Western Albemarle baseball stretched it over three days with rain playing havoc with the Conference 29 tournament, but against Spotswood Thursday night in the conference semifinals, the Warriors wrapped up a 5-4 victory, snagged a spot in the Conference 29 title game and a Region 3A West tournament berth.
The Warriors (16-4) and Trailblazers picked up Thursday where they left off on Tuesday at James Madison University. Freshman Garrett Payne took over for the Warriors on the mound after Derek Domecq did the heavy lifting in the first four innings on Tuesday. Payne surrendered two runs but also knocked in what stood up as the game-winner, ripping a fifth inning double to plate Domecq, who’d reached on a double. Payne had to escape a seventh-inning jam to do it, giving up a single and then a double before Spotswood scored to pull within a run. Payne induced a ground ball back to himself to end the game.
Domecq struck out six and surrendered just four hits despite the two runs in his five innings of work Tuesday before the umpires suspended the game.
Three Western players finished with doubles, with Domecq, Payne and McGahren all coming up with them while Wyatt Hull, Matt Mandell, McGahren and Payne each had an RBI as part of a balanced offensive effort.
The Warriors will face Turner Ashby in the Conference 29 title game Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Turner Ashby.
