Exciting time of the year for softball fans as the race 🏁 to Oklahoma City is on!
Here in the Commonwealth, Virginia Wesleyan is 48-0 and chasing a DIII Natty ! #FeartheFish
Two matches are left to play, and our coaching staff knows that our 11 needs to win both matches in order to advance into another very stacked Regional tournament.
Tuesday night is also our once delayed Youth Night celebration, and while it fits into a different category, it’s equally important to the future of our program !
Corey Williams works as hard as anyone on The Hill and is surrounded by a dedicated group of folks trying hard to enable both the Boys and Girls programs to advance to the next level.
Tuesday night is their moment to shine on the Big Stage, which should, in turn, light the fire 🔥 for the future Cavaliers.
Earlier this season, Forrest and Company defeated James River 3-1 and went up to the Bobcats den and came home with a 2-2 tie. The team needs to win both matches and celebrate the future along the way !
It’s a very TALL order for most, but we have two very focused young Men running this show so I wouldn’t bet against them.
Consider yourself invited to the show on Tuesday night 🌙 !
We have written about how tough of a Region that our Boys and Girls Soccer teams play in over the years. As we head into the final four days of the 2025-2026 season, we have the latest example of just that.
Our Lady Cavaliers enter the week at 9-4-1, and three matches are still on the schedule. One would think that 9-4-1 would have or Ladies looking forward to hosting a playoff game but as Lee Corso would say, ” Not so fast, my friend.”
The team needs to go 3-0 over the next 72 hours and then still hope for the best. Most folks are familiar with Selection Sunday and March Madness, so maybe we can call this May Meyham ? I’m not even sure if that’s a real word or not, but it kinda fits, so let’s go with it.
Question #1 – how does a team end up with three matches inside the final four days ?
Monday at Patrick County – This match started last month over in Stuart and was interrupted by a lightning 🌩 storm. It was early in the Varsity match. When the two teams met on The Hill back on April 27th, Carroll County defeated PCHS 3-0.
Tuesday at Floyd County – This match is a place marker if you will. The two teams did play at Tommy Thompson Field earlier this season ( April 13, 4-0), but the Lady Buffaloes 🐃 will not be hosting our troops this time around. Floyd County is just now joining the soccer party, and they are struggling to compete just yet. A ” W ” goes into the box 📦 here.
Wednesday, hosting James River High School 🏫. Last possible home for any team that calls The Hill home and the 7pm First Touch should be must see 👀 Soccer. The Knights held on for a 2-0 victory up in Buchanan earlier in the season. Hopefully, our Girls will enter the match at 11-4-1 and with a fired up crowd in the bleachers.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Cavalier Park is where the day will end for me as Terry Warf and Alec Horton will lead the Lady Cavaliers JV Softball team against Glenvar.
Have a Blessed Day 🙌
Every morning 🌄, when I wake ⏰️ up, the first thing I ask myself is, what are my choices today ?
Door 🚪#1 today was head over to Durham, where Duke University Softball needed to beat the University of Arizona, not once but twice to earn a trip to the Super Regional next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Door 🚪 # 2 – Dennis ” Preacherman ” Zimmerman was going to be in the pulpit this morning at his church ⛪️ up in Shenandoah, Virginia. The service was set for 9:30 am, and being that Dennis is the backup Pastor, there was no telling when the next sermon would take place.
Up and back in the same day would be quite the long day, and staying overnight wouldn’t work because our Junior Varsity Softball team are set to play their final stand-alone game at Cavalier Park on Monday evening.
Door 🚪 # 3 – stay home in Laurel Fork, attend the Church ⛪️ service of Pastor Stephen Puckett, then change clothes and drive 🚗 over to Hillsville Elementary School in support of Coach Vickey Ritchie and our Special Olympics Basketball program..
When one is having a conversation with another about what guides the decision-making process, if the second person is one of Faith, there’s no need to mence words. Otherwise, you can swap Faith for Karma.
Stephen Puckett and I have a rather unique relationship, to say the least, due to the fact that we deal with the same people but from different angles. His Church ⛪️ sits on the corner of US-58 and Stone Mountain Road out here in uptown Laurel Fork. If I am in town on a Sunday morning, you can find me in his sanctuary listening to his message.
The other half of the Carroll County Sunday 1-2 punch 👊 is Vickey Ritchie. Anyone who reads my work on even a semi – regular basis knows that I have a soft spot for the efforts of our local Angel 😇 on Earth 🌎. Anything that I can do to make her life easier is worth doing, blindly !
Spend an hour with your Pastor, then two ➕️ hours with an Angel 😇 and how could you go wrong ?
There was never a doubt about the fact that our friend Dennis would be able to deliver the Lord’s message once again. The answered prayer came in the young ladies’ standing next to Dennis and Big Daddy are members of the Page County Lady Panthers Softball program !
One down, one to go ! Duke was losing to Arizona in game one, but we were busy having too much fun at basketball practice to worry about that much.
Duke found away to rally back against the Wildcats and force a winner to take all Regional finale !
During the drive back to Laurel Fork, I was listening to the game on ESPN+. Then there is the right turn at the Church and finally back at our place.
Duke held off Arizona to once again win their Regional tournament.
To recap , three softball teams were involved, and each had themselves a good day !
Carroll County High School JV Softball will have themselves a day on Monday.
Page County High School Softball team made their way to Church ⛪️ in support of one of their own.
Duke University Softball team is now going to pack up and fly out to Arkansas in hopes of getting another trip out to Oklahoma City for the College World Series.
Stephen Puckett is a good friend and a pastor, while Vickey Ritchie is an Angel 😇. Call it Karma or call it Faith, but results are hard to argue with !
P.S – bonus to cross paths with Principal Amy Nester at the practice. Just another hard working Administrator here on The Hill. The Shark 🦈 was just the latest prop in the endless toolbox 🧰…
Fayetteville next weekend sounds fun until other options present themselves.
