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By James J. Lidington


ISLE OF WIGHT

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy made the most of its scoring chances. Defeating Isle of Wight Academy 16-1 on March 13 in what could be the last game for both teams for more than two weeks.

IWA managed only four hits against N-SA pitchers in the course of the 5-inning contest.

Five Isle of Wight arms surrendered 11 hits to the Saints, which mashed 16 runs — only half of which were earned, due to errors in the field — along with six walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Andrew Holt’s RBI double in the first, which plated L.J. Anderson from second base, netted the Chargers’ only run.

The fate of the Chargers’ schedules is unknown after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam shuttered all public and private schools on March 13 until at least March 27 because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the Coronavirus.

Despite an outstanding pitching performance, the Chargers lost a heart-breaker to Norfolk Collegiate, 2-1, on March 11 at IWA.

The pitching tandem of Tyler Watkins and Aidan Williams allowed no earned runs over seven innings and only five hits between them. They walked two and struck out nine, but still found themselves on the losing end.

Williams took the hard-luck loss after being three outs from the win. Colby Williams and Anderson each had two hits for Isle of Wight in a contest in which only seven runners reached base.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Collegiate’s lead-off hitter reached on an infield single to second base. The next hitter bunted and reached on a catcher’s error, with the lead-off man advancing to third on the play. A subsequent ground-out scored a run; a stolen base gave the Oaks a runner in scoring position with 1 out and the game tied at 1.

The eventual winning run scored on yet another ground-out for the second out. Williams struck out the final Collegiate batter to end the inning.

In their last at-bat, the Chargers had a runner on first with one out when Watkins grounded to third and reached on a fielding error. The next batter, Seth Baker, then lined sharply to the pitcher, who wheeled quickly and doubled Watkins off first base to end the game.

IWA’s lone run came in the home fifth, when Zach Stroud walked. Watkins then bunted and reached on an error on the Collegiate catcher, but was then thrown out trying to reach second base. In the mean time, Stroud scampered home to make it 1-0 in favor of the home team.

The Chargers began the week on a winning note, outlasting a scrappy Hampton Roads Academy team 7-3 on Monday.

Anderson, Kody Kosiorek and Williams each had a pair of hits; Williams also drove in a pair; Anderson and Kosiorek each scored twice.

Senior Andrew Holt, Braden Lyle and Cole Praither held the Navigators to a single hit, allowing three earned runs, walking five and striking out seven.

Through four games, catcher Williams leads the team with a .600 average, including six hits in 10 at-bats, including a pair of doubles.

Anderson is hitting .545 and leads the team in runs scored. Kody Kosiorek is hitting .500 with three runs; Aidan Williams is hitting .300 with 4 RBI.

• The Lady Chargers softball opener was put on hold Friday after the governor’s order.

The team did, however, celebrate the dedication of its softball field on March 13 in the name of Jack L. Reynolds, a longtime social studies teacher and coach of IWA sports teams, including softball.

Soccer

• The Charger co-ed soccer squad defeated Brunswick Academy 14-0 on March 11.

 

JAMES J. LIDINGTON is a teacher at Isle of Wight Academy.