Softball

The varsity Lady Flucos took on Albemarle on April 21, but lost by a score of 6-7. Playing on Albemarle dirt, the Lady Flucos stayed together as a team overall, and did their best to cheer each other on and keep their heads up despite the close loss. “We could have hit better than we did, but altogether we played well,” said sophomore Katie Morris.

The following day, the JV Flucos had a doubleheader at Monticello. Playing only one game out of three due to weather, the girls lost their first game 4-3. Although they didn’t take home a win, they still had winning moments on the field. “Kendall [Gordon] hit one out,” said freshman Jenna Goodson. “We showed good sportsmanship and we didn’t get down on ourselves,” said freshman Kenzie Talley.

Starting a new week, both softball teams went up against Louisa at home on April 27. The JV Lady Flucos won their game 11-5, and the girls surprised the Louisa pitcher with seven runs in the first inning. Every player made it on the bag at least once, including 8th grader Lindsey Ward, who said “Keeping our momentum through the first few innings brought us a big lead.”

As for varsity, they played a suspenseful game where many of their starting players were unable to play. The remaining players gave their all and pushed through the difficulties, especially junior Candice Shaheen. “Candice was a true lead-off hitter, drawing walks, spreading hits over the field, and even taking one for the team,” said Assistant Coach Travis Bailey.  Even though the girls played well, they ended up losing 14-15 after eight innings.

Track

Excited to be one step closer to States, both the girls’ and boys’ teams traveled to Louisa on April 26, where they competed against a number of schools for their district meet. Many girls placed in the top three, including Saige Haney, Cyan Coates, Delaney Reed, Alex Daniels, Lamaya Lacey, Matasha Martin, Chaniya Brown, and Madison Stoltz.

While it seems like the girls took home most of the accomplishments, coming in second overall, the boys placed seventh overall and had two place in the top three: Victor Agee and Christian Morris. To end the eventful events of the meet, the Lady Flucos’ 4×100 meter, 4×400 meter, and 4×800 meter relay teams qualified for States. “Everyone put in work,” said sophomore Prophett Harris.

Baseball

The JV Flucos had a doubleheader at Monticello on April 22 where they played two out of three games because of weather. “We lost the first game. We just weren’t hitting well. The fielding also could’ve been better,” said freshman player Mikey Brown. Although they lost the first game, they still went into the second game with a fresh start, beating Monticello 11-3.

On April 27, both JV and varsity teams played home games against the Louisa Lions. Coming into a rained out week, JV won and varsity lost. The game was close the entire time and the JV boys didn’t score until the fourth inning, but still ended up winning 2-1.

“There was a runner on third for me and I was really nervous, but I sat back and hit the first pitch right back up the middle to win,” said freshman AJ Brown. As or varsity, they lost 3-1 against Louisa. “We played well, and we just need to make adjustments. We held a high powered offense to a relative minimum with our defense. Our future in the playoffs looks good,” said junior Shaun Holyfield.

Tennis

The boys’ tennis team had a match with Louisa at home on April 27 and although they lost, they served up some strong competition. The highpoint of the match was when senior Nikola Bajs won his singles match and also his doubles match alongside partner Eugene Chow. Bajs, who is a senior, had the satisfaction of his long-time rival at Louisa during his singles match. “Bajs got the last say,” said Tennis Coach Mitchell Pace.

As for the Lady Flucos, “they played hard-fought matches, but lost 4 to 5 [to Louisa],” said Coach Feda Morton.  “We were pumped because we beat them before. When we got there, they suggested we play doubles first– we’ve never done that before. Plus, it was super windy. We only needed one more singles game to win, but we due to those things we ended up losing,” said player Sarah White. On the positive side, Ema Graham, Lydia Napier, and Yolaine Scolan all won their singles matches, while Graham and Scolan won their doubles match. Graham is now 9-2 in her total matches for the season, while the team overall has a record of 4-6 for the season.

Girls’ Soccer

Both varsity and JV girls soccer went home with a loss on April 21 against the Albemarle Patriots. The varsity score was 0-8 as a result of slaughter rule. JV was able to hold the Patriots off with only a 0-4 loss. “We played so much better the second game against Albemarle because we came together as a team, which was really important for us,” said JV player Denise Fierro.

Meanwhile, on April 24 the girls played a very wet, rainy game where varsity was defeated again by Charlottesville in a close, 1-2 game. “I definitely feel like we were playing more as a team and connecting passes. We had a lot more success this game with working the ball through the middle and to the sides, but we still have a lot to improve on,” said senior Lydia Reynard.

While varsity didn’t leave with the results they were hoping for, JV left with a neutral feeling, as the final score was 0-0. “I think we played better against them the first time we played them, although we did play well this time. We just didn’t take as many shots as we could have. Overall, our defense held strong and we really dominated,” said JV Captain Addie Hamner.

Both JV and varsity girls soccer went home with a win on April 27 against Louisa. Varsity played a very tough game and defeated Louisa in 3-2. “I was so satisfied with the way our team played. We had so many good runs up the field and were able to make many breakaways. It felt so good coming home knowing that we played well together and really connected as a team. It made me realize why I love playing soccer so much,” said sophomore McKenzie Herring.

Varsity player Lauren Davis felt very similar to Herring. “It was so awesome winning 3-0, especially since the last time we played them we tied them. We had so many shots and although not all of them went in, it was refreshing seeing us take so many of them,” said Davis.

Boys’ Soccer

Both the JV and varsity teams suffered losses against Charlottesville on April 21. However, they went home feeling a lot better this time than they did when they played them the first time. The final score for the varsity game was 0-3. “We played hard and gave it our best effort. Matt Mooney stepped up and had an amazing game in goal, despite never playing keeper before. It was definitely a milestone for our team, holding the top team 0-0 most of the game, and not letting them score at all in the run of play,” said Captain Alex Scalzo. As for JV, they went home with a loss of 0-5.

On April 27, the JV boys faced Louisa and went home with a 4-3 win. Up until half-time the Flucos dominated the game and were up by three goals. Then Louisa made a comeback and tied the game up with only a few minutes remaining. In the last minute of the game, freshman Brandon Lucas shot over the goalie’s head and gave the Flucos a 4-3 lead. “It felt awesome seeing the whole crowd get excited. It made me feel really accomplished and proud of myself,” said Lucas.

The varsity boys were unable to play their scheduled game against Louisa that same night due to a lack of refs, but have rescheduled their game for next week.

Girls’ Lacrosse

On April 25 the girls faced Charlottesville where they won 11-9. It was also an opportunity to celebrate Natalie Hughes, Nyomi Mbuyisa, and O’nae Harris for senior night. “It was definitely a tough game, considering the calls, but everyone gave it their all because we knew how important it was to the seniors,” said junior Bri Wagner.

Boys’ Lacrosse  

When the boys’ lacrosse teams took on Charlottesville on April 25 both teams suffered a loss– varsity by a score of 1-19 and JV by a score of 0-10. “For a fairly new team we played well. We don’t have the depth or all of the experience like the other teams. We are coming together as a team, but there are still things to work on,” said senior Cody Abbott.