George Wythe falls to Eastside in Class 1 state softball quarterfinals

There’s the fact she is the starting catcher for a team with two pitchers who happen to be NCAA Division I recruits.

She is also a part of a lineup that has been pounding out hits and scoring runs in bunches as of late.

Compton had another gratifying game on Monday evening as she collected two hits and was at the receiving end of Braelyn Hall’s two-hitter as the Spartans cruised to an 11-1 win over the George Wythe Maroons in the quarterfinals of the VHSL Class 1 state tournament at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Eastside (26-2) ran its winning streak to 14 games and booked a spot in Friday’s 10 a.m. state semifinal game against either Buffalo Gap or Lancaster at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem. The Spartans finished as state runner-up last season and will look to take care of some unfinished business in the Roanoke Valley.

“It definitely feels different this time,” Hall said.

Monday’s victory featured more of the same as Eastside pounded out nine hits and held George Wythe (9-14) in check.

“Eastside’s an experienced, tough team,” said GW coach Amber Faulkner. “They’ve got some kids that are at a very high level and they’re going to do very well in this tournament.”

The Spartans were scuffling a bit in early-April after suffering back-to-back shutout losses to Twin Springs and J.I. Burton.

“Our leaders, they just got everybody together and just had their own practice together,” said Eastside coach Suzi Atwood. “We straightened some things out and had to come to the realization that people don’t hand this to you.”

The Spartans have indeed seized the moment since then and are averaging 10.4 runs per game during their current win streak.

“We strive to hit,” Compton said. “We don’t strive for home runs or big swings, we want to get base hits and put the ball in play. … I am very confident in every single one of our players that they can do something when they step to the plate.”

Compton did something first on Monday as her two-out RBI single got the Spartans on the board in the second inning. She also had an RBI single during a five-run fifth inning.

“She’s one of the captains and she’s just really always focused,” Atwood said. “She tries to get everybody on the same page of being focused.”

Emma Sartin added two hits, while Jada Jordan and Lexi Bond scored two runs apiece. Meanwhile, Hall struck out 10 in pitching another masterpiece.

A Middle Tennessee State University signee, Hall has teamed with North Carolina-Greensboro commit Emma Sartin to give the Spartans the top pitching pairing in the VHSL’s smallest classification.

Sartin has been dealing with some tendonitis that has limited her workload, but with Hall co-starring in the rotation the Spartans are still winning.

“Braelyn has been doing amazing,” Compton said. “The confidence she has in herself makes it so great to catch her.”

George Wythe got its only run on senior Ashley Layne’s two-out RBI double in the fourth inning that plated Morgan Layne. A fifth-inning single by Madalyn Morris was the only other hit for the Maroons, who were making their first-ever state tournament appearance.

“We’ve got three freshmen in the infield,” Faulkner said. “I think that having a taste this year was really good for us and set a different standard for our young ones.”

With its sub-.500 record and some early-season struggles, few figured George Wythe would be the Region 1C runner-up and among the final eight Class 1 teams still playing.

“It was definitely a journey,” said Ashley Layne, the only 12th-grader the Maroons have. “The biggest thing for us was a positive attitude all the time. We started the season with a 17-0 loss to Chilhowie and eventually ended up giving them their first loss a few weeks later. … We just gritted it out.”

Layne could take solace in the fact her run-scoring double ended Hall’s string of scoreless innings at 27 2/3.

“I actually have been in a little bit of a slump lately, so it was good I got a hit in the last game,” Layne said. “It was exciting for me.”

The 2026 season could be exciting as well for George Wythe.

“My little sister [Morgan] is a freshman so I’ll definitely be back to watch them,” Layne said. “I think they’ll have a really good journey from here on out.”

The future is now for Eastside. 

The Spartans will make the familiar trip north up Interstate 81 in search of gold, the scenario everybody thought would unfold long before the season began.

“They expected to be there, but things were looking kind of rocky in the middle of the season,” Atwood said. “We were in that hitting slump and I hope we never go back there because it was all through the lineup at one point. Right now, we’re just passing the bat.”