Orange moves into Region II final

ORANGE - As her hit neared the outstretched glove of the Briar Woods third baseman, Orange County senior Christina Spencer didn’t think it had quite enough juice to make it into the outfield and break a sixth-inning tie.

It did, however, barely scraping the top of the glove, and the Hornets scored the go-ahead run, going on to win Thursday’s Region II semifinal, 5-3.

“I hit up on the handle and I thought she was going to catch it,” said Spencer, who went 2 for 3 with an RBI and one walk. “I just kept running and she missed it, a person scored and got everybody hyped up. Everybody just started hitting the ball [after that].”

Orange was able to record one more run in the frame, and sophomore pitcher Micalah Sacre struck out the first two batters in the seventh to put the Hornets (20-3) one out away from the region final. Sacre finished the job, getting freshman Macy Jones to pop out in foul territory to sophomore first baseman Amanda Murphy, punching Orange’s first ticket to the region final and state tournament since the team won back-to-back state titles from 1998-1999. The Hornets lost in the region semifinal round last year to Loudoun County.

“I’m really excited to go, this is my last year,” Spencer said. “I want to go all the way and don’t want it to end.”

Sacre notched seven strikeouts, pitching the third, fourth and final innings. She received lots of help, though, from senior starter Heather Jenkins, who pitched the first, second, fifth and sixth innings while picking up the win. The pair combined for nine strikeouts, scattering only four hits on the night. Additionally, Sacre allowed just one walk and Jenkins hit just one batter.

“I’ve tried this before,” said Orange coach John Henry Ryder. “I let Jenkins throw a couple innings then I bring in Sacre and let her throw a couple innings and it’s worked for us. You try to mix it up against these teams, some of which we’ve never seen before, [like Briar Woods].”

The Hornet defense was solid in the backup role, only committing one error, something Ryder was pleased with given the minimal amount of practice time Orange has had on dirt due to the weather.

“We haven’t been on dirt since last Thursday against Monticello in the district tournament,” he said. “We’ve been hitting but not actually taking ground balls on the dirt.”

Orange drew first blood, tallying two runs in the first following a controversial foul ball call. With one out, Sacre sent a screamer down the left field line just pass third base that appeared to land about six inches in foul territory. The hit was ruled fair, however, giving the Hornets their first baserunner of the inning.

“It’s unfortunate in a situation like that because there are a lot of close plays in our sport and that one was a foot foul,” said Briar Woods coach Jennifer Traina. “Their coach even told me that it was foul. Their runner didn’t even run. I can’t be mad at the umpire because everything is judgment and they got to go on the fly.”

Added Ryder: “That was a big call…I felt sorry for them. You try to win the right way. You don’t like winning because somebody gives you something…I don’t like umpires taking the games away from the kids.”

The Falcons (18-5) were able to claw their way back into the game, though, scoring one run in the third and taking the lead with two in the fifth.

“Our girls have been taught all season that one play doesn’t put the nail in the coffin for us,” Traina said.

Orange tied the game at three in the fifth when Murphy pounded a pitch off the left field fence, plating sophomore pinch runner Amanda Parker. The Hornets — who had every starter but one reach base at least once — displayed great versatility throughout their lineup, knocking seven hits off of two Falcon hurlers in junior Kate Fowler and sophomore Kristina Karagiorgis.

“I try to bust it up so you got some [hitters] at the top, some in the middle, and some in the bottom,” Ryder said. “Everybody wants [the best hitters] at the top. Sometimes you need people at the bottom.”

For Briar Woods, Fowler and Karagiorgis combined to strike out five. Both helped their cause at the plate, with Fowler picking up a hit and Karagiorgis recording two. Jones notched the other hit for the Falcons, a double off the centerfield fence in the fifth. Briar Woods, in just its fourth year of existence, finished up a surprising season in which it exceeded expectations after finishing fourth in the Dulles District last season.

“We never thought at the beginning of the season—the very first day—that we’d be here anyway,” Traina said, noting the team recorded just one win in its first two seasons. “Then as we all worked together, we started setting our goals higher as we went throughout the season…I called it their miracle season. Not that we won’t be able to come back and do it next year…but people didn’t think we’d be able to do it.”