Reigning champions South Richmond Post 137 maintained that status for another year with a 17-9 victory over Albemarle Post 74 Friday.

Richmond showed why it is the defending champion shortly thereafter, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the third. The burst gave starting pitcher and VCU commitment Blake Hauser more than enough run support in a 15-9 victory to earn a spot in the championship game.

After an early rain delay, 31 hits and 32 runs, when Albemarle Post 74 walked off the field with a 21-11, eight-inning win over Arlington Post 139 via slaughter rule, there was a collective sigh of relieve from both sides of the stands.

Tuesday evening, Albemarle’s lineup lived up to its reputation as a Murderer’s Row by beating up on New River Valley Post 68, 15-6, in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.

Before Albemarle Post 74 took the field in the first inning of the District 12 championship game, the Albemarle Post 74 coaches told their players, “We’ll see you guys on Tuesday.”

The Albemarle bats went to work and never quit in a 17-10 victory over Fluvanna in the District 12 championship, and the top of Maynard’s order not only reached on a regular basis, but also touched home plate plenty of times.

In a game that featured 36 hits and 26 runs, Fluvanna Post 2003 survived the battle of the bats in a 15-11 victory over Staunton Post 13, advancing to play Albemarle Post 74 in the American Legion District 12 final at Porterfield Park on Tuesday.

After defeating Orange on Saturday to force a do-or-die matchup Sunday, it only took one productive inning to give Albemarle a secure lead that it ultimately would not relinquish, and Post 74 hoisted the trophy after a 5-2 win.

The change netted the Islanders five hits and four runs, enough to catapult them to a 4-2 come-from-behind win over visiting Orange County on Tuesday in the Group AA quarterfinals.

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.

Potomac Falls catcher Mike Spring came through for Potomac Falls with a two-out, two-RBI hit in the seventh inning, breaking a tie and lifting the Panthers to a 5-1 victory over Orange County in the Region II baseball championship on Friday night.

The Hornets made the most of the opportunity, winning a 4-3 thriller to secure a berth in the Group AA state tournament next week.

Potomac Falls starting hurler Jacob Kline lived up to his daunting season line, throwing the full seven innings while allowing just one run and fanning seven in leading the Panthers to a 5-1 victory.

For the last week, Orange coach Jesse Lohr has been getting his team to zero in on the fundamentals, something that the Hornets mastered during their 20-game win streak.

Halifax County held on for a 7-4 win over the Patriots, after some drama in the top of the seventh on Monday.

Western followed up its thrilling semifinal win by beating Louisa County, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh on a double to deep right field from Ryan Hughes.

When all was said and done, the Warriors held on in a wild 10-inning thriller, 4-3, to advance to Thursday’s district championship game.

The Lions put together just three hits in the first seven innings, but strung together four hits and capitalized on two defensive errors in the eighth inning to keep their season alive and shock the Hornets, 4-1.

Tyler Molinaro crushed a Matt Edwards curveball over the right field fence for a three-run homer to lead Albemarle past the Eagles, 5-3.

But after a nine pitch at-bat, Mark Measell was able to draw a walk to tie the game before the Cadets scored four runs in the top of the eighth to beat the Saints 6-2.

D.J. Brown had no trouble dropping in his curve for a strike on Thursday as he spun together a gem of a performance, giving up just one hit in Orange’s 9-0 victory over William Monroe.

In a mostly defensive game, the Patriots got back on the winning track after putting together a 5-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to win 7-3.

In what proved to be a classic pitcher’s duel, Western Albemarle snapped a two-game losing streak by outlasting Louisa County at home 3-0 on Friday night.

Monroe recovered by responding with two runs of insurance before Bruce Shifflett took the mound in the seventh to wrap up the 13-10 victory.

The Western Albemarle and Orange County baseball teams came into Friday night’s showdown in Crozet boasting undefeated records, but after capitalizing on eight Warriors errors, it was the Hornets who managed to keep their perfect season intact with an 8-4 road win.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Alan Swanson said. “It’s really a pleasure to watch him. We really don’t coach him, we just kind of watch.”

After trouncing James Monroe by 17 runs earlier in the day, the Orange County baseball team had to work a little harder to pick up a 5-2 win against another non-district rival in Madison County on Saturday afternoon.

The Patriots combined solid performances by senior leaders Vince Coles and Tyler Molinaro with a big blast off of the bat of junior Rashad Talley to rally and eventually hold off the Wolverines, 8-7.

Lee Coppock, Josey Flynn and Brian Pollard combined to hold Miller, the two-time defending VIC champions, to just a trio of runs in a 14-3 Covenant road victory.

The Patriots answered with an 8-run rally of their own in the bottom half of the inning, before going on to win 11-7.