Madison falls to Chatham in Region B final

MADISON — Drew Kirks crossed home and let out a roar.

The run gave Chatham its first lead of the game after trailing by three early. And the Cavaliers weren’t even in the clear just yet. But Matt Bray’s two-run double that scored Gavin Hylton and Kirks certainly changed the momentum into Chatham’s favor.

Chatham’s offense heated up from that point on as the Cavaliers demolished Madison County 13-4 in the Region B championship game on Saturday.

“All we needed was a couple things to go our way for the momentum to switch,” Kirks said. “Really, the momentum switched when we got runners on base.”

Madison County (12-12) took advantage of some early Chatham errors to take a 1-0 lead in the first, and the Moun-taineers added two more runs in the second inning to put the Cavaliers in a 3-0 hole.

Chatham (22-2) caught its break in the top of the third when Madison County committed back-to-back errors with one out. After Hylton singled to load the bases, a wild pitch allowed Drew Arnold to score from third. Kirks belted an RBI single to close the deficit to one before Bray gave Chatham the lead several pitches later.

Madison County tied the game in the bottom of the third, but Chatham’s offense had found its rhythm by then. The Cavaliers scored three runs in the fifth to go up 7-4. From there, Chatham began to clobber the Mountaineers’ pitching staff.

“Eventually, they’re going to get theirs,” said Madison County coach Tom Butterworth, whose team beat Gretna 2-1 just hours earlier to advance to the title game.

Kirks, who went 3 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI, shut down Madison County’s offense after takin the mound in relief of Brad Haymes to start the fourth inning. He allowed just one hit and three walks while striking out 10 to earn the win.

“Brad didn’t throw the bad that all,” Anderson said. “That was the plan. I wanted Brad to get me three or four [innings] and then give it to Kirks. Kirks came in and what he did was awesome.”

Chatham will host Northumberland on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Group A state quarterfinals. Madison County will travel to Rappahannock.

“We wanted to win,” Anderson said. “Our options were to play at home or drive four or five hours somewhere.”