Loudoun Valley eliminates James Wood in Region 4C softball

By JERRY HOLSWORTH | Special To The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — When a trip to the state championship tournament is at stake one bad inning can spell doom.

That’s exactly what happened to James Wood Monday in its 5-0 loss to Loudoun Valley in the semifinals of the Region 4C softball tournament on Monday at Ridge Field.

“This was a very hard fought game,” Loudoun Valley coach Carly Schmidt said. “Scoring early in this game really helped. This was a real team win. We got great pitching, clutch hitting, and made some amazing plays on defense.”

The Vikings (18-4) used a three-run second inning to spoil the Colonels’ chances of a state championship berth and in the process ended their season. The Vikings will take on the winner of today’s Woodgrove-Fauquier game for the region championship.

“We had one bad inning defensively early,” James Wood coach Todd Baker said. “We let them get us a couple of runs down and we just never recovered. We just couldn’t get that one big hit to get things started.”

After a scoreless first inning Loudoun Valley capitalized on three hits and two errors to jump ahead, and Vikings starting pitcher Tressa Kagorise made sure there would be no comeback.

Kendall Owens got things started for Valley with a one-out single against Colonels starting pitcher Lani Spielman. Payton Schaap followed with a single to center to put runners at first and second.

A fielding error on a grounder back to the pitcher put Erin Fennelly on first and loaded the bases. Maddie Elias then smashed a single to right center field that scored Owens and Schaap, and advanced Fennelly to second. Another fielding error, this time by the Colonel shortstop scored Fennelly to give Valley a 3-0 lead.

Wood fought desperately to get back into the game but Kagorise proved too much for the Colonels (17-5-1). They did have a couple of chances, but they couldn’t get the key hit they needed.

After a walk by Olivia Miller with two outs in the bottom of the third, Ivy Rosenberry smashed a double to right field that put Wood runners at second and third. Kagorise got the next Colonel to strike out, ending the threat.

“It was fun today,” Kagorise said. “I think this is the fourth year in a row that we’ve come here for a regional game. It was a really tough game and Wood played hard from start to finish. It was good to come out of here with a win.”

In the sixth, Rosenberry led off with an infield single but a brilliant double play by Viking shortstop Olivia Badura on a grounder by Lindsey Anderson erased both Wood runners. Sadly for the Colonels, Rebecca Boone followed with a hard shot to deep right that just missed going over the fence.

“Both pitchers did a really good job,” Anderson said. “We just didn’t hit the key ball. We got behind in the count too much and that got us in trouble. Even though our season ended today we went out fighting. This was a very special season and I’m very proud to have been a part of this team.”

The Vikings added two more run ins the seventh when Sam Buckland drove home Kagorise with a double to right center field and Kagorise scored later on a single by Owens.

“Despite the loss, 17-5-1 is still a great record,” Rosenberry said. “Beating Sherando to get to this game was just unbelievable. We just came up a little short today.”

Kagorise finished with a complete-game victory, allowing just two hits, both to Rosenberry, while striking out eight Wood batters with only two walks.

”It wasn’t one person that got this victory,” Kagorise said. “We got some big plays from our defense, and got the hits when we needed them. This was just an amazing game. Wood really supports their team. Most of the people here were standing because all of the seats were taken. Playing in front of a big crowd like this one and winning really helps our confidence.”

Rosenberry pitched brilliantly in relief, allowing just two runs on two hits. The Colonel sophomore struck out two and walked two in five innings.

“It was really tough out there,” Rosenberry said. “Valley has a lot of good hitters. They really don’t have a weak spot in their lineup.”

“Loudoun Valley is just a great team,” Baker said. “They are very well coached, and they’re solid every year. When we hit the ball it was right at them. It was just one of those days.”