BIG Night For Atlee at Capital District Jubilee....

The symmetry is quite stunning.....

Atlee came into both the Capital District softball and baseball semifinals this evening as the #3 seed.  By night's end, the winning number combination for Raider fans would be "5-2".

In softball, Shelby Hill had three hits and scored two runs, while Jessica Holte scattered six hits and struck out three as Atlee defeated Hanover 5-2 to clinch a Central Region Tournament berth and set up a rematch against #1 Lee-Davis in Friday's tournament final.  Hanover scored first on Brooke Throckmorton's RBI single which plated Erica Barrett making it 1-0 Hawks.

Atlee left runners on base in each of the first three innings, but in the third were able to tie the game when Delani Farrar's hard grounder to pitcher Kiandra Mitchum was tough enough to handle to give Cameron Hall time to score from third.

In the fourth, the Raiders took the lead for good as Hall's RBI single scored Hill.  The Hawks stranded a runner at third in their half of the inning.

Atlee broke the game open in the fifth.  A one-out single by Mattie Fitzgerald was followed one out later by Hill's third hit of the game, a single.  Lexi Cumbia then singled, scoring Fitzgerald.  During the next at-bat by Blair Jones, two passed balls allowed both Hill, then Cumbia to score, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Hawks mounted a brief rally in the 7th, scoring one, but the threat ended when Mitchum grounded out to shortstop Taylor Sutherland, and smiles broke out in the first base dugout.

Atlee is now 16-5 on the season (they finished 9-3 in the Capital) and will play Lee-Davis Friday at 5pm for the Capital District Tournament title.

Lee-Davis' bats sprung into action against Glen Allen in the day's first game, scoring five runs in the third inning against fourth-seeded Glen Allen.  A walk to Kelly Heinz was followed by five hits by the next six batters, highlighted by Ryleigh Hawker's two-run double to center.  The Confederates scored four more in the fourth to make it 9-0, then finished the game with three runs in the sixth for a 12-2 victory.  Heinz, Lacie Madison and Casey Price each scored three times, while Haleigh Cottrell drove in three runs.  Lauren McIntyre struck out five in the win.....

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The Raiders baseball squad waited out an hour plus rain delay, then battled evenly with Lee-Davis, requiring an extra inning to gain the upset win.

Two walks by Michael Thomas helped the Raiders score a run in the top of the first.  Thomas' home run a few innings later tied the game at one.

Atlee would score another run, then Lee-Davis plated a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game again.  Atlee stranded a runner at third in their half of the seventh, while the Confederates left two on base in their half.  The Raiders would strike in the eighth.  Mike Harmon's RBI single drove in Andrew Starke.  Chop Pulisic later singled to score Harmon, then Dalton Ruch drove in the final run of the inning with a single.

Lee-Davis got a one-out double by Thomas in the bottom of the eighth, but Luke Bolka got Josh Lam to fly out to center, then struck out Jesse Smith to end the game.

Atlee now faces #1 Hanover in the Capital District final Friday at 6pm and have qualified for the Central Region Tournament, where they will face Dinwiddie in quarterfinal action Monday at 9am at Randolph-Macon College....

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In soccer action, the Hanover boys won the Capital District crown with a convincing 6-1 victory over Atlee.  The Hawks' girls team easily handled Henrico 7-1 in the second girls semifinal, setting up a championship match against Atlee Friday at 5pm.

NOTES:

---The softball, baseball and girls soccer finals are ALL at Hanover High School on Friday at the above times.
---Patrick Henry's Colonial District Softball Final against Deep Run was postponed due to rain, now set to be played Friday at 7pm.
---In addition to the Dinwiddie/Atlee matchup, the other Central Region Baseball Quarterfinals, to be played at approximately 11am, 1pm and 3pm Monday, are Deep Run/Cosby, Hanover/Matoaca, and James River/Hermitage.