Orange reaches semis

POQUOSON — After 20 batters, Poquoson finally gave itself a chance against Orange County pitcher Micalah Sacre.

But it was too little, too late.

With Poquoson’s only baserunner of the game on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Catherine Clavin took a called third strike as the Islanders’ season ended with a 2-0 loss in Tuesday’s Group AA quarterfinal.

The Hornets advance to Friday’s state semifinals at Radford University. They will face a familiar foe in Broad Run — the same opponent from their 2-1 loss in the Region II final.

Sacre, a sophomore, struck out 16 batters and retired the first 20 hitters she faced, coming within an out of a perfect game. She also hit a solo home run in the third inning while outdueling Poquoson freshman Maggie Tyler.

“It’s not that she wasn’t good. We were just impatient,” said Poquoson coach Colleen Duman. “We knew her pattern. She threw a fastball [for] a strike leading off, and then she threw two rise balls the first couple of innings, and we chased rise balls.”

Catcher Nicole Windham produced Poquoson’s only hit, a shot to right field, after Sacre struck out the first two hitters in the final inning for the Islanders (21-4). Hornets outfielder Brooke Dotson got a late break on the ball, making an awkward dive that allowed it to scoot past her as Windham took second.

Clavin, who has home-run power, then worked a

3-2 count against Sacre, but Sacre punched her out with the bat still on her shoulder to settle for a one-hitter.

Sacre gave Orange (21-4) all the offense it would need with a home run to left center in the third inning, and catcher Paige Pritchett followed with another solo shot for a little insurance.

“We came out flat today,” Duman said. “It’s not that we didn’t play good defense. We just didn’t have the offense, and Maggie threw two waist-high pitches, and that’s all it took. Two pitches was it.”

Sacre struck out the three Poquoson batters she faced in the first and fourth innings.

“She threw some nice rise balls today, a couple of screwballs that did pretty well, and a changeup, one or two, here or there,” Orange coach John Henry Ryder said. “She was focused the whole time.”

Sacre (7-1) has split time on the mound this season with shortstop Heather Jenkins. She pitched three innings in the loss to Broad Run, striking out seven.

“She’s been like this for a long time,” Ryder said. “Last year she was pretty good. But you can’t wear them out. A lot of people just throw the same horse all the time, and when this time comes, you want them fresh.”

Sacre also apparently doesn’t lack confidence. With Clavin up as the game’s potential tying run, Sacre shot down any notion of intentionally walking her.

“I was told that [Clavin] can hit it a mile,” Ryder said. “But the girl on the mound said she’s coming at her. ... That’s the way she is. She doesn’t care who you are. She’s going to bring it at you.”