Girls stumble in quarterfinals

By Devan Grayson
Review Sports Correspondent
Published: May 29, 2008

Coach John Henry Ryder led his team through an exciting season that concluded on Memorial Day night in Orange.  The girls played hard, but fell short to the Loudoun Raiders, 3-1, ending their season in the Region II softball quarterfinals.
After a scoreless first inning, the Hornets got a run in the second to take an early 1-0 lead. 
Hornet freshman Mandi Murphy got the inning started with a single that dropped in center field.  Murphy was able to steal second on a passed ball, while junior Cali Allen was at bat. 
Allen was then walked and a single to right by senior Alicia Humes advanced Allen and Murphy to second and third, respectively. 
Next up was junior Tina Spencer who drilled the ball, earning a double.  The Raiders got Murphy out at home, but when Spencer ran for second, the Raiders threw the ball to second base, allowing Allen to score from third.  The inning ended with a pop out to center field. 
In the top of the third, the Raiders tied the game up, 1-1.  After the tying run was scored, the Hornets had the most memorable play of the game.  Megan Lindsey of Loudoun hit the ball to third.  Spencer went to catch the ball, barely missed it, and was backed up by freshman Michala Sacre who caught the ball and threw it to second for a double play.
While the Hornets played the next three innings without allowing the Raiders to score, errors in the seventh allowed Loudoun to get two more runs, 3-1.
The Hornets ended their season with nothing to hang their heads about.  With a district title and a district championship trophy, the girls played a season that will be remembered for a very long time.
The Hornets proudly defeated the Fluvanna Flucos at home on May 16th and as a result, won the district championship.  The Flucos were unable to put any runs on the board and the game ended with the score, 2-0.
In the first inning, pitcher Micalah Sacre crushed the ball, sending it sailing out of the park for a home run. 
Sacre was at work again in the bottom of the sixth, earning a single.  Sacre was able to steal second and third when catcher Paige Pritchett came up to bat.  Pritchett then smashed the ball to left center for a double that knocked in Sacre, upping the score to 2-0.
Sacre had 10 strikeouts in the game.  The victory made the Hornets the winners of the district tournament, matching their regular season Jefferson District title.
The win improved the Hornets’ record to 19-4.