Fluco sports In Review – 5/18-5/28

Softball

The Lady Flucos took on Albemarle on May 18 resulting in a win. After a hard-fought game on May 20 against Monticello, however, they lost. Sophomore Santric Rush said it was a successful week overall and that the team learned a lot. “We learned just how good our defense actually is as it carried us through a lot of innings this week,” she said.

She added that the team does need to work on having better at bats in the box. “We need to have better pitch selection and swinging at our pitches and not helping the pitcher,” she said. Rush noted that she feels like once the team puts all of the little things together, everything will fall into place and the team will be even more successful.

Baseball

Fluco baseball started off the week with a loss against Albemarle on May 18, but turned it around and pulled off the win against Monticello on May 20. Sophomore B.B. Cox said the team took awhile to get going in both games. “We started slow and lost on Tuesday and started again slow on Thursday which almost cost us the win, but we were able to pull ourselves out of it and come out on top,” he said. He added that the team needs to learn from that and start out hot.

“Our coaches noticed we were lacking in the field so we’ve been doing a lot of fielding and situational stuff,” he said. Cox noted that once the team learns to start out strong and keep the same intensity throughout the game, they will be hard to beat.

Girls Soccer

Lady Flucos soccer took on Monticello on May 20 and was unable to pull off a win. Senior Allie Hanson said even though the team was unsuccessful, it was a learning week for the team. “We had a disappointing outcome in our game, but used that game as a tool to prepare for our upcoming games,” she said. She added that she feels like the team was able to learn quickly and should play well in upcoming games.

“We have been working a lot on moving as a unit and staying connected in the back line while also keeping up our perseverance and not getting discouraged so quickly,” she said. Hanson noted that she is excited to see how she and her team perform in upcoming games.

Boys Soccer

Flucos soccer faced off with Monticello on May 20 and was unable to pull off the win. Sophomore Sampson Blakey said he and his team learned from the loss against the Mustangs. “We were exposed a lot in the beginning but we started to close it in the end with more pressure,” he said. He added that the team has been learning every week and putting the pieces together.

“We added to our practice schedule this week that we need to work on sitting deeper against the faster teams and play faster to get around defenders,” he added. Blakey noted that the next game they play, he believes the team will play better even if the scores don’t show it.

Girls Tennis

On May 17, the Lady Flucos tennis team played the last match of their season, finishing it out with Monticello. Freshman Emma Abel said it was a successful last week for the team. “We played a strong team and played hard. It was nice to play and have fun one last time,” she said.

She added that this was her first year playing tennis and the team made her feel so comfortable. “This was a growth year for the program with all of the Covid stuff and that we will lose a lot of key players this year because they are seniors,” she said.

Abel noted that the team did well this season and that she was proud of herself. “It was a good first year for me and I learned a lot so I would call that a great season,” Abel said.

Boys Tennis

Boys tennis competed in their last match of the season on May 17 against Monticello. Senior Owen Strickland said it was a great last match for the team. “We had fun one last time all together and supported each other the whole time,” he noted. He added that it was nice to have individual success throughout the season even if the team was not successful overall.

“One of my favorite things about tennis is that you can have a great match personally, even when it does not result in a win for the whole team,” he explained.

Girls Lacrosse

Senior Caroline McCall said it was a rough, but learning week for the team as they lost to Monticello on May 17 and 18. “We as a team didn’t put our hearts into the games and that reflected our scores,” said McCall.

She added that the team has been focusing a lot on defense. “We’ve been trying to perfect our defensive strategies. I believe that a solid defense wins games just as much as scoring does,” McCall said, noting that she was a little upset by last week’s games. “I’ve played many games with these girls my entire high school career and I know we are capable of winning and that when we work together, it will show on the field,” she said.

Boys Lacrosse

The varsity team faced off with Monticello on May 17 and 18, with both games resulting in losses for the Flucos. “We have to start going into the games with more intensity and enthusiasm. We know we are better than how we have been playing, we just need to prove it on the field,” said sophomore Aiden Valentine.

He added that he’s confident going into next week that the team will play better and together. “Once we learn how to focus in practice and take what we learned there and transfer it to the games, we will be hard to beat,” he said.

Track

Girls track raced against Western Albemarle on May 19. Sophomore Ellie Kennedy said it was a successful week, although the team needs to get used to the heat. “A big takeaway from the meet is the importance of hydration. We need to be better prepared for the heat. That will give us the energy we need to push through and pull out the wins,” she said.

Meanwhile, the boys had a successful day overall for the team. “A major takeaway from last week’s meet was the importance of form and a good warm-up,” said sophomore Addison Patchett. He noted that the team will need to enforce a better warm-up routine and better hydration overall. “If we want to do well moving forward, we need to continue to focus in practice if we want it to be a successful season moving forward,” he added.