DOWN THE LINE
Local college softball team hopes to build on long streak
The bad news for the Bryant & Stratton College softball team is that they’re on a four-game losing streak.
The good news? Before that, coach Pete Berrios’ squad had won a school-record 22 consecutive games, moving to No. 14 in the nation in their junior-college category.
USC Union, Fayetteville Technical Community College, USC Sumter, Southeastern CC-Whiteville, state rival Richard Bland, Wake Technical CC and Virginia Union were among the teams the Bobcats defeated until Cleveland CC beat them 6-4 last Sunday in Game 2 of a doubleheader to end the streak.
Now, BSC will hope to regain momentum after being swept in a three-game series Tuesday and Wednesday at Catawba Valley CC, 3-2, 12-4 and 8-7, to drop to 22-6.
Chloe’ Gust, a sophomore from Middlebury, Indiana, has been an all-around star, compiling 10 home runs, 15 stolen bases, a .456 batting average and 1.000 slugging percentage. She has a 6-2 pitching record and a 1.51 ERA in 65 innings.
Cynthia Alvillar (.378),
Shayla Hurley (.353) and Kiara Selby (.343) have been among the Bobcats’ other top hitters. Kellam High alumna Iyana Betts has stolen 18 bases and Selby 13.
Abigail Epperson has shared the pitching load, going 5-3 with a save and a 2.19 ERA in 67 innings. The Bobcats next will go to Louisburg, in North Carolina, to play a Tuesday doubleheader and Wednesday game.
Misty Hart Williams, who starred in basketball for Menchville High and then from 1995-98 for Christopher Newport, is headed to the USA South Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. She was inducted into CNU’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
The two-time All-American and conference player of the year helped the Captains reach three NCAA Tournaments and scored 1,326 points in her 68 CNU games. Her average of
19.5 points per game is fourth in CNU history.
Masterful Misty:
Not only was Tony Rutland an excellent basketball player, but he also has become an excellent coach.
The Hampton native recently was named the Boys Coach of the Year by the Daily News-Journal in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He took La Vergne High to its first Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association state tournament in the school’s 35-year history, leading the Wolverines to a 23-12 record.
Rutland, who went to La Vergne in 2020, has coached in many spots since concluding his pro career, including Hampton Christian Academy. He was a starting guard for historically good Bethel High and Wake Forest teams in the 1990s and likely is one of the few people on Earth who have played alongside Naismith Hall of Famers in high school (Allen Iverson) and college (Tim Duncan).
Rutland’s honor:
From April 12-14, the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s adult championships are set for the Richmond area’s new Henrico Sports & Events Center. The 757’s Virginia Sunwheelers, who won a title in 1999, are in the tournament for the first time since 2003. Cynthia Pettus is coaching a team whose leading scorer is James Abbs. Tournament games are being shown live at https://sportable.org/nwba-nationals/
Wheels up: What’s coming up Tuesday:
Longwood’s baseball team visits at Norfolk State at 3 p.m. … Hickory, atop the 757Teamz softball Top 15, goes to No. 4 Grassfield for a 5:45 p.m. game.
Christopher Newport’s 18th-ranked baseball squad plays host to Lynchburg at 3 p.m.
Wednesday:
Cox, ranked second in baseball’s 757Teamz Top 15, goes to No. 6 First Colonial for a 4 p.m. game.