Smithfield High baseball team advances to state championship game
Published 5:25 pm Friday, June 9, 2023
- Members of the Smithfield High baseball team are, back row from left, Maddax Brown, Nathan Lamarche, Jayden Upton-Hall, Austin Ray, Christian Velez, James Fitchett, Nikolas Santomauro, Graham Rountree, Ty Hedgepeth, Nick Gasper, Jack Maurey and Keegan Saunders; front row, Evan Brobst, Jacob Webster, Kelson Sowden, Walton Bondurant, Blake Hardison and Jackson Batts. (Submitted photo courtesy of Elly Condit)
Smithfield High School’s Cinderella baseball season continues.
The Packers shut out Tuscarora 1-0 Friday afternoon in the Class 4 state semifinals and will play for a state championship Saturday morning in Spotsylvania County.
Coach Chris Nolan’s Packers entered the Region 4A Tournament as the No. 6 seed after hovering around the .500 mark for much of the season, then dropping 10 of their final 15 regular season contests.
SHS has been on a tear ever since, winning the regional tournament, then their first two games in the state tournament.
Smithfield plays Hanover, a 2-0 winner over James Wood in Friday’s other semifinal, for all the marbles at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Packers are 14-10 on the season. Hanover is 19-8.
Tuscarora brought a sterling 24-4 into Friday’s semifinal before being eliminated by Coach Chris Nolan’s Packers.
A $10 general admission ticket covers access to both the soccer and baseball title games Saturday. The SHS boys soccer team will play for its second straight championship in three seasons.
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