FORT DEFIANCE – When Fort Defiance got leadoff hitters aboard they brought them in — and then some — drubbing Stuarts Draft 14-4 to win the Shenandoah Valley District tournament Thursday.

STAUNTON — After striking out three times on seven pitches, Robert E. Lee’s Taylor Davis found himself back at the plate in the bottom of the sixth against Stuarts Draft with the score tied at five.

STUARTS DRAFT — Stuarts Draft’s Jon Trice is just excited to have the chance to play baseball for four more years.

FORT DEFIANCE — Stuarts Draft did what it could to create opportunities, making just enough to beat Fort Defiance 9-3 in Southern Valley District action Friday night.

Stuarts Draft picked the perfect game for its hitters to come alive.

STUARTS DRAFT — After four postponements to start the season, Robert E. Lee finally hit the diamond, but had to take on Southern Valley District rival Stuarts Draft.

Stuarts Draft second baseman and pitcher Mickie Holbert has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Salem International University, an NCAA Division II school located in Salem, W.Va.
Holbert received a partial scholarship to join the Fighting Tigers.

LYNCHBURG — Stuarts Draft’s baseball team wasted no time in making itself at home in the Hill City during its first round Region III tournament game at Heritage.
The Cougars pounded the Pioneers (16-7) for 10 hits, including two homers and nine runs in the first two innings, advancing to today’s 5 p.m. quarterfinal game at Alleghany with a 12-7 victory.

STUARTS DRAFT — The weather was off and on throughout the evening, but Stuarts Draft was dead on.
Timely hitting, great defense and four shutout innings by Seth Via set the tone for a 12-0 five-inning win over Rockbridge County in the Southern Valley consolation game. The win gave the Cougars a bid in the Region III tournament next week when they will hit the road to face an opponent yet to be named.

STUARTS DRAFT — The weather was off and on throughout the evening, but Stuarts Draft was dead on.
Timely hitting, great defense and four shutout innings by Seth Via set the tone for a 12-0 win over Rockbridge County in the Southern Valley consolation game. The win gave the Cougars a bid in the regional tournament next week when they will hit the road to face an opponent yet to be named.

FORT DEFIANCE – The Fort Defiance game plan of early scoring took them to a 6-1 win over Stuarts Draft in the first round of the Southern Valley District tournament on Friday.
The Indians got on the board early in the first after a three up, three down defensive inning. Fort’s Blake Sipe smacked one to the Draft shortstop, who then let it roll into the outfield. The Indians’ Justin Chittum’s sacrifice bunt then moved Sipe to second and Michael Wade drove him in with a hard grounder up the middle.

In Rockbridge, the Cougars wrapped up their Southern Valley District season on Thursday with a 5-1 win over the Wildcats.
Jeremy Fitzgerald pitched the complete game to pick up the win for the Cougars (9-8, 4-4 Southern Valley), striking out one while allowing five hits. Zac Marion and Matthew Via each hit two-run home runs in the win.

Draft coach Josh Podgorski doesn’t believe in high school batting slumps. He believes that it has been a lack of confidence that has plagued his squad lately, but the Cougars showed some confidence in their 6-5 in extra innings.

A month into the baseball season Stuarts Draft and Waynesboro were the last two teams in the Southern Valley that had yet to lose. On Tuesday night the two clashed at Kate Collins for sole ownership of the midseason district top-spot.