Story #7 of 9 involves Alan Knight and his Lady Panthers Softball program facing the defending Class 2 Champs in a doubleheader at their place

Bottom one is of Dennis ” Preacherman ” Zimmerman and old friend, Craig Orndorff of Valley Sports.

Earlier this season, Page County High School Softball team was in need of a postponement of a home game against Central – Woodstock due to a number of players battling illnesses.

Sadly, the only agreement that could be reached was to move the game to Central High School and play it as part of a doubleheader.

Thursday afternoon, long-time friend and even longer time Coach, Alan spent some time with me and both my brother Wayne and son, Chris in New Market.

When the conversation turned to Softball for a few minutes, we addressed the pending matchup with the Falcons.

PCHS started out 0-3 for the first time since indoor plumbing, but it’s worth noting that two of the three losses were to the Class 3 defending State Champs, Broadway.

The team returned to healthy and managed to string together six straight victories heading into last night.

” I don’t have enough pitching left to play them twice, not after the game against Clarke County two days ago,” was the line from Coach.

When Dennis Z reached out with the two final scores, I had to laugh to myself. After almost half a century of coaching, it shouldn’t have surprised me one bit that Alan knows his roster inside and out.

The Lady Panthers went toe 2 toe in the opening game before falling 4-3 in a back and forth affair. Game 2 went to the homestanding Falcons by a score of 8-0.

Page County now sits at 6-5 with four if the setbacks coming at the hands βœ‹οΈof teams with Championship rings πŸ’ from last year. The team will get back at it next week.

Big Daddy & Coach

Three Softball games and three different ways to win one highlight the Tuesday night diamond πŸ’Ž round up !

Carroll County High School Softball wins by forfeit 1-0 over Martinsville High

Page County High School 🏫 traveled up to Clarke County and defeated the home team 16 – 4 in six innings. Coach Knight credits the Lady Panthers with being ready to play as the team collected its sixth straight victory.

Game 1 – no innings played

Game 2 – six of seven played

Game 3 – Carroll County Junior Varsity 18, Martinsville 0 ( 3 innings )

Wire report from our sister site, the Laurel Fork Coconut πŸ₯₯ Telegraph :

Cavs 18-0 in 3 innings over Martinsville

β€œBack to Back” shut outs pitched by Ava Beamer…..she pitched a 1 hit shut out in 3 innings pitched with 7 strikeouts

All players got in on the action in this game. Bats were hot, whether bunting or hitting.

Multiple hits…..Mylie Crook, Molly Montgomery, Bree Campbell

Multiple RBIs…..Mylie Crook 4…..Molly Montgomery 3

There were  lots of stolen bases in this one

Five Good Minutes with Alan Knight as his Lady Panthers pushed their winning streak to four games at Madison County Wednesday night πŸŒ™

Page County 13, Madison County 2

Β  Page County High School Softball moved to 4-3 on the season Wednesday night with a 13-2 District victory at Madison County.

When you play the reining Class 3 State Champs ( Broadway ) in two of your first three games, there’s a good chance of picking up a pair of early losses. The Gobblers swept Page County, but the team has now won four in a row. Madison County is off to a rough start this season, and PCHS took care of business in the toad victory.

The road ahead will get a little testy as the team has two games with the Class 2 State Champs πŸ† Central – Woodstock on the horizon. The team plays Stonewall Jackson High School 🏫 on Friday.

Update on Book πŸ“– #6 out of 7, we have our cover Photo πŸ“Έ and the title ! It will be called, ” You can’t write the seventh one until you finish the sixth one !” Subtitle – 50 years of Diamond πŸ’Ž stories.

The photo is one I took at the Appalachian League championship game a few years back.

The title comes from the brain 🧠 of Joe Walsh back in 1983. Before he joined the Eagles, Walsh released an album titled, ” You bought it, You name it,” and it stuck with me. Pretty clever marketing is one of my favorite things in life.

The goal for the past twenty years has been to create a set of books πŸ“š, seven in number per the days of the week. The seventh and final one will break from the routine of sports and focus on faith.

Nancy Sorrells is returning for the third time to take the point on producing the book πŸ“– and hopefully, she will be there for the seventh and final one.

One introduction chapter is to be followed by 13 more with some artwork mixed in. The locations involved will focus on Beckley, West Virginia, Carroll County, Virginia, Page County, Virginia, the San Juan Islands 🏝 and the greater St. Louis area.

Stories about the amazing people you will meet and things you will see πŸ‘€ when one spends 50 years around various levels of Ball Diamonds πŸ’Ž.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute material for the book over the past 12 months. While it could have used a few more, here and there, I feel pretty good about what we have.

Let’s play ball !

100% positive stories pieced together in hopes of telling a good story !