Olson's Double Sends Lady Falcons To States
ASHBURN, VA - Junior Jillian Olson doubled home classmate Kasey Ball from first base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and sophomore Macy Jones fired a three-hitter with 15 strikeouts as Briar Woods edged Brentsville 1-0 in the Region II semifinals Wednesday night in Ashburn.
The Falcons, who improved to 21-2 with their 12th straight victory, earned a spot in both the Region Championship and the Virginia High School League Group AA State Championship Tournament.
Briar Woods, the region's second seed, will travel to Charlottesville Friday to take on top-seeded Monticello in the Region Championship at 7 p.m. Monticello held off Park View 2-1 in Wednesday's other Region Semifinal game.
The Falcons will then play in a State Quarterfinal game on Tuesday, June 8 against either Powhatan or Poquoson. Those two teams square off in the Region I Final Friday.
State tournament match-ups are predetermined by the VHSL. The Region I Champion hosts the Region II Runner-up, while the Region II Champion hosts the Region I Runner-up. (The same format is used for Regions III and IV.)
The Falcons' first-ever meeting with Brentsville was a nail-biter as expected. Jones opened the game by striking out the first two Tigers, and freshman Lynn Brantley made a spectacular sliding catch in shallow right field to end the top of the first.
Briar Woods went down in order in the home half of the inning before threatening in the second. Senior Kate Fowler beat out an infield single to start the frame, and Ball followed with a shot off the glove of Tiger pitcher Grace Nordan to give Briar Woods runners at first and second. However, Nordan worked out of the jam with a pair of groundouts and a strike out.
Jones surrendered a lead-off walk to start the third but got another assist from her defense when Fowler pounced on a sacrifice bunt attempt and fired a strike to senior shortstop Holly Dominguez to get the lead runner out at second. That play proved critical, as, after a strikeout, Tiger lead-off hitter Rachel Lee dumped a single into right field. Facing runners at first and second, Jones then got another strikeout to end the frame.
Briar Woods threatened again in the third when junior Alex Fierszt singled to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dominguez. However, Nordan worked out of trouble with two more groundouts to keep the game scoreless.
Brentsville had a golden opportunity in the top of the fourth but came up empty. The Tigers put runners on first and second with none out thanks to a lead-off single and a fielder's choice that failed to get an out. A passed ball allowed both runners to move up before Jones got the first out of the inning with a strikeout.
Nordan then bunted, and Fowler wisely held the ball to keep the runners at second and third from advancing. Jones then came through in the clutch by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.
With momentum now in their favor, the Falcons went back to work on offense in the bottom of the fourth. Ball hit a one-out single and moved to second on a two-out infield error off the bat of Brantley. However, Nordan rose to the occasion and got a struck out to close the frame.
The Falcon defense continued to shine in the top of the fifth to keep Brentsville off the board. Ball made a great backhanded stop of a hard grounder and threw to first for the initial out and then ranged into shallow right field to catch a pop up for the second out. Fierszt came racing in from center to snare a shallow liner to record the final out of the inning.
The Tigers had another chance to break open a scoreless game in the top of the sixth when Abby Carpenter rolled a single up the middle, but Jones got two more strikeouts to avoid any trouble.
The Falcon sixth started with a ground out, but got a little more interesting when Fowler drew a one-out walk. Ball then sent a low fly ball into shallow right field that had a chance to be caught, but it fell in front of Danielle Zecca, who then fired to second. Olson then stepped to the plate and ripped a double into the gap in left center. The ball rolled all the way to the fence, and Ball raced home from first for what would be the game's only run.
Jones then closed out the Tigers by striking out the side in the top of the seventh, giving her four straight shutouts this postseason and sending the Falcons to the first-ever Regional Championship game and State Tournament in the program's five-year history.
