Chatham third baseman Greg Doss might only stand 5-foot-7, but for one play in the Region B tournament’s first round against Goochland, he was a giant.

  Using every inch he had, Doss made a leaping catch and followed up with a quick throw to kill an early Goochland threat in the first inning. Doss’ Cavaliers went on to build off the momentum and beat the Bulldogs 15-4 on Monday.

  Tyler Younger led the way at the plate for Chatham (16-7) with a home run and five RBIs, while Jacob Yates pitched a steady six innings and struck out seven. The Cavs advanced to Wednesday’s tournament semifinals where they will travel to play Luray, which beat George Mason 3-2 in the first round.

  “Honestly, if we show up and play the way we did tonight, they’re going to have to play pretty well to beat us,” Chatham coach Chad Anderson said.

  And the way Chatham played against Goochland (15-5) began with Doss’ snag — a pebble of momentum that started the landslide on Monday.

  Already up 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first, the Cavaliers found themselves in trouble early. Two straight walks and a throwing error put Bulldogs on first and third with one out and Goochland cleanup hitter Austin Jordan was on his way to the plate.

  Chatham was one bloop single away from losing its lead — which was what almost happened when Jordan chopped a high-hopping ball down the third base line.

  Doss suddenly found himself as the only thing standing in the way of a tie ballgame, and he didn’t even have time to think.

  With Goochland’s runners on the move, Doss leapt to his right and was able to haul in the ball, which had hung in mid hop, well over his head. The junior then made a quick throw to home plate, beating the runner there for an out — and killing the Bulldogs’ threat in the process.

  “I just reacted, basically,” Doss said. “I saw the ball go up and I went up. My only play was at home, and luckily he was out.

  “I felt like I was 7-2.”

  Said Goochland coach Wes Farkas: “That was a big momentum change, definitely. If we get a run there, it could have been a different game.”

  With a healthy dose of confidence on their side after Doss’ play, the Cavaliers abused Goochland’s pitchers for the rest of the game. Chatham batted around and busted out for seven runs and an 8-0 lead in the second inning before settling down to score its runs in smaller bunches the rest of the way.

  Younger punctuated that offensive push with a three-run homer in the fifth inning, while designated hitter Matt Bray went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and No. 7 hitter Drew Arnold went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

  “That’s the thing that impressed me the most was that we hit top to bottom,” Anderson said. “We had a ton of hits (14), and that’s not a bad team that we beat either.

  “When your seven-hole hitter gets three hits, that’s a pretty good night.”

  Said Farkas: “I knew they were a good hitting team. But realistically, I didn’t think it was going to be like that.”

  Anderson only hopes that his hot-handed Cavs can keep it going on Wednesday, when they take on Luray. Last season Chatham was knocked from the Region B tournament in the semifinals. But as Anderson said, with an offense like the Cavaliers have this year, it might take a lot to stop them.

  “We just have to go to practice tomorrow and keep hitting,” Doss said. “Keep it up.”

  Matt Fuchs is a sports writer for the Danville Bee Register.