The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS – Bath County golf coach Terry Bradley knows his team has an uphill battle ahead if they wish to contend for the Pioneer District title this year.
Parry McCluer gave them a good look at just how far uphill it will be yesterday at the Lower Cascades in Bath County.
The Fighting Blues utilized its depth advantage to win the first meeting between the five Pioneer golf teams, firing a 167 to best second-place James River by nine strokes. The match was shortened to nine holes from 18 due to the extreme heat in the area.
The Chargers, who only have four players on the team, shot a 186 to finish in third place.
“It’s going to be very tough to overcome their (PM) depth. When you have four or five guys that can go 45 or under on a regular basis then you are going to be tough to beat,” Bradley noted. “That being said, I think my guys can do it if we keep working hard.”
Bath County’s Alex Fry and James River’s Korey Watts battled for the low individual score all day. The two aces went back and forth over the first few holes and remained even with just two to play.
“I had a good chance to beat him, with my birdie hole as one of the last two I had left to play. I lost my drive left and he put his in the fairway and that proved to be the difference,” Fry said.
Watts, a sophomore who finished second at the Group A state tournament a year ago, carded a 37 to beat Fry by one stroke. They were the only two players to go under 40.
Christian Camden led Parry McCluer with a 40 and brothers Dylan and Coty Buchanan joined him with matching scores of 42. Matt Sizer rounded out the Blues’ scoring with a 43.
Watts led the Knights with a 37. Tyler Duke and David Boothe both scored 45 and Collin Gulliams and Hunter Thompson scored equally with 49.
Fry’s 38 was joined by a 46 from Walker Ryder, a 50 from Ryan Schneider, and a 52 from Mason Ailstock.
Highland had a good showing from its top two players, lefty Dustin Chapman and Tyler Botkin. Shooting 42 and 43 respectively, the Rams finished with a team score of 205 to finish in fourth. Christian Herbert shot a 57 and Jospeh Wagner carded a 63.
Covington, fresh off a match against rival Alleghany, finished in fifth with a team score of 220. Travis Warlitner scored a 45 to lead the Chargers. He was followed by Megan Lockhart with a 52, Shawn Perkins with a 61 and Josh Bush with a 62.
“I thought we played better against Alleghany than we did today but I’m still confident that we will get better as the season progresses. The kids are having fun and that’s the important thing,” Covington coach Rob Bennett said after the match.
