Our thanks to Washington Post reporter Jeff Nelson, who was on hand for Broad Run softball and lacrosse, and sends these details from the softball game:

Heads-up baserunning and a strong pitching performance propelled Broad Run past Orange, 2-1, in the Region II championship game on the Spartans’ home field yesterday.

With the win, Broad Run claimed its fourth straight region title and assured itself of a home game in the state quarterfinals.

“That is huge,” said Spartans senior Judy Betz, who struck out nine and allowed four hits in seven innings. “We have fans here, which we love, and traveling sometimes can keep you sore or stretch you out weird, so it’s always nice to have the homefield advantage.”

Betz allowed two hits in the first inning yesterday and said she was still getting a feel for the strike zone, but she kept Orange off the scoreboard.

“After the first inning, I talked to [catcher] Haley [Johnson], we figured it out and everything was working,” she said. Broad Run scored its two runs on Anna Blessing’s first-inning single, which drove in Jenn Soroka, and Maggie Betz’s third-inning groundout to third, which brought home an alert Megan Waterman.

“I saw that the third-baseman never looked back and never checked me,” Waterman said, “so as soon as she released the ball [to first], I knew I was going to make it at home plate.”

Orange’s first-baseman made it close with her throw home, but Waterman’s head-first dive avoided the tag.

“I saw the catcher was in front of the plate,” she said, “so I knew I should dive back to the plate and I’d be in under the tag.”

Given the 2-0 lead, Judy Betz didn’t allow another hit until the seventh, when the Fighting Hornets got a leadoff double and scored with two groundouts. Sophmore Maggie Betz ended the game by making a nice play on a ball down the third base line and throwing out Orange’s hitter.