Gretna drops James River, advances to Group A state title game

Gretna vs. James River
Group A state semifinals
at Radford
Start time: 1 p.m.

Jason Wolf here gearing up for the second of today's Pittsylvania County doubleheader in Radford, as Gretna takes on James River In Group A semifinal action with the intention of advancing, like Tunstall, to Saturday's state championship game. The winner of today's contest takes on Glenvar, an 8-3 winner against Matthews in the other semifinal, Saturday at 10 a.m.

First inning: Gretna is the home team. James River pitcher Abbie Rexrode opens the game by dropping a single into shallow center field. She advances to second on a fielder's choice and third on a passed ball before Gretna's Teresa Dalton strikes out the next two batters to end the threat.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Gretna's Nichole Mills reaches first on an infield single smacked toward the third baseman. The hit is sandwiched by a pair of strikeouts. Teresa Dalton sends a hard ground ball through the pitchers' legs for another infield single. Cheryl Crews sends a ball chopping up the middle of the field for a single, scoring Nichole Mills. Runners on second and third after the unsuccesful throw home from centerfield. Inning ends on a strikeout, with two Hawks left in scoring position. Gretna 1, James River 0

Second inning: James River opens with a fly out to right field and a ground out to the pitcher. Ginni Neighbors sends a hard grounder into left field for a base hit. A strikeout ends the top half of the inning.
Gretna's Raquel Martin's liner hits the pitcher and rolls to third. She is awarded the single. Kerri Meadows sends another ball at the pitcher, which is fielded cleanly for the first out and flipped to first for the double play. The inning ends on a strikeout. Gretna 1, James River 0

Third inning: James River grounds out to shortstop, flies out to center and stikes out looking.
Gretna's Celsey Haynes reaches base on a fielding error and advances to second on a wild pitch. Haynes scores and Nichole Mills reaches first base on another James River fielding error, but Mills is tagged out at second while trying to steal. The next two Gretna batters are out on infield flies. Gretna 2, James River 0

Fourth inning: A pair of groundouts and a strikeout end James River's half of the inning.
Gretna's first two batters strike out and line out to first. Raquel Martin sends a ground ball down the third baseline for a single, her second hit of the game. James River's third baseman doesn't even move to attempt to field the ball. A fielder's choice ends the inning. Gretna 2, James River 0

Fifth inning: Gretna's Teresa Dalton strikes out the side. She has eight strikeouts.
Gretna's Savannah Butts reaches first and advances to second on a James River fielding error. She slides into second, beating the tag while uprooting the base, which bounches several feet. After a strikeout, Nichole Mills knocks her second base hit of the day to center field. It is bobbled for an error, allowing Butts to score and Mills to take second. Mills takes third on a groundout. Gretna pitcher Teresa Dalton is drilled by a pitch and replaced at first base by courtesy runner Ashley
Vassar. With Gretna runners on the corners, a fly out fielded by the third baseman in foul territory ends the threat. Gretna 3, James River 0

UPDATE FROM GROUP AA ACTION: Broad Run leads Salem 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning.

Sixth inning: Gretna's Teresa Dalton strikes out her ninth and 10th James River batters and another Knights batter grounds out to the shortstop.
In the bottom half of the frame, Gretna goes down in order with a pair of groundouts and a fly out to short. Gretna 3, James River 0

Seventh inning: A groundout to second, and another two Teresa Dalton strikeouts, her 11th and 12th, end the game. She coolly leaves the circle as her teammates gather for a subdued celebration along the third baseline. Moments later, a group of Gretna fans rush the field, chanting and celebrating wildly with Gretna's players at second base. Gretna 3, James River 0

Gretna advances to face Glenvar for the Group A state championship at 10 a.m. Saturday in Radford.