The Shadow
FLOYD COUNTY, Va. (VR) – The Alleghany Varsity Cougars came to play on Thursday—and they did not come to lose. In a savage late-game surge, the Cougars clawed their way past Floyd County for a nail-biting 6-5 victory that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Floyd County thought they had it in the bag early, coming out swinging with a run in the first and stacking on more after a Cougar error and a clutch hit from Emma Biesterveld in the second. They even launched a solo bomb in the third courtesy of Lilly Gillespie, who was cooking all night with a perfect 3-for-3 performance.
But Alleghany wasn’t about to let that slide.
Kelsey Nicely got the Cougars rolling with a double in the second, and from there, the offense stayed locked in. Paige Webb crushed a solo shot to center in the fourth to tie it up, and Laken Cantrell followed with a sac fly that had Cougar fans hyped. Floyd tried to bounce back, taking the lead again in the bottom of the fourth—but Alleghany wasn’t done writing their comeback story.
In the top of the sixth, it was Cantrell and Kaylee Nicely who flipped the script. Back-to-back RBIs put Alleghany on top for good, and the bench was electric.
On the mound, Emma Skidmore stepped up big time to lock things down. The righty came in like a boss, giving up just one unearned run across five innings, striking out four, and showing Floyd County that nothing was coming easy.
Kelsey Nicely, Cantrell, and Webb each tallied two hits for the Cougars, with Cantrell leading the RBI charge. Every clutch hit, every diving play, every cheer from the dugout—it was all heart from Alleghany.
Sure, Floyd County had the bats going—Gillespie and Biesterveld were definitely a problem—but in the end, the Cougars had the fight. And on Thursday night, that fight turned into a W.
