Saturday was a special night for Abingdon – even aside from a successful day at the track & field championships – as both baseball and softball teams captured Region 3D crowns.
Despite battling the weather from Friday into Saturday, with game times, and locations, being changed, both Falcon clubs rose above to win titles.
The softball squad were led behind a strong day in the circle by both Lauren Baker and Ada Gillenwater. The two held Staunton River to just one run in a 1-1 game before the Falcons took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Then with one out, Baker re-entered to the circle and closed the door to a 2-1 victory.
On the baseball diamond, the Falcons were forced to move across the state line into Kingsport to play on the turf field at J. Fred Stadium against Northside.
In a 1-1 game in the fourth inning, a bases loaded walk and a controversial play at third base that kept Abingdon’s inning at the plate alive, opened the door to a big run-rule win. After taking that 3-1 lead, Hayden Reed stepped into the box and unloaded on a pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam. Suddenly, the Falcon lead grew to six in the blink of an eye.
From there, the Falcons went on to score four runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure a walk-off 10-run win to win the region title.
Want the top sports stories straight to your inbox? Sign up for the News 5 Sports Newsletter: https://wcyb.com/sports/sign-up.