F-1 Tornado Rips Virgilina

By Paula I. Bryant
G-V Staff Writer
Dr. Mike Haskett preached about “The Storms of Life” Sunday morning from his Virgilina pulpit, telling the congregation someone would experience a “storm” before week’s end.
One day later, a violent storm literally cut a path through the homes of his mother-in-law, Mary Helen Gravitt, her brother, William Wilkins, and their neighbor, Kit Hooper, when Virgilina was hit with strong straight winds produced by what the National Weather Service described as an F-1 tornado.
A trail of destruction as far as the eye can see was left by the powerful storm that swept throught the Virgilina community Monday afternoon.
According to the Fujita Scale that ranks tornados in velocity, an F-1 is a moderate tornado accompanied by winds traveling between 86 to 109 miles per hour.
F-1 tornados are known for peeling off roofs, pushing mobile homes from their foundations or overturning them, pushing autos off roads and destroying garages.
National Weather Service staff was at the scene of devastation on Route 96 yesterday determining exactly what happened in the village of Virgilina.
But there’s no doubt in the minds of Wilkins, Gravitt and Hooper and others whose houses and yards suffered severe damage.
“This could have been nothing but a tornado, the way it twisted stuff in the trees. It was just unreal … pretty scary,” said Cheryl Wilkins. “My husband (William) has never taken a running step in his life, but he took a running step yesterday down to the basement.”
Wilkins said her husband had come in late for lunch, and they were looking out the windows as they ate.
“Is that smoke or is that a cloud?” he asked his wife.
“We both got up and looked out the window at how black it was,” she said, as he reminded her a window was up in the back bedroom.
“When I pulled that blind up, I saw debris from next door and across the road just swirling around. I slammed the window down, and I yelled, ‘Basement, basement.”’
“We made it to the basement fast enough, and I just remember hearing a lot of rumbling and roaring. My mind was going in so many different directions, and I was chattering 90 miles a minute. It happened very fast, just in a matter of seconds,” she said. “We had no warning at all.”
Several minutes later when they came back upstairs, she said it was “very, very calm.”
“We were just so thankful we were okay,” she added. “That’s what matters the most.”
Wilkins said Virgilina Volunteer Fire Department President Ralph Murray called the National Weather Service in Blacksburg immediately to tell them a tornado had just touched down in Virgilina.
“They told him there hadn’t been anything on radar to indicate a tornado, and Ralph said, ‘“Well then you need to come down here,”’ Wilkins said.
“One man from the state did come to Virgilina Monday evening,” she noted.
He told Virgilina residents he believed it was an F-2 tornado responsible for the devastation.
Following the tornado’s touchdown, Wilkins and her husband ran next door to check on his sister, Mary Helen Gravitt, only to discover the black tin roof had been peeled completely from the roof, with pieces of it strewn 20 feet in the air into a pine tree in the backyard and scattered throughout the woods.
A century old tree lay uprooted in Gravitt’s front yard along with a drainage pipe.
“Are you ok? Are you ok?” the Wilkins screamed as they entered the back door.
“I’m ok,” a shaken Gravitt replied.
They all went outside to survey the damage and saw dozens of trees snapped in half, trees and branches strewn on top of cars and vans, and a porch completely gone.
A “Reduced Speed Ahead” highway sign lay in Gravitt’s front yard, blown from across the road.
There was no sign of two chairs that previously had been in the Wilkins’ backyard, but the cushions remained in place.
Two hand-woven macramé chairs on steel frames had been picked up from Gravitt’s backyard and tossed into the nearby woods.
Just moments after the storm wreaked havoc, a passing motorist, Charles Nelson of Nelson, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He walked up the Wilkins’ driveway to check on them. “What in the world happened here?” he asked.
Next door at the Gravitt’s, Mary Helen’s son-in-law Ron McKinney witnessed a tree split in two before racing into the house to warn everyone to get into the basement “now.”
“This is where we went,” Gravitt said Tuesday morning as she pointed to a cellar entrance. “I’m alive, and that’s why.”
When she was huddled in the basement with her son-in-law, Gravitt said all she could think about was listening for the train.
“I remember saying that. All I remember after that was the darndest noise I have ever heard,” she continued, describing the rumbling roar as the black tin was sheared from the wooden roof. “It was over in 10 to 12 seconds. It was just awful.”
“My son-in-law said he knew the garage was gone, and I thought when I opened that basement door I may not have a house,” she added.
As she and her son-in-law made their way outside, Gravitt described everything as being “very still and quiet.”
The majority of the two-story house’s black tin roof gingerly lay against the front of the house, while a large uprooted old oak tree sprawled across the front yard.
They found a car sitting where a two-car garage with bay had once stood, the garage hurled hundreds of feet away into a grove of pine trees.
Porches ripped from their foundations lay tossed about. A trailer also had been thrown yards away, landing sideways against trees also snapped in two by the fierce winds.
Pieces of vinyl siding embedded in trees, an indication of the event’s shear force.
Kit Hooper, Gravitt’s other neighbor, was not at home when the twister ripped through the area, but what awaited her arrival was beyond imagination, she said.
Ongoing bedroom, bathroom and kitchen renovations that began in February will now take a back seat to the restoration that must be done to repair the tornado’s damage to her 100-year-old home.
A painter who was busy working in an upstairs bedroom of the Hooper home had a ringside view of the large tree that came crashing down onto the two-story house.
“I think it scared him to death,” Hooper said describing how the painter watched as yard furniture flew from the front porch.
She was oblivious to the damage being wreaked in the Virgilina area as she shopped for groceries in South Boston.
“When I walked in to Food Lion, a cashier who lives in Virgilina told me she had heard a tornado touched down at Mary Helen’s house, and I just looked at her,” Hooper said, explaining how she first learned of the destruction.
“She said, ‘You don’t know, do you?”’
“I thought she was exaggerating, but I did drive a little bit fast coming home. When I saw the orange flags and all the vehicles everywhere, I knew she wasn’t. I just couldn’t believe it when I saw Mary Helen’s house and then coming on down here,” Hooper said of her own devastation.
Her heart was broken when she saw her favorite century old shade tree uprooted and lying across the front porch as an unscathed American Flag continued to wave.
“I just love my trees,” she said. “That upset me so much.”
In the backyard, an outbuilding was lifted from its foundation and twisted sideways before coming to rest on the ground.
Although she had listened to a weather forecast earlier in the day and heard that severe storms were a possibility, she never believed it would happen in Virgilina.
“You just never think of it happening right here,” she added.
On the Red Bank side of Virgilina, Supervisor Lottie Nunn said she stood at her front door and watched as the black clouds rolled in.
“I heard something that sounded like a bunch of trucks rolling through,” Nunn said describing the sound made as two of her neighbors’ trees were thrust against houses. “Debris was everywhere, up in the air, swirling around.”
Neighbors living on Gills Mountain Road, Donna Rice, Thurman and Jo Ann Brewer and Henry Murray, all lost trees in the storm.
“I could see it coming, and I just stood at my door and watched it follow the curve in the road,” Nunn said.
Despite the trauma of the day for the Virgilina neighbors, all were bound and determined to spend the night in their own homes.
“I knew I was going to spend the night here even if the lights hadn’t come back on because this is home,” said Gravitt.
As family members surveyed the damage at each of the affected properties yesterday, all echoed the same sentiment – one of thankfulness that no one was injured.
And Virgilina resident Nick Long was quick to offer a suggestion for next Sunday’s sermon: “How ‘bout preaching on ‘The Blessings of Life,”’ he told Haskett.

Four Seek Two Halifax Council Seats May 6

Bill Confroy, Holt Evans, Randy Savage and Tommy Reagan are vying for two open at-large seats on Halifax Town Council during the May 6 election.
The council seats are currently held by Dr. Charles Parker and Phil Hollis. Neither councilman is seeking reelection.
W.E. “Bill” Confroy
In making his first bid for political office, Bill Confroy’s focus is economic.
Challenges facing town?
“Halifax is a great little town, and it has a tremendous history,” began the council candidate. “But now, for the residents, it is important to try to maintain the commercial aspect of the town. We have lost some businesses, but we have some great businesses. The most important thing is to retain the ones we already have and then to find opportunities for new businesses to come into the town. Hopefully, over the next several years we’ll be able to fill or utilize those buildings that are not being occupied.”
In the past, the option of the town becoming a part of the county has been raised, prompted due to double town/county taxation. What is your vision for Halifax?
“Well, I think the town should continue to maintain its charter, and to continue as a town. In the future, several years from now, I think that may be a question that comes up. But it depends on how successful the town can be in generating some important amenities it may not have now, amenities that would make it a more attractive place for people to live, and to maintain the value of real estate in the town.
“But for the time being I think there are some things that can possibly be done. I’m not going to go into any detail now, but I’ve got some ideas of things we might be able to do.”
What experience or background would Confroy bring to council?
“All my adult life I’ve lived (and worked) in Halifax and the county,” said the candidate. “And I’ve had some great experiences, some great teachers, some great mentors,” said the county’s former economic development chief. Also on his resume, banking experience, a long stint as a member of Halifax Regional Hospital’s board, and his work with civic, volunteer and youth groups.
“So, I am a people person,” he added with a smile
“We have a great community,” he emphasized. But he quickly returned to his theme of “enhancing the community” to help attract new people.
“A lot of the things we do in Halifax County and this community now are not necessarily just for the residents,” he added. “It’s for us to maintain the community, and you’re only going to do that by attracting new people, new businesses. So there are some things we don’t have that maybe we could have.”
As positive examples, Confroy cites the Higher Education Center and The Prizery. “They are cultural, things for people to do, and if people participate in those activities, they’ll find out how enriching it is.
“Also, from an economic development standpoint, you have to invest in the future,” emphasized Confroy. “You have to build industrial parks, you have to build buildings because people are not going to come unless you already have the asset to show. So we’ve got to be competitive, we’ve got to move forward, and those are the things that I think will help strengthen Halifax County.
“What can the Town of Halifax do to improve the overall community?” asked the candidate. “I think we can be a little bit better player than we have been in moving this whole community forward, and do our part a little bit better than we have in the past. Not to say that present council hasn’t tried to achieve some things, I think they have, but we have to continue to persevere and make our community the best it possibly can be.”
E.R. “Randy” Savage
In making his bid for one of the town’s at-large council seats, Randy Savage touts town vitality.
In his view, what challenges face the Town of Halifax?
“I want to see small business vitality, a thriving downtown, not empty buildings,” began Savage. “Environmental stewardship is also key,” he added, but primarily he wants to play a role in the town’s growth.
For Savage, one event “opened his eyes” and prompted his bid for office.
“The thing that got me in motion was the closing of the school, Halifax Elementary School,” he recalled.
“That is a slightly different issue than growing, but you know when Halifax Elementary School closed, it upset me a lot, it opened my eyes to what can happen while you may be home sitting on the couch,” he added.
In the past, the option of the town becoming a part of the county has been raised, prompted due to double town/county taxation. What is your vision for Halifax?
“I’ve heard comments on both sides,” said the candidate. “I would say there would have to be a tremendous amount of justification for doing something that radical. I have not yet heard, other than penny-pinching, a reason for doing that, but I will wait to hear someone give me a reason that doesn’t have to do with pinching pennies.”
What background or experiences would Savage bring to council?
“Someone new who hasn’t been there a long time,” he said. “Maybe some new ideas, that’s what I hope.”
Savage, a public school teacher and professional musician, has lived in Halifax County almost 20 years.
His message to the people?
“Get out and vote” in the May 6 election.
R. Holt Evans
Halifax native and retired Air Force Colonel R. Holt Evans is making a bid for one of the two at-large council seats in the Town of Halifax.
What is the candidate’s view of the town’s status, what challenges does it face?
“I think to try to get more commercial activity, and to maintain the beauty, the revitalization we’ve started,” said Evans. “I won’t know specific challenges until I get onboard.”
What experience or background will Evans bring to council?
“My whole career has been service,” said the retired Air Force officer, naming four years in Brussels at the political headquarters of NATO, and handling staff and field command positions for 30 years. “So I feel I will bring a ton of administrative and command experience to the job,” added the candidate.
In the past, the option of the town becoming a part of the county has been raised, prompted due to double town/county taxation. What is your vision for Halifax?
Evans does not advocate changing the town’s status, citing zoning issues as one concern.
“I knew the two at-large candidates were not seeking reelection, and three of the current members urged me to seek a seat on council.”
In closing, Evans sought town residents’ support during the May 6 election.
Evans, a Halifax native, bought his family home in 1980 and returned to Halifax in 2000 following his military retirement.
E.T. “Tommy” Reagan
Tommy Reagan is anxious to serve as one of the town’s at-large councilman in Halifax, and to see the town continue its revitalization effort.
In his view, what are the town’s main challenges?
“Getting our revitalization completed,” he began. “That seems to be coming along very well, and I would like to see that continue, to see our town grow.
“I would like to see us get in as many new businesses as we can and see our town become alive again, like it used to be when I was a little boy growing up here.”
Reagan also seeks economic development.
“I would love to see us bring industry into the Town of Halifax, like at the old Burlington plant where my parents used to work. That is just sitting there. I would love for that to catch an industry’s eye. That would give us plenty of jobs in the county and the town. I would love to see an industry start reusing that building.”
What prompted Reagan’s run for council?
“I like working in the government, especially since I’ve been on the planning commission. I would love to do anything to help the town. because I love it, because I grew up in it. I’ve seen it come a long way, and I want to do anything as an adult I can to help the government and the people of the town. I would like to be a spokesperson for all the citizens. When they’re not able to be at meetings,” he added.
What background or experience will Reagan bring to council?
“I bring the experience of having served on different boards in the county and the town. I think I could bring some expertise, some fresh ideas on things, to offer an opinion that I hope would help.”
I bring experience from serving in Ruritan clubs and on the board for Community Action and in the Cancer Association, and I think all of those are kind of mixed in together serving people. I want to bring that knowledge and expertise to help the town in any way I can.
“I want the voters to know that I want to get on council for them. They are the ones I will be serving as an at-large member. I would love the opportunity to serve and to help the people in the whole town of Halifax, to be a voice for them, to know the problems they are having and to bring them before council if they can’t make a meeting. I want to be there for the people of the town in any way possible, and I would love to have the chance to serve on council.”
In the past, the option of the town becoming a part of the county has been raised, prompted by double taxation for town and county. What is your vision for Halifax?
“I would like to see the Town of Halifax continue to have its government, its police department, like South Boston does. I hope that it can continue that way. I think it would be a sad day to see our (town) government dissolve, but I do know double taxation is hard on the citizens.”
The Pittsylvania County uranium mining issue is of concern to Reagan.
“As a member of the planing commission we had a uranium hearing, and I am opposed to uranium mining in Pittsylvania County,” he said, citing health and environmental issues. Reagan urged citizens to investigate issues that come before the town.
South Boston
In South Boston, Mayor Carroll Thackston is unchallenged in his bid for reelection, but five candidates are vying for four open seats on council.
Councilmen Coleman Speece, Morris Bryant, Sandra Thompson and candidates Dr. Mark Morris and Radford Trent seek the four open seats.
Virgilina
In Virgilina, the following candidates have qualified: Ralph Murray Jr., running for mayor, and for council, Rufus Chandler Jr., Tammy Elliott, Mary Helen Gravitt, Kirke Hooper, Jason Johnson, Thomas Keith Tuck Jr. and Ralph “Owen” Murray Sr. Six council seats are up in the Virgilina race. with seven candidates.
Scottsburg
In Scottsburg, Incumbent Mayor Ira Wilkerson II is seeking reelection, and in the council race, Robert Elliott, James Stoner, Connie Glass, Robert Guthrie, Harvey Perkins, Russell Ivan Puckett Jr. are seeking seats. The mayor and five council seats are open.

Trustees To Continue Budget Work Thursday

The Halifax County School Board will take another look at its 2008-09 budget at a budget work session Thursday night.
Thursday’s meeting will be the board’s second budget work session since the county supervisors approved the final county budget last month. The budget approved includes a smaller local contribution to the county school system than the school board had requested.
The board had sought $15,913,480 from the county, but the supervisors approved $13,586,000 in local money. Though not as much as requested, the amount approved by the supervisors is an increase of $343,570 over the $13,242,430 local contribution in the current school budget.
The draft budget, presented by school officials to the board Monday, April 21, left an additional $717,485 to be pared down to reach the total budget amount of $63,938,928 approved by the board of supervisors to operate the county’s schools next year.
School officials will present another budget during Thursday’s work session for the board to consider. That new proposed budget will reflect a 3.5 percent salary increase for teachers, 3 percent for administrators and 4 percent for classified personnel.
The draft budget that will be presented to the school board Thursday will include the elimination of several additional positions in order to raise the salary increase for teachers an additional one-half percent, from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.
Thursday’s budget work session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the school board’s first-floor conference room.

Obituaries

Edna Arneida Ladd Elliott
Edna Arneida Ladd Elliott, 79, of Virgilina, wife of Carl Wesley Elliott Jr., died April 27, 2008, at VCU Health Systems in Richmond.
Born in Halifax County, Mrs. Elliott was the daughter of the late Janie Fletcher and Lonnie Carl Ladd. She retired from Arneida’s Beauty Shop after 25 years and volunteered at Halifax Regional Hospital. A member of North Fork Baptist Church, she taught Sunday school for all ages, led Bible School and was an Acteen leader.
Funeral services for Mrs. Elliott will be at 2 p.m. tomorrow, May 1, at North Fork Baptist Church with the Rev. Ben Gault officiating. Burial will follow at Virgilina Cemetery.
In addition to her husband of 61 years, survivors include her children, Shelby E. Newton and husband, Charles, of Chase City, Carl Wesley Elliott III, Linda Cheryl E. Oliver and husband, Larry, and Wendell Wayne Elliott, all of Virgilina; her grandchildren, Captain Robert Daniel Elliott and wife, Socheat, Dr. Kelly Ann Newton Toler and her husband, Michael, and Brian Elliott Newton; great-granddaughter, Isabella Danielle Elliott; a sister, Mary Frances L. Bowen Willis and her husband, John, of Hopewell; and brothers, Floyd Allen Ladd and his wife, Nancy, of Richmond, and Lynwood Carl Ladd and wife, Helen, of South Boston.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 this evening, April 30, at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home in Clarksville.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.wclfh.com.

William Henry Elliott
William Henry Elliott, 52, of 3172 Bill Tuck Highway, South Boston died April 27, 2008, in Halifax County.
Mr. Elliott was born March 12, 1956, the son of John K. Elliott and Gladys Phillips Elliott. He was a member of Grace Baptist Church and a foreman at Climate Control, Inc.
Survivors include his wife, Debra W. Elliott; two sons, William Justin and Jared Wayne Elliott; a daughter, Jenna Nicole Elliott; a stepson, Brian Epps and wife, Christi; his mother, all of South Boston; his father of Halifax; three sisters, Gladys Murray of Roxboro, N.C., Patsy Brewer and Donna Talley, both of Oxford, N.C.; and two brothers, Charles Danny Elliott of Scottsburg, and John Randolph Elliott of South Boston.
Funeral services for Mr. Elliott will be held today, April 30, at 3 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church with the Rev. Jack Stewart officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Girls Netters Win Heritage Invitational

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Shanna Luck, Seanna Bradley, Fallon Farmer and Jessica Palmer won championships at numbers one, three, five and six singles, and the Comets girls tennis team captured all three doubles titles in winning the Heritage Invitational Tournament last weekend in Lynchburg.
Halifax edged host Heritage for first, the Comets with 21 points and Heritage with 20, followed by Rustburg with nine and Nelson County with four points.
The tournament involves a mixed team format with nine sections, including six singles and three doubles, with participants earning points for their individual wins, according to Comets coach Greg Donner, who added that Halifax advanced to seven finals and Heritage eight finals.
The Comets faced Heritage players in six of the seven finals.
It was the Comets’ second win in the last three years of the event, according to Donner, who said the key to the outcome came in the doubles competition.
“Shanna Luck and Seanna Bradley defeated the Heritage team in the first round, and the number two and three teams beat Heritage in the final round,” said Donner.
Halifax players came out ahead of Heritage players in three of four contests, with Luck, Bradley and Palmer all winning, and with 17 of 18 matches completed, Halifax and Heritage were tied with 20 points apiece, continued Donner.
“Fallon Farmer faced the number five player from Rustburg with the deciding point in the tournament up for grabs, and emerged with a 10-2 win to seal first-place for the Comets,” said Donner.
Halifax finished with six of nine possible championships and also placed second in one singles in addition to Farmer’s winning performance.
Halifax won despite being short-handed at a couple of positions, with some of the youngest Comets filling in admirably, noted Donner.
“One of the biggest surprises of the tournament was the play of Carlene Link, who filled in at number two singles,” he said.
“She does not usually play singles and a jump to number two is a long way to go. But, she showed real strength in her final round against the number two player from Nelson County and never trailed by more than two games before falling 10-2 in the final.”
Comets number one singles player Luck overpowered each opponent in her bracket on the way to a championship, according to Donner.
“Shanna scored easy wins in singles and led the defeat of the Heritage doubles in the opening match of the tournament, which kept the Heritage duo out of the championship round,” he explained.
“They were the only Heritage team not to advance.”

W. Clay, Young Take Green’s Folly Member-Member

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Woody Clay and Chris Young shot an opening round 61 on Saturday and held off a challenge from two other teams on Sunday to win their second straight Green’s Folly Member-Member Golf Tournament.
W. Clay and Young finished with a two-day total of 61-68-129, five strokes ahead of Robert Fallen/Bill Carter and Jimmy Clay/Mike Gregory, to win the Championship Flight.
Fallen/Carter shot a 64-70-134, while J. Clay/Gregory finished with a two-day total of 65-69-134, the Fallen/Carter duo awarded second after a match of cards on No. 18.
Fallen/Carter birdied No. 18 while J. Clay/Gregory parred the hole.
Other flight winners included Peter McCready and Gene Wheeler in the First Flight (68-69-137), Scott Martin and Dave Ashwell (71-69-140) in the Second Flight, Charlie Payne and Ken Dockrill (74-74-148) in the Third Flight and Dan Shaw and Rodney Burchette (75-74-149) in the Fourth Flight.
The course played vastly different from one day to the next due to changing weather conditions, with most teams carding their best scores on Saturday, under sunny and warm conditions.
Sunday was windy, rainy at times and cooler, but W. Clay and Young shot a respectable 68 to keep some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.
“I really don’t think we played well enough today to win with a four under score, but nobody else played well, either,” said Clay.
“Yesterday, it was warm and the ball carried better. Today, it was windy, the air was heavy and the ball didn’t carry as well.
“There weren’t many birdies out there today, but Chris hit the ball solid both days and I putted well both days.
“It was a team effort. Nobody was playing well today, so I knew we had a little cushion to work with.”
Young agreed that the course played tougher on Sunday, but that everyone else was in the same position.
“It was tough today, and we left a few out there, but so did everyone else,” said Young.
“We kind of hacked around a little today and did enough to get by.
“But, we have a good time together and he’s easy to play with. That’s what you look for in a partner, and we mesh well as a team.”
Fallen admitted that despite his and Carter’s best efforts, it was an uphill battle trying to catch W. Clay and Young on Sunday.
“We played pretty well, but the course played kind of tough today because of rain and wind,” said Fallen.
“I didn’t think we had much of a chance to catch them, as tough as they are.
“But, Bill and I have played together for the past several years and this is our best finish, so we’re very happy with that.”
Second-place finishers in each flight included Billy Ford and Bill White in the First Flight, Wesley Chappell and Tommy Daniel in the Second Flight, Buck Weatherford and Nick Thompson in the Third Flight and Dan Shaw and Rodney Burchette in the Fourth Flight.
Sammy Puryear and David Day were third in the First Flight, while Walter Robertson/Scott Vaughan, Wayne Walker/Curt Adams and Mark Smith/Troy Strickland finished third in the Second, Third and Fourth flights, respectively.

JV Softball Beats PH To Stay Unbeaten

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Comets jayvee softball team kept its unbeaten record intact with with a five-inning, slaughter rule 18-3 win at Patrick Henry Thursday.
Emily Conner, Megan Day and Jamilia Smith each collected three hits, Johanna Spencer and Brittany Cole two, and Jill Trickey, Sharilyn Walton and Jessie Bagbey one hit apiece in the Comets’ rout of the Patriots.
Halifax plated two runs in the first inning when Connor singled, Bagbey reached on an error and Day singled, and a nine-run third made it 11-0.
Spencer and Day each had two hits in the rally, while Conner, Trickey and Bagbey hit consecutive doubles and Cole and Jamilia Smith singles.
Two runs in the fourth and five in the top of the fifth helped end the game, with Cole and Smith reaching base on a base hit and error, respectively in the fourth, both eventually scoring.
Jameshia Smith and Brittany Long reached base on errors to start the fifth, and Walton got a base hit, before Caitlin Lawhorn walked and Conner and Trickey reached on errors to account for the runs.
The Patriots scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a base hit and two walks, but it wasn’t enough to keep the game going.
Trickey started the game on the mound for the Comets and pitched all five innings to get the win, striking out five batters.