By Anthony Stevens, anthony@virginiamediainc.com
LEBANON, Va., (June 9, 2026) – The Pioneers have a tremendous baseball tradition. They have advanced to the state playoffs for seven consecutive years. But with a roster decimated by graduation over the past two years, many thought Lebanon might take a step back in 2026, especially after starting the season with a 6-8 record after 14 games.
Not so fast!
Thirteen straight wins and they’ve advanced to the VHSL Class 2 Final Four.
“I don’t think anyone gave us a shot to go to state this year, after we started out poorly,” Lebanon coach Cody Compton said. “It’s taken us a while, but we’ve come together. I had a lot of seniors, but I told people they were young. They haven’t been in the position they are now; they’ve always had someone to lead them. They’ve stepped up and led this team.”
One of those seniors who stepped up in a big way is Lake Baldwin, who dominated on the mound, pitching a complete-game, three-hit shutout as the Pioneers narrowly defeated Dan River 2-0 on Tuesday at Doc Adams Field.
Baldwin mixed a fastball and a curve to log a career-high 16 strikeouts.
“I was mixing it up to the top of Dan River’s order,” Baldwin said. “After the first four, I relied mostly on my fastball. The crowd’s energy made me come alive. I wanted to get a bunch of ground balls. Dan River is known to bunt, so I just wanted to throw strikes and let them get themselves out.”
Baldwin struck out 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. The Wildcats’ first baserunner came when Caleb Hill walked on a 3-2 pitch in the fourth inning. Cayden Books followed, beating out an infield single for Dan River’s first hit of the game. Baldwin picked up his 11th K against Carter Fanin to end the inning.
“He (Baldwin) was tough and did a great job,” commented Dan River coach Jacob Waller. “He stayed ahead in the count, attacked the zone, and got ahead of our hitters. We just could not make the adjustments.”
Lebanon (19-8) scored a run in the first inning. Leadoff man Jake Hilton walked on five pitches. Hilton advanced to second on Brady Cole’s single and to third on a wild pitch. Hilton scored on an RBI groundout to second by Luke Garrett.
“That was comforting. It’s huge that my team can give me run support in the first inning,” Baldwin said. “We played tremendous defense. Ethan (Horne) was awesome at short, and Cannon (Barton) was great at third. We were solid all over the field.”
The Pioneers added their final run in the fourth. Barton singled. After two strikeouts, Ethan Horne singled to left, and Barton scored from first when the ball got by the left fielder.
“That run was huge; it took a lot of pressure off,” remarked Compton. “That’s one thing Dan River does; they put a lot of pressure on you. They bunt, steal bases; it’s easier to manufacture one run than two.”
Ethan Glass singled for the Wildcats in the fifth but was tagged out by Horne while attempting to steal on a tremendous throw by freshman Lebanon catcher Parker Cole.
Liam Jones singled in the sixth and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He tried to advance to third on a grounder to short, but Horne threw a bullet to Cannon Barton at third, who made a nice tag to eliminate the runner in scoring position.
“Ethan made a play, getting the lead runner at third,” declared Compton. “That was a big out.
“This team believes in themselves. We try not to let the moment get too big for us. We want to play the best we can play.”
Baldwin was at 75 pitches after six innings, and there was thought of making a pitching change so he would be eligible to throw on Friday in the semifinals.
“I was talking to my coaches; we were bouncing it back and forth,” Compton stated. “We had two guys throwing in the bullpen. I finally looked at them and said we can’t play for Friday; we have to go win today.”
It paid off. Baldwin struck out the first two he faced in the seventh. After a walk, he induced a game-ending flyout to left field.
“Lake threw a great ballgame. When you have a day like that, you’re going to be successful,” noted Compton. “He has been throwing the ball well. Hopefully, we can get him another start.”
Trace Jones threw the complete game for Dan River (10-12) and was the tough luck losing pitcher.
“Trace battled, did a good job, kept us in it, did all we asked him to do,” noted Waller. “Lebanon’s pitcher did a great job, and we couldn’t scratch one across.”
“We tried to battle back, but (Baldwin) bared down and did a great job. He threw strikes and made the pitches when he needed to. Honestly, we didn’t have many opportunities. We needed to get guys on. Lebanon didn’t make errors. With all those strikeouts, we didn’t give ourselves a lot of chances.”
Lebanon won state baseball championships in 2021 and 2023 and is two games away from a title in 2026.
“This is huge! No one thought we’d be here,” Garrett said. “There were 15 guys and four coaches who showed up every day since the start of the season and bought in. The fruits of our labor are showing. Now we’ll go to Salem.”
Lebanon 2, Dan River 0
Dan River 000 000 0—0 3 1
Lebanon 100 100 X—2 5 0
T. Jones and L. Jones. Baldwin and P. Cole. W—Baldwin (5-2). L—T. Jones (6-3). HR—none.
