LURAY — To say Landon Wood made a statement in his varsity baseball debut would be an understatement.

After Luray gave up four runs against the Buffalo Gap Bison in the top of the third inning on Monday night, the Bulldogs sophomore took the mound in place of fellow sophomore Connor Hilliard — who picked up four strikeouts after three innings pitched.

The Bulldogs scored five runs in the bottom frame of the third to regain the lead by two, and for four innings, Wood was lights out — fanning 10 strikeouts while not allowing any hits or runs to help the Bulldogs pull away for a 10-4 non-district win over the Bison at LHS in both teams’ season opener.

“It’s crazy to think about, honestly,” Wood said when reflecting on his first varsity game.

The Bulldogs went up in the first inning with an RBI putout by senior Christian Lentz. The Bison responded with four runs in the third, with two coming off a single by Gap senior Kasey Fitzgerald.

Luray responded to adversity with the five spot in the bottom half of the third, which was ignited by a bunt single from Lentz.

Lentz later connected on an RBI single in the inning, while senior Cameron Weaver drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and senior Mason Seekford notched an RBI putout. The Bulldogs also walked in two runs in the third.

“Some people stepped up tonight,” Luray head coach Charlie Shepard said. “Offensively, we were fine. At the plate, Conner went 3-for-3 and laid down a perfect bunt in the right situation that kicked off that inning where we took the lead back.”

Yet, the story of the game after the top of the third “debacle,” as Shepard describes, was Wood.

With just 50 pitches thrown, Wood sat 10 batters down on strikes and looked untouchable on the mound.

“For a first time in a varsity game, that’s impressive,” Shepard said. “Overall, I’m very pleased. We played good defense other than the one half inning. Conner didn’t pitch bad, didn’t pitch great — but you take the errors away in that inning, it’s a shutout. The thing I liked was we responded, and Wood pitched a very excellent four innings for a sophomore.”

Five different pitchers took the mound for Buffalo Gap on Monday night, with junior Cal Loan taking the loss after 1.1 innings pitched.

The Bison pitching staff tallied nine strikeouts while also giving up 10 walks on the night.

“We had some walks that put us in some bad scenarios,” Gap head coach Josh Wenger said. “We gave up a lot of free bases tonight. … A little bit of control puts that game a lot closer, but we’ve got to come out and make sure we’re attacking the zone. Not every at-bat can be a strikeout.”

Wenger said his guys battled through some 3-2, 2-2 pitch counts throughout the night, but struggled to put the ball in play.

With the season just getting underway, Wenger said it’s a matter of getting more at-bats under their belts.

With some of Wenger’s guys just wrapping up basketball season, the head coach limited some of their pitch counts as they’re not fully back into the swing of things for baseball.

“We’re behind the eight ball a little bit,” Wenger said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting scrimmages in. We had some weather that kinda accounted for two scrimmages that we didn’t get in. Overall, getting out here tonight for the first time was good to see. We’re proud of the guys in the way they’ve answered the bell.”

The Bulldogs (1-0) host East Rockingham on Thursday at 6 p.m., while the Bison (0-1) travel to Nelson County on Wednesday at 6 p.m. — both non-district matchups.

Monday’s win for the Bulldogs was perhaps a testament to reaping the benefits of some past growing pains.

A team made up of six seniors, Shepard said they’ve had to endure some trying times in moving the program forward.

The Bulldogs reached the regional tournament a year ago for the first time in a decade, and now, they’re hungry for more.

Some of the adversity the Bulldogs have faced over the years played a key point in Monday’s season-opening victory.

“We turned right around with the top of the lineup, which is basically, other than Conner in the two hole, senior-oriented,” Shepard said. “We responded with the five runs. I think that helped from past experiences. Two years ago, they would’ve folded. They’ve matured, they’ve grown up, and they want to keep elevating the team. That was big, especially in game one. Now, that confidence is there.” Buffalo Gap 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 — 4 3 0

Luray 1 0 5 0 2 2 x — 10 8 3

Gregory, Loan (3), Reed (4), Bright (5), Fitzgerald (6) and Coffey, Malcolm. Hilliard, Wood (4) and Weaver. W — Wood (1-0). L — Loan (0-1). 2B — LUR: Hilliard. HBP — LUR: Shenk 3, Hilliard, Vile. SB — BG: Robertson, Coffey. LUR: Shenk 2, Hilliard, Vile, Cubbage. E — LUR: Vile 2, Wood. CS — BG: Carpenter.