LOCAL BASEBALL
Pena, Pilots go to 4-0 with sweep of Tri-City
The Peninsula Pilots improved to 4-0 in the nascent Coastal Plain League season with 9-1 victories over the Tri-City Chili Peppers in both games of a doubleheader before 1,379 at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights.
Peninsula leadoff hitter Carlos Pena had a memorable night. He was 5 for 8 with three homers, four runs and six RBIs in the evening’s 14 innings.
The Pilots stole seven bases in the opener. Pena was 3 for 4 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs. Chris Martinez homered and drove in two runs, and Cole Raile drove in two runs.
Nate Miller gained the victory with four shutout innings, holding Tri-City to two hits. Kevin Dillon and Nate Varnier completed the triumph.
In Game 2, Pena drove in four runs and slugged two homers. Isaiah Shivers and Will Bomersbach added two RBIs apiece, and the Pilots stole five more bases.
Five pitchers combined for a four-hitter: Cole Koonce, winner Ethan Hirschfield, Jakob Brandenberger, Luke Slack and Peyton Dhein.
Tri-City fell to 1-3.
LOCAL SOCCER
VBCFC loses in Maryland
Virginia Beach City FC gave up three first-half goals and lost 4-0 to Ristozi FC in a National Premier Soccer League match in Owings Mills, Maryland.
VBCFC dropped to 2-3 in the Mid-Atlantic Conference.
Ristozi (3-0 conference), in its first NPSL season, went ahead on Peter Gansallo’s goal in the 17th minute and made it 2-0 on Cody Angelini’s goal in the 27th.
Joshua Petty netted a penalty kick in the 38th and scored the night’s last goal in the 50th.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
Numerous Cavaliers, Hokies earn berths in NCAAs
Margot Appleton, Celia Rifaterra, Carly Tarentino and Estel Valeanu joined the list of women’s Virginia Cavaliers who earned berths in the NCAA outdoor championships via their performance at the East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida.
Counting women and men, UVA will send 11 athletes to Eugene, Oregon, for the nationals, equaling its total from a year ago.
Appleton, the national leader in the 1,500 meters for most of the year, won her heat in 4:08.04 to take sixth overall and return to the nationals. Less than three hours later, she finished second in the 5,000 in 15:25.99 to qualify in that event too.
Rifaterra and Tarentino both cleared 5 feet, 10 1/2 inches. Valeanu threw the discus 55.06 meters (180-8) to place eighth and gain her third NCAA berth.
Virginia Tech also qualified numerous athletes for Eugene, led by men’s 800-meter winner Christian Jackson (1:45.31). Nick Plant also advanced in that event, placing sixth at 1:45.90.
Vlad Puchko was the runner-up in the men’s discus at 199 feet.
Ben Conacher was 10th in the men’s pole vault, clearing 17 feet, 5 3/4 inches. Declan Rymer qualified in the steeplechase by placing 11th in 8:41.11.
Chiara Sistermann took second in the women’s pole vault by clearing 13 feet, 11 inches. Teammate Lyndsey Reed also cleared 13-11 and placed fourth.
Lindsey Butler was 10th in the 1,500 meters at 4:10.32. Mariana Pestana was 11th in the women’s hammer throw at 208-5.
Norfolk State concludes season at regional
Meanwhile, the Norfolk State women’s team closed its season at the East Regional. Junior Brooklyn Robinson ran a time of 13.35 in the women’s 100-meter quarterfinals, placing 19th overall.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S ROWING
UVA takes 10th in NCAA meet in N.J.
Virginia finished 10th at the NCAA Rowing Championship on Sunday at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey. The Cavaliers tied for ninth in the team standings but lost the Varsity Eight tiebreaker to California.
UVA’s Second Varsity Eight finished sixth, the Varsity Eight placed 11th and the Varsity Four finished 14th in their respective championship races.
Stanford won the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four and finished second in the Varsity Eight to win the team title with 129 points. Yale (121) placed second, followed by Texas (118). Washington (117), Tennessee (106). Princeton (99), Brown (95), Rutgers (83), California (79) and Virginia (79) rounded out the top 10.
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