Both the Amherst Nationals and the Amherst Americans made it to the championship for the District 2 Dixie Youth Darlings softball tournament that was held in Rustburg last weekend, but it was the Americans that claimed the spot in the state tournament with a 25-15 victory.

This past weekend marked the beginning of the Dixie Youth softball district tournaments and several Amherst County teams competed for the chance to play in upcoming state tournaments.

The Amherst girls’ indoor track team that won the Region III title may be losing one elite jumper named Hubbard –– that is, Lacear Hubbard –– but her younger sister, Kayla Hubbard, is showing promise at Monelison Middle School.

Four members of the Amherst County football team that finished as the Group AA Division 4 state runners-up signed letters of intent in the school’s library last week after the football team, the girls track team and the forensics team received recognition from members of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors and for their successful seasons.

Amherst shot putter Jericah Glover won the only state championship for this season’s outdoor Lancer track team with a 39-foot, 4.75-inch effort in Harrisonburg last Saturday.

For fans at Amherst’s first-round Region III softball game on Monday, Sydney Lewis’ pitching performance might have seemed surprising, but not to her coaches.

The Amherst Lancers baseball season ended Monday at the hands of the Heritage Pioneers.

Penalty kicks come only occasionally in a soccer game, and Amherst sophomore Captain Graham Carter was the lucky player who had the opportunity.

In a battle for third place in the Seminole District standings, Amherst’s boys soccer team was shut out for the second time this season by Heritage goalkeeper Austin Walker and suffered a 1-0 defeat Friday night at Heritage.

How does it feel to rally from behind three times before beating Seminole District rival Heritage on its home field, as Amherst did Friday night? “Wonderful,” Lancers coach Mike Padgett said.

The Amherst Lancers boy’s soccer team took on the Liberty Minutemen on Friday in a Seminole District match-up.

The Amherst County Lancers took on the undefeated Jefferson Forest Cavaliers in a Seminole District boy’s soccer match on April 28 at Sabre Stadium. The Cavaliers came out with a 1-0 victory over the Lancers.

On senior night, May 1, Amherst softball coach Larry Thomas handed out a rose along with a hug to his five seniors. In return, his girls gave him a 3-1 Seminole District win over Liberty.

Amherst senior LaCear Hubbard is as fast on the track as she is athletic in the field events.

The Amherst varsity girls soccer team traveled to Rustburg on April 23 and came back with a 3-2 Seminole District win.

Former Amherst Lancers baseball standout Steven Evans took the mound for Liberty University on Friday under the lights against visiting Big South Conference rival Winthrop with the chance to fan the Flames to the top of the Big South standings as Liberty trailed the Eagles coming into the three-game weekend series by half a game.

Sweet Briar College’s lacrosse team hung in with visiting Guilford College in first half last Thursday, but the Quakers scored four unanswered goals over the last five minutes of the half to take a 9-5 lead into the break and cruised to a 19-10 victory over the Vixens in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference match.

Holy Cross has benefited from players crossing the James River to play softball for the Gaels. This year Holy Cross is leaning heavily on three Amherst County girls to lead them to a state title.

The Amherst girls’ tennis team blitzed visiting Nelson County 9-0 to improve to 6-1 on the season as the Lancers continued to demonstrate their newfound success on Thursday.

Amherst goalkeeper Autumn McKinney made three big stops to make Hannah Burley’s early goal stand up for the Lancers in Amherst’s 1-0 victory over visiting Nelson County in an out-of-district girls soccer match March 31.

Amherst’s boys and girls track teams had a solid performance over the weekend at the Vince Bradford Relays at E.C. Glass High School. Most of the area’s local teams were represented and the Lancer girls team finished sixth out of 19 teams, scoring 31 points. The boys’ team finished eighth out of 18 teams, scoring 25 points.

Rustburg’s baseball team scored two-out, unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh and 11th innings to tie Amherst at 1-1 and beat the Lancers 2-1 Monday night at home in a Seminole District duel rescheduled from last Wednesday.

The Amherst girls soccer team took a 1-0 lead on a goal scored by Hannah Burley in the first minute of the Lancers’ Seminole District match against visiting Rustburg, but the Red Devils scored four unanswered goals to pick up a 4-1 victory.

Amherst’s Jon Ascencio provide all the warm the Lancers’ boys’ soccer team needed on damp, chilly, Thursday by scoring three of Amherst’s four goals in the Lancers’ 4-2 victory over visiting Nelson County.

The Sweet Briar Vixen softball team traveled to Randolph-Macon Ashland College (RMC) last week where it lost an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader to the Yellow Jackets.

The Sweet Briar College lacrosse team hosted the Ferrum College Panthers last Thursday at Babcock Field, and the Vixens won their second game of the season, beating the Panthers 20-5.

It was your typical home opener for the Amherst baseball team last Thursday: Snow was forecast for later that night and the game was a little rough around the edges as the Lancers committed eight errors on their way to a 10-7 victory over visiting Appomattox.

The Sweet Briar College tennis team hosted the Virginia Wesleyan College (VWC) Marlins on Sunday in warm and breezy conditions, with the Marlins beating the Vixens 6-3.

Sweet Briar College’s softball team defeated Penn State Altoona 5-4 Saturday at home.

Temple Christian outscored Christian Heritage 22-4 in the fourth quarter to win 61-35 in the VACA southern regional quarterfinal game at home on Feb. 24.