball," coach Casey Childs said. "Would have got us out of the inning. Instead, we booted it."

Later, a misplayed fly ball contributed to another Cougars run.

"They made every play and we didn't," Childs said.

Jeremy Batka went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles for Clarke, which dropped to 5-14 and 3-6 in the Bull Run.

Wildcats 5, Pioneers 4, 10 innings

WINCHESTER — A two-out double by Will Hoffmaster scored Shawn Brown from third, handing Warren County a 5-4 win over Millbrook in the 10th inning.

"Millbrook's a quality baseball club," Wildcats coach Vernon Matthews said. "To be honest, every win's a big win for us."

Grayson Partlowe pitched six and a third, but it was Brown who picked up the win with three and two-thirds innings pitched. Warren County, which swept Millbrook on the season, improved to 7-13 and 4-10 in the district.

Falcons 2, Judges 1

WOODSTOCK — Anthony Frye came up big on senior night.

The Central senior hit a walk-off single to lift Central to a key Northwestern District victory over Handley.

"I was really happy for Anthony, being a senior," Central coach Donn Foltz said. "It was a good game. We made some good defensive plays. It was a big win."

With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Hoyle Laughlin hit a one-out double. One out later, Alex Palmerton drew a walk and Frye then hit his game-winning single. Kyian Hedrick went 2-for-2 and Laughlin went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Falcons (7-12, 6-8 Northwestern). Sam Dowdy also went 2-for-3 for Central.

The win gives Central the No. 5 seed in the district tournament. The Falcons will play fourth-seeded Sherando on Friday at 4 p.m. at James Wood. Handley will be the sixth seed and will play at third-seeded James Wood on Friday at 7 p.m.

-- Daily Staff Reports