Briar Woods Softball Wins Pitchers' Duel

By Paul Tenorio

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Through most of Tuesday night's Virginia AA Dulles District matchup between Briar Woods and Potomac Falls - a game that probably would decide second place in the district with the tournament just days away - it was the middle of the order for the Falcons that had provided the bulk of the production.

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning with the game scoreless, the top of the Falcons' lineup had combined to go 1 for 9 and had not reached base since the first inning, while the Falcons' five and six hitters had combined to go 4 for 6.

But with two outs in the seventh, No. 2 hitter Kristina Karagiorgis walked. And one pitch later, freshman Macy Jones, who had struck out looking in two of her three previous at-bats, lifted a walk-off double down the right field line to give Briar Woods a 1-0 victory and a strong likelihood of securing the second seed in the district tournament.

"I just didn't want to strike out again," Jones said. "I went up there and said: 'I'm not going to get two strikes on me. I'm just going to swing. I'm going to think swing, swing, swing.' "

The win provided a sense of revenge for Briar Woods (14-4, 10-4), which earlier this season had fallen, 1-0, to Potomac Falls (11-5, 8-4) in 10 innings. And the win continued what has been the best season in the program's history.

For much of the game, it looked as if the pitchers' duel might end up going into extra innings, as the teams' last meeting did.

Falcons pitcher Kate Fowler was tremendous. The junior was perfect through 3 2/3 innings, struck out nine and allowed one hit and two base runners, both in the fourth inning.

On the other side, Panthers pitcher Heather Kiefer had worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the second inning and then got two outs with runners on the corners in the sixth to keep the game tied.

But entering the final inning, Briar Woods Coach Jennifer Traina said there was a sense that the top of the order was due to break through after seeing teammates find success at the plate against one of the district's top pitchers. Jones delivered.

"Usually, you'd think your bottom of the lineup wouldn't particularly perform against a really great pitcher like this," Traina said. "The bottom of the lineup started it off for us and was the change of pace we needed to say, 'Hey, we can do this.' "

The result was a confidence boost for a young team that turned in two consecutive strong performances to close the regular season and will prepare for a chance at securing a berth in the Region II tournament.

"A lot of these girls were around when we were not very good," Traina said. "And they have worked very hard in the offseason ... and that's the kind of dedication that has got us where we are. We told them from the beginning of the season, from the first game, we know the amount of potential we have. It's just a matter of if we'll actually step up to that. And so far, they've been doing it."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks