Baseball

The Varsity Flucos started their season on March 21, heading to Spotswood confident they would get their first win of the season. However, the Flucos couldn’t get anything going offensively in the top half of the first inning, going down 1-2-3 with the Spotswood pitcher only throwing 11 pitches.

Senior Nathan Gentry started on the mound for the Flucos and walked the first batter, struck out the second, and then gave up an RBI double to the third. He then struck out the fourth and fifth batters as well. In the top of the second inning, Fluvanna’s offense looked to be coming alive, with five runners getting on and sophomore Ryan Grooms knocking in the game tying run.

Throughout the game, the Flucos scored four runs, beating Spotswood 4-2. Fluvanna was led by starting pitcher Gentry, pitching three innings, and relief pitcher freshman Kevin Ward and freshman Kyle Algeri getting the save. Offensively, the team was led by junior Da’shon Carter, who went 2-4 with a stolen base and an RBI, senior Logan Gibson, who went 2-4 with a double, and sophomore Ryan Grooms, who went 2-4 with an RBI as well. “My at-bats played an important role and I just tried to put the ball in play,” said Carter.

The Varsity Flucos took on Powhatan on March 23, winning by a final score of 7-0. Starting pitcher junior Shaun Holyfield pitched amazingly well, not giving up a run in four innings pitched. Critzer had a terrific game at the plate, going 3-4 with two doubles and four RBI’s. “Our team came together as a whole and not individuals,” Critzer said. “The pitching was on point, and offensively we jumped on the first pitch,” he added.

As for the JV team, the Flucos challenged Spotswood on March 22 and won 7-2, then lost to Powhatan 11-13 on Thursday. “We are a young team that has plenty of talent and potential, but we will need to focus in order to make it to the top,” said Sophomore Joshua Elliot.

Softball

Softball kicked off their season on March 21 by traveling to Spotwood. It was a blowout, with the girls destroying Spotswood by a final score of 18-5. “The girls played very well after knocking off the rust in the first inning,” said Assistant Coach Travis Bailey. Three girls had outstanding hits, including senior Captain Sophie Kershner with one home run, senior Captain Toria Belew hitting two home runs, and sophomore Hannah Breeden hitting one.

“We played really well as a team and our bats got hot, hitting four home runs,” Kershner said. “Last year was a competitive matchup, but this year we blew them out of the water,” she said.

In their second game of the season varsity took on Powhatan at home on March 23, losing 7-1. Powhatan’s pitching was phenomenal, not giving up more than one hit to each Fluco. Standout Breeden went 2-3 with a triple and an RBI. “I really liked that even though we were down, we never gave up,” said senior Cassie Kingsley.

On March 21, the JV Lady Flucos suited up and took the field for a game against Spotswood, resulting in a 5-2 win, a promising way to kick off the new season. Two days later, they took on Powhatan to less positive results, losing 7-18. “I think that we can be successful if we work together and start off strong every game,” said Sophomore Victoria Koczan.

Girls’ Tennis

The Lady Flucos opened their season against Orange County on March 20 with the girls defeating the Hornets by a final score of 5-4. Standouts include senior Emily Baker, who won 10-3, senior Ema Graham, who won 10-2, and senior Marley McGrath who finished 10-5 in singles competition. In doubles competition, Baker and sophomore Adora Gamage won 10-4, while Graham and junior Yolaine Scolan won 10-3.

“Everyone was nervous for the match since it was our first, but after the start, the players became more confident,” said Assistant Coach Sabrey Garling, “That momentum and confidence carried us to a win.”

Girls’ tennis took on Spotswood at home on March 21, winning the match 5-4. “We had a very competitive match last night,” said Head Coach Feda Morton. In the singles matches, Gamage won 10-1, Graham won 10-6, and McGrath won 10-3. In doubles, Gamage and Baker won 8-3, while Scolan and Graham won by a final score of 8-5. “I entered the court with a positive mentality and with a hunger to win,“ said Graham, “[and] I just made that happen.”

The girls then took on Lousia at home on March 23. In singles competition, sophomore Lydia Napier got the first win of her career, beating her opponent 8-1. Graham also won with a match score of 8-0, making her undefeated so far this season. Also remaining undefeated was McGrath, who won her match 8-0.

In doubles matches, Scolan and Graham won 8-1, leaving them still undefeated as a team. Meanwhile, freshman Sarah White and Napier won their match with a final score of 8-1. This was their first double win. “It was a great confidence booster for me and my doubles partner,” said White.

Boys’ Tennis

The boys’ team opened their season on March 20, taking on Orange at home. The Flucos won 6 out of the 9 matches played. Highlights included senior Nikola Bajs, sophomore Eugene Chow, and 8th grader Billy Ruffa, who all won their singles and doubles matches. Junior Dylan Carrier and senior Braden Turley won in doubles, as did Ruffa and 8th grader Connor Small.

“It was a tight match until the end, [but] Dylan and I played a good game,” said Turley, adding, “together we took them down as a team.”

Boys’ tennis also had matches on March 21 at Spotswood where they found themselves facing a very solid team and lost 8-1. Standouts included senior Ian Dillon who won his 6th singles match 9-8, 7-4 in a tiebreak. Bajs also had a very solid performance in both singles and doubles matches. “Spotswood is pretty good. They have a very solid program,” said Assistant Coach Mitchell Pace, “but all our matches were very competitive and very close.”

The teams traveled to Lousia on March 23 to take on the Lions. Standouts included Chow, who won in his singles match 8-6, as well as won in doubles with Bajs with a final score of 8-5. Overall, the Flucos lost 7-2 to the Lions.

“We need to finish points. We have done a great job of setting up points, but let the other team off of the hook at the end,” said Head Coach Jason Barnett. “We have to maintain focus through the entire point.”

Girls’ Lacrosse

Traveling out of Fluvanna for two games this week, the girls first played a difficult game against the Liberty Bealton Eagles on March 20. There was no JV game, but many of the JV girls were moved up and got a taste of a varsity-paced game. The Flucos were up by one in the first half at the 9-minute mark, but the Eagles came back strong in the second half and beat Fluvanna 10-6. Senior Natalie Hughes scored two goals.

The Lady Flucos had another game against Patrick Henry on March 23, but suffered a 20-5 loss. On the plus side, Hughes scored three goals, junior Hailee Kidd scored one and also had two assists, and sophomore Sadie Conner scored one.

Although it was a tough loss to bear, Hughes said, “We’ll bounce back.”

Boys’ Lacrosse

Both lacrosse teams took on the Liberty Bealton Patriots at home on March 21, followed by Patrick Henry at home on March 23. The varsity guys played their hearts out with a strong defense and offense, but lost 5-2 against Liberty. Senior Cody Abbott scored both goals for the Flucos. Varsity then ended up losing 8-1 against Patrick Henry two nights later, with senior Nathan Carney scoring varsity’s only goal. “The scoreboard didn’t reflect the way we played. The shots taken just weren’t going in our favor,” said junior Caden Koslowski.  

Meanwhile, the JV team lost their match against Liberty, then lost to Patrick Henry 12-1 with freshman Alex Williams scoring the lone Fluco goal. “It feels great that my hard work is finally starting to pay off,” he said.

Girls’ Soccer

Both girls’ soccer teams were defeated by the Powhatan Indians on March 20. The score for both JV and Varsity ended in 0-1 scoreboards, but the ladies refused to get discouraged. “We definitely need some more work, but I know we can improve throughout the season,” said varsity goalie Jilian Stutz.

The Varsity girls suffered another tough loss against Spotswood on March 22 with a final score of 1-6. “After one goal, we really just start to have a bad mentality and start to drag. This is definitely something we are working on, though,” said junior Melanie Stone.

In contrast, the JV Lady Flucos had a much better evening, going home with a 3-1 win over Spotswood. “They were actually playing better than us in the first half, but we came back and really showed everyone that we wanted to win,” said sophomore Denise Fiero.  

Boys’ Soccer

On March 17, the boys started their regular season by taking on Spotswood and losing 1-3, with freshman Emory Davis scoring the only goal. The JV team had a similar experience, with freshman Gabe Carlton making the only goal and the Flucos losing 1-3. On March 20, varsity lost 0-5 and JV lost 1-3 to the Powhatan at home.

On March 21, both teams traveled to Spotswood. It was a tough night for the Flucos, with JV losing 0-3, and varsity losing 0-6. “I believe we could have won the game,” said varsity player Griffin Clauder, who added, “however, the team was not 100% ready and we gave up easy goals.”