SALEM, Va. – The roller coaster-like drama of the VHSL Class 1 baseball championship featured a familiar yet painful final act for the Chilhowie Warriors.
With a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Rappahannock Raiders clipped Chilhowie 6-5 at Kiwanis Field.
In 2012, Chilhowie fell 5-4 in the Group A, Division 2 title game at the same historic stadium when William Monroe scored in the bottom of the eighth inning.
“Some people might say we’re cursed, but I still think we’re blessed,” Chilhowie coach Jeff Robinson said. “I’m glad my guys got to experience this game, and they brought a lot of pride to our town and school.”
This was the fourth year that Chilhowie advanced to least the state semifinals and the second appearance in the title game.
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“This one was tough. But we took it to the last out of the season, and you can’t ask for more than that,” Robinson said.
Several key elements were in place for a Warrior breakthrough Saturday.
Junior pitching ace Dawson Tuell allowed just two earned runs in a complete game performance. Chilhowie scored two runs in the top of the first inning, collected a total of seven hits and mounted a three-run rally in the seventh inning.
The Warriors could not overcome three hit batters, two walks and three errors.
The Raiders scored three runs in the fourth inning on three hits along with two errors, which led directly to runs.
“We haven’t had many innings like that,” Robinson said. “Defense has been one of our calling cards all year. But it’s tough to make plays in moments like the state championship.”
Chilhowie (23-4) faced a 5-2 deficit entering the seventh, but the action was just beginning.
“We been in situations like that multiple times this year, and we’ve answered the call every time,” Robinson said.
After senior Connor Smith reached on a line ground ball to shortstop to lead off the inning, junior Noah Hill walked after fouling off several quality pitches.
The Warriors loaded the bases with no outs when sophomore Landon Bowman singled into the shortstop hole.
Following a strikeout, Smith hustled home on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3.
With Chilhowie fans on their feet, sophomore Brandon Miller tied the game at 5-5 with a two-run single between first and second base.
After a strikeout, controversy ensued when senior Isaac Booth was called out on a ground ball to first base where Younger Preston of the Raiders dived to tag the base with his glove.
That play prevented Chilhowie from taking the lead and forced Preston out of the game with a gruesome shoulder injury.
The Chilhowie fans contended that Booth was safe at first.
“Heck yeah, I thought he was safe,” Robinson said. “We kind of had the same thing happen 12 years ago up here when a bang-bang play went against us.”
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, No. 8 hitter Ethan White gave Rappahannock (22-3) its fifth state crown in seven title games with a hit into left field.
“My team hyped me up, and I was excited to be in that situation because we worked so hard for this moment,” White said. “I got a fastball right down the middle. That was my pitch and I had to show what I could do.”
Tuell threw a total of103 pitches, seven short of the limit.
“What a bulldog Dawson is,” Robinson said. “We had that one bad inning, but Dawson never showed any emotion. He got us out of trouble and gave us a chance to win.”
Miller led the Warriors with two hits, while freshman Jayden Schwartz delivered a two-run single in the first inning.
“It’s been an amazing ride and this season was the most fun I’ve had,” said Booth, one of five Chilhowie seniors. “We have the words “Warrior Pride” on our hats and it means a lot to us. Dawson showed again why he’s our ace and we gave it our all.
“Our fans are amazing, and the future of the program looks good.”
The future if also bright for Rappahannock, which last won the state title in 2022 and has won three championships over the past eight years.
“We work hard in our program,” ninth-year Rappahannock coach James Bieger. “We have graduated 12 quality players over the last two years, including four who played at the college.
“We have a very small school and our guys just accept the challenge. We play a tough schedule; our district is tough and our area has strong baseball.”
First-team All-Region A pitcher Landon Schefflein left the game for Rappahannock in the second inning after allowing four hits and hitting a batter. Senior reliever Davis Thrift pitched the rest of the game for the Raiders, allowing just three hits and striking out six.
Schefflein and junior Josh Thomas led Rappahannock with two singles apiece.
“We had a slogan on the back of our shirts that says, “Ride for Five”,” Bieger said. “This game was an emotional rollercoaster. It took a lot of heart from my team to battle back after giving up those three runs in the seventh.”
Bieger was impressed with the balance of the Warriors.
“That’s a good hitting team and it felt like they had 17 hits instead of seven,” Bieger said.
The Chilhowie fans lingered long after the game to honor their hometown heroes.
“Our seniors have set a standard of excellence,” Robinson said. “They took us to four straight state tournaments, including one two quarterfinal rounds, one semifinal and now the finals.
“We’ve got a lot of good young talent on the way up and they have great examples to follow. The future is bright, so we may have another shot at this.”
Chilhowie 200 000 3-5 7 3
Rappahannock 110 300 1-6 8 1
Tuell and Bowman. Schefflein, Thrift (2) and Self. W-Thrift. L-Tuell (9-1). HR-none.
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
