Potomac Falls Softball on the Rise

By Jeff Nelson

Friday, April 24, 2009

A year after finishing 8-11 overall and winning just four games in the Virginia AA Dulles District, Potomac Falls has become a league contender despite not having a single senior.

The Panthers (8-2, 6-1 after Thursday night's 5-4 win over Heritage) have five freshmen, five sophomores and four juniors, but there has been enough talent and leadership among that group to make up for their youth. Most notable among those players is sophomore pitcher Heather Kiefer and junior catcher Courtney Sunderland, who have choreographed six shutouts together in the team's seven wins.

"They're pretty much the key to our offense and defense," Potomac Falls Coach Joe Pettit said, "although I've got a lot of young players this year and those girls are backing up Heather really well. We're making the plays we should make."

Kiefer has a 0.97 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 65 innings, while also batting .333 with seven RBI from the third spot in the lineup. Sunderland, who has been catching Kiefer since kindergarten and bats cleanup, has a .389 average with one homer and six RBI.

"She's definitely progressed a lot," Sunderland said of Kiefer, who also started as a freshman. "She's gotten better, not in the sense of her pitching skills, but in the sense that she knows when to call a pitch off or when she wants to throw a pitch she knows will work."

The Panthers, whose only district loss came in a 1-0 game on April 14 against second-ranked Broad Run, will face Loudoun County tonight.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks