BUCKINGHAM – The Buckingham County High School soccer team outlasted Appomattox 4-3 in sudden death quadruple overtime on a goal by Mike Amos in the 99th minute to send the Knights into the semifinal round of the Region B Tournament.

Still stunned from a 2-0 loss to Randolph-Henry in the James River District Tournament finals last week, the Knights quickly fell behind the Raiders, the No. 2 finishers from the Dogwood District.

Gaige Brooks floated a shot over BCHS freshman keeper Jason Conway for the early one-goal lead, but Buckingham answered quickly with a Marco Knezivec goal on a free kick in the fourth minute. Both teams settled down and played scoreless soccer for the remainder of the half.

Appomattox jumped back ahead early in the second half on a goal by Shaquan Moore to give the visiting Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Buckingham drew back even in the 54th minute on a goal by Bobby Dandridge, and Amos put the Knights ahead 3-2 on a goal in the 68th minute.

However, Appomattox tied the score at three apiece in the 75th minute on a goal by Austin Vaughn.

The score remained tied through two five-minute overtime periods, but with the possibility of the match to be decided on penalty kicks, Amos scored the golden goal to give the Buckingham program its first-ever victory in a regional tournament.

Buckingham will remain at home on Wednesday, and will host the George Mason/Central of Woodstock match winner at 6 p.m. The winner will advance to the Region B Soccer Tournament Championship Match and will receive a bid into the Virginia High School League's Group A Soccer Tournament.

Lady Knights Advance In Region B SB Tournament

BUCKINGHAM – A goal of the Buckingham County High School softball team this season was to get a home game in the first round of the Region B, Division 2 Tournament.

Having that last at-bat proved the Lady Knights were correct in their assumption, as they needed eight innings to advance in the Region B, Division 2 Softball Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Randolph-Henry.

“We knew how important it was to get that home game,” said BCHS head coach Larry Morris. “We were right to be concerned about playing Randolph-Henry for the fourth time.

“I thought they were the toughest of the road teams in the tournament. We had some blunders that kept us from scoring runs through the game, and a good play that kept them off the board.”

They call it helping their own cause when a pitcher gets a key hit, but senior thrower Libby Morris helped a team's worth of causes with her game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth.

Mackenzi Crump reached on an error to lead off the inning, was sacrificed to second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Chelsea Shumaker reached base on an infield fielder's choice to set up Morris who singled Crump in for the game's only run.

Buckingham managed eight hits on the afternoon, but was unable to sustain enough offense in the innings to get a run across.

Buckingham's Sierra Coleman helped to save a run in the top of the second by throwing out a R-H runner at the plate.

Offensively, however, it was more about missed opportunities for the Lady Knights.

In the bottom of the fourth, Morris missed a home run by a foot at the fence, and in the bottom of the seventh, Elynn Lee tripled, but was unable to score.

“A lot of those times, you lose those types of games where you have chances early on but don't get runs across, but the girls kept at it and finally were able to scratch a run across.”

Morris gave up no runs on four hits, walked one and struck out 13 Statesmen on the afternoon.

Buckingham (15-4) will travel to No. 2 Appomattox on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest. The winner will move on to the Region B, Division 2 Tournament Championship Game, and will gain a spot in the Virginia High School League's Group A, Division 2 Tournament.

“It ought to be a good game,” said Morris. “Appomattox is a complete team. They have power, speed and they play solid. We'll have to be at our best. A low scoring game will work to our advantage.”