By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
** Click HERE for photos from only the South County-
Loudoun Valley game.
** Click HERE for video highlights from only the
South County-Loudoun Valley game.
** Click HERE for photos from only the Prince George-
Great Bridge game.
** Click HERE for video highlights from only the
Prince George-Great Bridge game.
Two pitchers’ duels Saturday afternoon at Westfield High were, ultimately, decided by two pitchers.
Only, both were in the batters’ box when they blew the lid off their respective Virginia AAA state semifinal games.
Loudoun Valley senior pitcher Caroline Williams got it started in the first game, blasting an RBI single to deep centerfield in the sixth inning that scored what proved the game-winning run in a 2-0 victory over South County (27-2 overall).
Great Bridge senior pitcher Kaitlynn Szczepanski followed in the second of the night’s doubleheader with an even more dramatic, two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Wildcats to a 2-0 win past Prince George (21-5) and into the season finale.
As a result, Loudoun Valley (24-4) will face Great Bridge (23-3) at 4 p.m. Sunday at Westfield in the championship game. The Vikings last won state titles in 2003 and 2005, but
both were in Class AA. The Wildcats claimed their previous three
Class AAA titles in 1989, 1999 and 2000.
“State championships are special, no matter what,” Loudoun Valley Coach Joe Spicer said. “I never thought I’d get to one. I tell everybody, it’s the greatest thing you can do in coaching. They’re all special, and every one is a dog fight to get there.”
With a wink and a smile, Spicer added: “But they’re all great. I highly recommend them.”
What was so compelling about the Vikings’ semifinal victory was that South County standout junior pitcher Chelsey Dunham was trying to intentionally walk Williams, Loudoun Valley’s clean-up batter, to load the bases with one out when she produced the game-changing hit.
“Absolutely we were,” Stallion Coach Al Thompson said. “We talked about it before we got there that if she got up with runners on and a free base we’d put her on. I don’t know what happened, but it doesn’t matter. The girl got a hit and we lost the game, and that’s part of it.”
Added Spicer: “I started to steal to move my runner out of the 1-3 situation, but after they threw that first pitch I thought they were trying to intentionally walk her. So I thought I’d let my runners stay and let it happen. But I guess she left the ball a little bit over the plate, and Caroline just kind of flicked her wrist at it.
“These games, it doesn’t take much one way or the other.”
The Vikings added a second, insurance run later that same inning when sophomore designated player Jamie Crisp picked up an RBI when she reached on a error, scoring senior left fielder Haiely Tretick. Tretick had also reached on an error, as both Williams and Dunham yielded only four hits a piece in the game.
“It had to end sometime,” Thompson said. “It would have been nice to have it end tomorrow, but it had to end sometime. To get into the state tournament was exciting. To get to the second round was unbelievable.
“And if we’d have played tomorrow, I don’t know what I would have done. And we had a shot, it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Just like South County, Prince George’s softball team was its first in school history — in any sport — to play in a state semifinal game.
But the Royals suffered a similar fate as the Stallions when Great Bridge senior right fielder Jaclyn Paulk beat out a bunt single to lead off bottom of the seventh inning. When Szczepanski stepped to the plate she said she expected Wildcats’ Coach Kirk Clayton to give her the bunt sign.
He did not.
“He told me he’d give me one swing,” Szczepanski said. “Well, he told me that after the fact. But he did … and it was perfect.”
On her first swing she connected, shooting the ball over the left field fence for the first walk-off home run of her career.
“As soon as I hit it I knew I had hit it hard,” Szczepanski said. “I was just hoping it would stay fair because I knew I had pulled it. But as soon as it went over the fence I just went ballistic. It was crazy.”
Said Prince George Coach Pat Waguespack: “I guess she’s been one of their main hitters all year and I kind of thought she was going to bunt. But I guess they gave her a swing, and it certainly was a big one for ’em.
“It was certainly a let down to see it go out.”
That’s because both Szcezpanski (13 strikeouts) and Royal junior pitcher Lauren Vinson (nine) had been nearly untouchable all game.
And though the disappointment set in, so, too, did the pride in his team’s accomplishments this season.
“I think it does mean a whole lot to our program, and we’re certainly proud of them,” Waguespack said. “We were right there. Just didn’t quite have enough.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
GAME 1Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
So. County Stallions 000 000 0 - 0 4 2
Loud. Valley Vikings 000 002 X - 2 4 2
-----------------------------------------GAME 2South County Stallions 0 (27-2)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Julia Kastner rf......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Sarah Senseney dp........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
Taylor Dillow 2b......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Stephanie Sbardella 3b... 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
Kayla Reisinger 1b....... 2 0 1 0 1 1 6 0 0
Meaghan Hunt ss.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2
Chelsea Dunham p......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2
Karly Thompson cf........ 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Michelle Boynton c....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0
Michelle Halsted pr..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ashley Ward lf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals................... 27 0 4 0 1 7 18 5 7
Loudoun Valley Vikings 2 (24-4)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Hayley Grabner cf........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0
Karli Johnson-Kemp c..... 1 1 0 0 2 0 7 0 0
Christy Haney pr........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hailey Tretick lf........ 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Shelby Wassman ss........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Caroline Williams p...... 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0
Dani Psimas pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ashleigh Miller 3b....... 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0
Jamie Crisp dp........... 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
Katyln Latka rf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1
Amanda Horton 2b......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 3
Jeanne Cahan 1b.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0
Totals................... 23 2 4 2 3 4 21 4 7LOB - Stallions 7; Vikings 7. 2B - Miller, A.. SH - Tretick, H.. SB - Grabner, H..
South County Stallions IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Chelsea Dunham...... 6.0 4 2 0 3 4 23 27 108
Loudoun Valley Vikings IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Caroline Williams... 7.0 4 0 0 1 7 27 28 104
Win - Williams, C.. Loss - Dunham, C.. Save - None.
Pitches/strikes: Dunham, C. 108/61; Williams, C. 104/67.
Umpires - HP: Mike Duley 1B: Bill Collins 3B: Ray Brinkman
Start: 4:56 PM Time: 1:34
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Prince George Royals 000 000 0 - 0 2 0
Great Bridge Wildcat 000 000 2 - 2 4 0
-----------------------------------------Prince George Royals 0 (21-5)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Taylor Worley cf......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Ashley Lowe c............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0
Lauren Vinson p.......... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Katie Christopher ss..... 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0
Maggie Roberts 2b........ 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 2
Aidan O'Hare lf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Kaitlyn Johnson 3b....... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
Jami Davis 1b............ 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0
Ashley Richenson dp...... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Alexis Penn rf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Totals................... 22 0 2 0 0 13 18 2 2
Great Bridge Wildcat 2 (23-3)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Ashley Reetz cf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Lauren Ellington c....... 3 0 0 0 0 0 13 1 0
Jaclyn Paulk rf.......... 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0
Kaitlynn Szczepanski p... 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1
Kristen Olsen 3b......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Brooke Davis 1b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0
Reetz, Al. dp............ 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Alexis Burrell ss........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
Michelle Cook lf......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Christina Ziemba ph/lf.. 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Karen Marti 2b........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Totals................... 22 2 4 2 0 9 21 5 2LOB - Royals 2; Wildcats 2. 3B - Paulk, J.. HR - SzczepanskiK. SH - Lowe, A.
Prince George Royals IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Lauren Vinson....... 6.0 4 2 2 0 9 22 22 84
Great Bridge Wildcat IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Kaitlynn Szczepanski 7.0 2 0 0 0 13 22 23 96
Win - SzczepanskiK. Loss - Vinson, L.. Save - None.
Pitches/strikes: Vinson, L. 84/61; SzczepanskiK 96/68.
Umpires - HP: Gary Butler 1B: Rick Muncie 3B: Kenny Crew
Start: 7:19 PM Time: 1:16.
Processing your request, Please wait....
