Hornets squeeze past Lions in extra frame

MINERAL - Tuesday’s Jefferson District matchup between Louisa County and Orange County was a prime example of what high school softball is all about.
The game was dominated by stellar pitching on both sides, and each team produced several hits apiece.
But in the end, it all came down to miscues and missed opportunities. The Hornets finally got the upper hand, as they scratched across two runs in the eighth inning off of botched plays by the Lions’ infield to prevail 3-2.
Freshman Micalah Sacre helped power Orange to the win as she kept the Lions’ off-balance all afternoon with her fastball. Sacre recorded 19 strikeouts and gave up four hits as she helped the Hornets stay unbeaten in district play.
“Both teams played hard - we got some breaks, they got some breaks, and they finally were able to hit the ball there at the end, and we got a couple of extra runs,” said Orange coach John Henry Ryder. “[Sacre’s] got a little nick on her, but she threw it pretty well tonight.”
Not to be outdone was Louisa’s Meagan Lesser, who had an outstanding outing of her own, as she gave up four hits and recorded 13 strikeouts.
However, the Hornets (9-2, 3-0 Jefferson District) made the most of their opportunities on base, and the Lions squandered opportunities. In fact, Louisa left runners on base in nearly every inning — 11 stranded in all.
“It happened to be at the inopportune moments that we got outplayed,” said Louisa assistant coach Canaan Perkins. “It was a tight game the whole time, and at the end we messed up and they didn’t. We got outplayed.”
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning, when Orange took a 1-0 lead after Christina Spencer scored on a passed ball. In the sixth inning, Sacre walked Jessica Agee and Lesser before striking out the next two batters. The speedy Agee, who stole second base, later scored on a passed ball to tie the game.
Louisa had a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh, after Sacre hit two batters to get the Lions on base. But Sacre recorded three strikeouts to get out of the jam.
In the eighth, Spencer led off the inning for Orange with an infield hit to second base. The Louisa second baseman scooped up the grounder, but was unable to make the play because no one covered first base. Spencer later scored on Megan Roberts’ triple to left-center field. The Hornets added an insurance run as Roberts scored on an error on the first baseman.
Cadie Castle, pinch-hitting in the No. 6 position in the eighth, scored Louisa’s other run on a passed ball. She smacked a triple along the left field baseline to get on base.
Perkins said the team was not intimidated by Sacre’s fastball. The only player in the game with multiple hits was Louisa’s Brooke Chewning, who had a single and a double to left field.
“Their pitcher was good, but she’s not the best pitcher we’ve faced all year,” Perkins said. “We faced a girl that was throwing in the 70s [during the Spring Break tournament] with a full array of pitches. We weren’t scared, we just didn’t execute at the right times.”
Ryder was pleased with his pitcher’s performance, but knows the team needs to put its hits together in order to be successful.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Ryder said. “We need to get focused on swinging at good pitches, and we’ve got to hit the ball if we’re going to win.”
Louisa visits Monticello today in a game that was postponed because of bad weather, while Orange travels to Western Albemarle Friday.