Fowler Tosses 1-Hitter Thwarting Warriors 2-1
STEPHENS CITY, VA - The formula for success in the post-season is simple -- take stellar pitching, add in equally impressive defense and get a timely hit here and there. It looks like the Briar Woods softball team has that formula
mastered.
Junior Kate Fowler provided the stellar pitching by tossing a one-hitter with five strikeouts, sophomore Kasey Ball provided the defense with two outstanding plays in the bottom of the seventh, and sophomore Jillian Olson provided the timely hit with a lead-off single and later scored on a two-out throwing error in the top of the seventh inning as Briar Woods pulled out an exciting 2-1 win over host Sherando in the quarterfinals of the Region II Tournament Monday afternoon in Stephens City.
The Falcons (18-4) will visit Orange County (about 40 minutes north of Charlottesville) in the Region II semifinals Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Fighting Hornets won the Jefferson District regular-season and tournament titles and earned a first-round bye in the region tournament.
Fowler was on from the start and had a perfect game going through five innings. She struck out the first two Warrior hitters and got top hitter Kourtney Paige on a lineout to center in the first, and she used a ground out, a pop up and a strikeout to set down the side in the second.
Fowler then dispatched the Warriors on three groundouts in the third before the Falcon offense broke through against Sherando senior Nicole Musser in the top of the fourth.
Freshman Macy Jones singled with one out and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Caitlin Blalock. Ball then came through with a clutch single to center to plate Jones and give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Fowler made a nice play on a bunt back to the circle to retire lead-off hitter Brittany Larrick to open the bottom of the fourth before Falcon junior shortstop Holly Dominguez turned in a highlight-reel defensive play for the second out. Warrior sophomore Amanda Lutz sent a hard shot into the hole at deep short, but Dominguez made a sliding stop on both knees and then leapt to her feet and fired a strike to Jones to get Lutz by a step. Fowler then retired Paige on a pop up to Ball at second to end the frame.
The Falcons looked to strike again in the fifth when they put runners on first and second with one out after a walk by junior Claire Bayles and a single by freshman Alex Fierszt. However, Musser struck out Dominguez and sophomore Kristina Karagiorgis to end the threat.
Briar Woods had another opportunity in the sixth after Jones led off with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error on the play. But, Blalock lined a bunt back to Musser, who then spun and fired to second to double off Jones. Ball followed with her third single of the game, but she was erased on a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Fowler's perfect game came to an end when Raven Porter drew a walk on a questionable 3-2 pitch to start the sixth. Fowler struck out Samantha Musser for the first out before Porter stole second. Fowler followed with another strikeout for the second out, but Larrick laced a 3-2 pitch into centerfield to score Porter and tie the game at 1-1. Fowler then got Lutz on a comebacker to the circle, with Jones making a nice pick of a one-hop throw to first for the third out.
Olson, who sparked the winning rally with a lead-off double in the bottom of the sixth against Park View in the Dulles District Tournament championship game last Thursday, came up with another key hit when she singled to start the top of the seventh. Junior Claire Bayles followed with a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Olson to second, and, after a strikeout, Dominguez stepped to the plate looking for her first hit of the afternoon. With two strikes on her, Dominguez sent a bouncer to third base, but the throw across the diamond was wide and rolled down the right field line, allowing Olson to score from second.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Falcons made things interesting for themselves in the bottom of the seventh. Ball made a spectacular over-the-shoulder running catch in shallow right field for the first out, but back-to-back errors gave the Warriors runners at first and second with just one out.
Pinch-hitter Alex Meeker then sent a ground ball to second, which Ball fielded cleanly in the baseline. Trying to avoid being tagged, courtesy runner Ashley Shoemaker stopped a few feet shy of Ball and inched backwards towards first, but Ball chased Shoemaker down and tagged her for the second out before tossing to Jones to nab Meeker for the game's final out.
