Photo courtesy of Cindy Jackson
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Wolveries Sting Yellow Jackets, Win Regional Opener
West Potomac won a tense psychological thriller Friday night, beating the Osborn Park Yellow Jackets on the road 3-1. The pressure-packed game featured a come-from-behind three run sixth inning that vaulted the Wolverines to victory.
Early, yet unconfirmed reports are that number four seed Fairfax knocked off number one seed Centreville High School last night, which, if true sets up a Monday night round two game at West Potomac. The Rebel victory Friday night means we will still not have the answer to one of the burning questions of our time -- is Centreville pronounced "Cen-TRUH-ville," "Cen-TRAY-ville," or the more pedestrian, even boring "Cen-tur-vill"?
(Editor's Note: Reading between the lines, what you are telling me is that Fairfax's win spoiled your plans to use that line, so you had to stick it in anyhow. Reporter's Note: Uh, pretty much.)
After being thankful they don't have to do that drive every night, Wolverine fans who braved the Friday late afternoon traffic were at the edge of their seats for most of the game, which given the time it took to get there, appears to have been played near the West Virginia border. The Yellow Jackets had twelve batters reach base -- at least one in every inning, and left seven stranded in scoring position. In four of the innings, the lead-off Osborn Park hitter reached first.
(Contrary to rumors I'm trying to start, there is no secret Oscorp Industries Lab in the school building. That also probably means, regardless of local legend, that the school is NOT named after Norman Osborn. It doesn't matter -- West Potomac didn't need Peter Parker to save the day. Still, you have to admit a Spiderman movie with a regional softball tournament plot line would be pretty cool. At least a ninety million dollar opening, and think of the fast food toy tie-ins! I gotta finish this blog post -- I've got a screenplay to write!)
However, while starting pitcher Jayne Orleans was not cruising along, she would bear down and get outs every time she needed it, with a little help from her fielders. She only struck out two Yellow Jackets, but both came with runners on base. She did not allow any extra base hits, and was very effective at limiting the damage.
In the meantime, the Wolverines threatened early, but couldn't push any runs across until the sixth inning. Nikki Minnis led off the game in an 0-2 hole, but battled back to draw a walk. With two out, she scampered to third on Raven Williams' lined single to right. Then, in the second inning, Torie Bolger smashed a one-out double off the base of the left field wall. Two innings, two Wolverines left in scoring position.
The Yellow Jackets did the same thing -- although they actually left three runners in scoring position in the first two innings. But then the Wolverines stopped hitting, while the Yellow Jackets continued to reach base. In the middle part of the game, the Osborn Park pitcher retired eleven in a row, including 1-2-3 innings in the third, fourth, and fifth.
The only time the Yellow Jackets sent the minimum number of hitters to the plate was fourth inning. With one out, their seventh hitter singled. But the next batter grounded hard to Kate Gregory at second, who made the tag on the runner and then threw to first for the double play. For the game, Kate had four putouts and four assists. After the twin killing, the first base coach for Osborn Park could be seen as counseling his runner on how to keep it from being so simple for the second sacker in similar situations. It is unlikely he used as much alliteration as I just did. His loss is your gain.
The Yellow Jackets finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the fifth to go up 1-0. It was a classic manufactured run -- a single to left, a sacrifice bunt to move her along to second base, and a single to drive in the run. But, that was the only Osborn Park run of the game (Editor: since they know the score was 3-1, isn't that pretty self-evident? Reporter: there you go again, overestimating the intelligence of your reporter and our readers.)
Here are the questions that were on the minds of the West Potomac faithful at this point in the game:
As the sixth inning started, the Wolverines were down to their last six outs. They had played twelve straight innings without scoring. And then the trajectory of the game, and the arc of this story, changed.
Nikki led off with a single. With one out, a sequence of bizarre plays unfolded. Annabelle Miller smacked a single to center. As Nikki steamed toward third, the centerfielder was going to throw the ball hard somewhere, but apparently thought better of it. In trying to stop her throw, the Yellow Jacket outfielder watched in horror as the ball squirted out of her hand into no-woman's land of center-right field behind where the second baseman usually stands (but was covering 2nd).
Nikki alertly (be a lert, you know the rest!) sped home with the game tying run, and the monkey was off the Wolverine back. Annabelle took second whilst the ball bounced around the outfield. Then Raven hit a seeing-eye bloop single to center. Annabelle hung close to second, riskily taking off for third as the ball bounced into the aforementioned centerfielder's mitt. She would have been out at third, but the previous shaky play had left its mark. The centerfielder overthrew third, and Annabelle scampered home to make it 2-1. Raven turned her single into two extra bases on the wild throw.
Jayne's single gave her the team's only RBI, and an important two run cushion at 3-1.
The bottom of the sixth started benignly, but soon had Wolverine fans watching through their hands covering their faces. Jayne induced two quick groundouts. A single to left looked harmless when the fourth hitter of the inning hit a routine grounder. The ball was uncharacteristically booted by the Wolverines best fielder this season, and suddenly it was first and second. A tricky single to shortstop loaded the bases.
With two outs, the Yellow Jackets had loaded the bases with three straight batters. The next hitter hit the ball on the nose, but Nikki took two steps to her left and caught the liner to both end the threat AND, almost as importantly, restart her dad's heart. In related medical news, the aneurysm that was starting in Coach Craig's brain receded, saving the lives of two Wolverine coaches with one grab.
(Editorial comment/rant: The Osborn Park scoreboard operator went all bush league, posting two errors for the Wolverines and none by Yellow Jackets. The scoreboard shows runs, hits, and errors, and when they left the errors numbers dark after the two errors by their centerfielder, this grizzled old scribe figured they did the classy thing and didn't post errors on the board. But nope. I suppose I gave them too much credit -- as they immediately posted two errors when the Wolverines made them -- although I would also argue that one of them was an infield hit. Anyhow, boo to the Osborn Park scoreboard operator. It was probably Mendel Stromm.)
A quick 1-2-3 Wolverine seventh set the stage for the final scene. A lead-off walk led to back-to-back force outs from Nikki to Kate. With two outs, the Yellow Jacket hitter hit a twisting pop foul that Raven made a nice play on to send West Potomac on to more softball on Monday night.
Wolverine Whispers: It was a great night for Wolverine sports, as boys baseball and soccer also won. More details on the Monday night game will be sent out by our lovely and talented team rep once she gets them.
Maddie Miller was named to the 2nd team all-Region, while Jayne Orleans and Raven Williams received honorable mention honors.
Early, yet unconfirmed reports are that number four seed Fairfax knocked off number one seed Centreville High School last night, which, if true sets up a Monday night round two game at West Potomac. The Rebel victory Friday night means we will still not have the answer to one of the burning questions of our time -- is Centreville pronounced "Cen-TRUH-ville," "Cen-TRAY-ville," or the more pedestrian, even boring "Cen-tur-vill"?
(Editor's Note: Reading between the lines, what you are telling me is that Fairfax's win spoiled your plans to use that line, so you had to stick it in anyhow. Reporter's Note: Uh, pretty much.)
After being thankful they don't have to do that drive every night, Wolverine fans who braved the Friday late afternoon traffic were at the edge of their seats for most of the game, which given the time it took to get there, appears to have been played near the West Virginia border. The Yellow Jackets had twelve batters reach base -- at least one in every inning, and left seven stranded in scoring position. In four of the innings, the lead-off Osborn Park hitter reached first.
(Contrary to rumors I'm trying to start, there is no secret Oscorp Industries Lab in the school building. That also probably means, regardless of local legend, that the school is NOT named after Norman Osborn. It doesn't matter -- West Potomac didn't need Peter Parker to save the day. Still, you have to admit a Spiderman movie with a regional softball tournament plot line would be pretty cool. At least a ninety million dollar opening, and think of the fast food toy tie-ins! I gotta finish this blog post -- I've got a screenplay to write!)
However, while starting pitcher Jayne Orleans was not cruising along, she would bear down and get outs every time she needed it, with a little help from her fielders. She only struck out two Yellow Jackets, but both came with runners on base. She did not allow any extra base hits, and was very effective at limiting the damage.
In the meantime, the Wolverines threatened early, but couldn't push any runs across until the sixth inning. Nikki Minnis led off the game in an 0-2 hole, but battled back to draw a walk. With two out, she scampered to third on Raven Williams' lined single to right. Then, in the second inning, Torie Bolger smashed a one-out double off the base of the left field wall. Two innings, two Wolverines left in scoring position.
The Yellow Jackets did the same thing -- although they actually left three runners in scoring position in the first two innings. But then the Wolverines stopped hitting, while the Yellow Jackets continued to reach base. In the middle part of the game, the Osborn Park pitcher retired eleven in a row, including 1-2-3 innings in the third, fourth, and fifth.
The only time the Yellow Jackets sent the minimum number of hitters to the plate was fourth inning. With one out, their seventh hitter singled. But the next batter grounded hard to Kate Gregory at second, who made the tag on the runner and then threw to first for the double play. For the game, Kate had four putouts and four assists. After the twin killing, the first base coach for Osborn Park could be seen as counseling his runner on how to keep it from being so simple for the second sacker in similar situations. It is unlikely he used as much alliteration as I just did. His loss is your gain.
The Yellow Jackets finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the fifth to go up 1-0. It was a classic manufactured run -- a single to left, a sacrifice bunt to move her along to second base, and a single to drive in the run. But, that was the only Osborn Park run of the game (Editor: since they know the score was 3-1, isn't that pretty self-evident? Reporter: there you go again, overestimating the intelligence of your reporter and our readers.)
Here are the questions that were on the minds of the West Potomac faithful at this point in the game:
- Would the long drive have been in vain?
- Would West Potomac be shutout in back-to-back tournament games?
- Would this article have to be short and devoid of any humor because of a loss?
As the sixth inning started, the Wolverines were down to their last six outs. They had played twelve straight innings without scoring. And then the trajectory of the game, and the arc of this story, changed.
Nikki led off with a single. With one out, a sequence of bizarre plays unfolded. Annabelle Miller smacked a single to center. As Nikki steamed toward third, the centerfielder was going to throw the ball hard somewhere, but apparently thought better of it. In trying to stop her throw, the Yellow Jacket outfielder watched in horror as the ball squirted out of her hand into no-woman's land of center-right field behind where the second baseman usually stands (but was covering 2nd).
Nikki alertly (be a lert, you know the rest!) sped home with the game tying run, and the monkey was off the Wolverine back. Annabelle took second whilst the ball bounced around the outfield. Then Raven hit a seeing-eye bloop single to center. Annabelle hung close to second, riskily taking off for third as the ball bounced into the aforementioned centerfielder's mitt. She would have been out at third, but the previous shaky play had left its mark. The centerfielder overthrew third, and Annabelle scampered home to make it 2-1. Raven turned her single into two extra bases on the wild throw.
Jayne's single gave her the team's only RBI, and an important two run cushion at 3-1.
The bottom of the sixth started benignly, but soon had Wolverine fans watching through their hands covering their faces. Jayne induced two quick groundouts. A single to left looked harmless when the fourth hitter of the inning hit a routine grounder. The ball was uncharacteristically booted by the Wolverines best fielder this season, and suddenly it was first and second. A tricky single to shortstop loaded the bases.
With two outs, the Yellow Jackets had loaded the bases with three straight batters. The next hitter hit the ball on the nose, but Nikki took two steps to her left and caught the liner to both end the threat AND, almost as importantly, restart her dad's heart. In related medical news, the aneurysm that was starting in Coach Craig's brain receded, saving the lives of two Wolverine coaches with one grab.
(Editorial comment/rant: The Osborn Park scoreboard operator went all bush league, posting two errors for the Wolverines and none by Yellow Jackets. The scoreboard shows runs, hits, and errors, and when they left the errors numbers dark after the two errors by their centerfielder, this grizzled old scribe figured they did the classy thing and didn't post errors on the board. But nope. I suppose I gave them too much credit -- as they immediately posted two errors when the Wolverines made them -- although I would also argue that one of them was an infield hit. Anyhow, boo to the Osborn Park scoreboard operator. It was probably Mendel Stromm.)
A quick 1-2-3 Wolverine seventh set the stage for the final scene. A lead-off walk led to back-to-back force outs from Nikki to Kate. With two outs, the Yellow Jacket hitter hit a twisting pop foul that Raven made a nice play on to send West Potomac on to more softball on Monday night.
Wolverine Whispers: It was a great night for Wolverine sports, as boys baseball and soccer also won. More details on the Monday night game will be sent out by our lovely and talented team rep once she gets them.
Maddie Miller was named to the 2nd team all-Region, while Jayne Orleans and Raven Williams received honorable mention honors.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Wolverines Played South County In Conference Semis
Wolverines Whispers: West Potomac will play next Friday, May 30th, at a school to be determined.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Win Over Woodson Sets Up Rematch With South County
The West Potomac Wolverines defeated the Woodson Cavaliers 12-3 in the first ever Conference 7 quarterfinal game. First ever sounds impressive, but this is the first year of conferences instead of districts.
The victory sets up a rematch with South County in the semifinals on Wednesday night. The win also assures West Potomac plays in regionals again this season.
This sets up a few key questions: Given that a Wolverine win was essentially a sure thing, did they really have to play Monday night? Is everyone excited to play South County again? Does West Potomac even have a chance? Will Kate Gregory's grandmother wear a helmet to the game?
Yes of course, yes of course, yes does a bear sit in the woods?, and yes I sure hope so after the last game when she took a foul ball off her head (lost in the sun). Any further questions? (Editor's Note: any queries that are actually "key" questions?)
The Wolverines started with a bang, scoring six times in the top of the first. Annabelle Miller started the scoring with a booming double to left, scoring Grace Moery after her walk. Raven Williams reached on an error. Torie Bolger knocked a single to right for an RBI. Maddie Miller drove in Raven and Eliza Treadwell (running for Torie) with a double. Kate Gregory stuck a single into the outfield for an RBI, and Olivia Manous finished the run scoring in the inning with another RBI single.
Raven and Jayne Orleans both had singles in the bottom of the second, but neither were knocked home.
Jayne pitched two scoreless innings, inducing four groundouts and whiffing two batters, before being replaced by Christina Dillard to start the third. Christina K'd all three Cavalier batters in that inning.
West Potomac tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. Olivia walked and promptly stole second. Nikki Minnis walked. Olivia scored on Grace's double, while Annabelle followed with an RBI single.
A couple of hits and a sac fly earned Woodson its first run. Meanwhile, a Caroline Bowman single in the fourth and an Annabelle triple in the fifth both went for naught. Woodson got hope in the sixth scoring two runs, but that faint hope was extinguished by the Wolverine sixth.
Harley Divine took a free pass to first, and then Caroline deftly singled through the hole left vacant by the covering shortstop on the steal attempt. Eliza, in her last home at-bat, then singled past short to load the bases. Izzy Crawn smacked a double that skipped off the centerfielder's legs to drive in two. Grace then followed with her second double of the game to drive in two more runs and make the score 12-3.
Christina made short work of the Cavalier seventh -- striking out two and inducing a popout flare on which Caroline made a nice running over the shoulder catch. Two other defensive plays of note were a liner caught by Kate, who made a diving attempt to double off the runner on second. She came up just short, but the effort was appreciated by all Wolverine fans but her mother, who probably needed two-three washings to get the dirt out. (Reporter: When you do as much laundry as I do, you feel sympathetic about those things. Editor: Averaging once a year in 27 years of marriage isn't doing "as much laundry" as anyone!).
In addition, Megan Jackson made an impressive catch in left center, running full speed to make the grab.
Wolverine Whispers: It's on again. West Potomac at South County -- Wednesday night, with a 6:30 start. Need I say more? I do? Okay: South County -- the number two team in the DMV and the number two team in Conference Seven -- has beaten the Wolverines just 2-0 and 3-0 in 11 innings (or 1-0 in 8 innings if the ump doesn't make the most ridiculous judgment call in the history of judgment calls -- if it is unclear what I think, just ask and I will calmly CLARIFY IT FOR YOU!). Anyhow, should be a good match-up, even if I can't figure out why Lake Braddock finished first in the conference but is ranked third (behind South County) in the Post. (Editor: If you don't get it, you don't get it. Reporter: Speechless.)
The only notable injury came when Coach Craig took a foul ball off his shin. No word yet as to whether he will be placed on the 15 day DL. He was seen icing the shin during the game, recklessly flouting the macho code of softball. Although to be fair to the big guy, he did stay in the game and continue coaching, even while suffering through the pain (that's more like it!).
The victory sets up a rematch with South County in the semifinals on Wednesday night. The win also assures West Potomac plays in regionals again this season.
This sets up a few key questions: Given that a Wolverine win was essentially a sure thing, did they really have to play Monday night? Is everyone excited to play South County again? Does West Potomac even have a chance? Will Kate Gregory's grandmother wear a helmet to the game?
Yes of course, yes of course, yes does a bear sit in the woods?, and yes I sure hope so after the last game when she took a foul ball off her head (lost in the sun). Any further questions? (Editor's Note: any queries that are actually "key" questions?)
The Wolverines started with a bang, scoring six times in the top of the first. Annabelle Miller started the scoring with a booming double to left, scoring Grace Moery after her walk. Raven Williams reached on an error. Torie Bolger knocked a single to right for an RBI. Maddie Miller drove in Raven and Eliza Treadwell (running for Torie) with a double. Kate Gregory stuck a single into the outfield for an RBI, and Olivia Manous finished the run scoring in the inning with another RBI single.
Raven and Jayne Orleans both had singles in the bottom of the second, but neither were knocked home.
Jayne pitched two scoreless innings, inducing four groundouts and whiffing two batters, before being replaced by Christina Dillard to start the third. Christina K'd all three Cavalier batters in that inning.
West Potomac tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. Olivia walked and promptly stole second. Nikki Minnis walked. Olivia scored on Grace's double, while Annabelle followed with an RBI single.
A couple of hits and a sac fly earned Woodson its first run. Meanwhile, a Caroline Bowman single in the fourth and an Annabelle triple in the fifth both went for naught. Woodson got hope in the sixth scoring two runs, but that faint hope was extinguished by the Wolverine sixth.
Harley Divine took a free pass to first, and then Caroline deftly singled through the hole left vacant by the covering shortstop on the steal attempt. Eliza, in her last home at-bat, then singled past short to load the bases. Izzy Crawn smacked a double that skipped off the centerfielder's legs to drive in two. Grace then followed with her second double of the game to drive in two more runs and make the score 12-3.
Christina made short work of the Cavalier seventh -- striking out two and inducing a popout flare on which Caroline made a nice running over the shoulder catch. Two other defensive plays of note were a liner caught by Kate, who made a diving attempt to double off the runner on second. She came up just short, but the effort was appreciated by all Wolverine fans but her mother, who probably needed two-three washings to get the dirt out. (Reporter: When you do as much laundry as I do, you feel sympathetic about those things. Editor: Averaging once a year in 27 years of marriage isn't doing "as much laundry" as anyone!).
In addition, Megan Jackson made an impressive catch in left center, running full speed to make the grab.
Wolverine Whispers: It's on again. West Potomac at South County -- Wednesday night, with a 6:30 start. Need I say more? I do? Okay: South County -- the number two team in the DMV and the number two team in Conference Seven -- has beaten the Wolverines just 2-0 and 3-0 in 11 innings (or 1-0 in 8 innings if the ump doesn't make the most ridiculous judgment call in the history of judgment calls -- if it is unclear what I think, just ask and I will calmly CLARIFY IT FOR YOU!). Anyhow, should be a good match-up, even if I can't figure out why Lake Braddock finished first in the conference but is ranked third (behind South County) in the Post. (Editor: If you don't get it, you don't get it. Reporter: Speechless.)
The only notable injury came when Coach Craig took a foul ball off his shin. No word yet as to whether he will be placed on the 15 day DL. He was seen icing the shin during the game, recklessly flouting the macho code of softball. Although to be fair to the big guy, he did stay in the game and continue coaching, even while suffering through the pain (that's more like it!).
Monday, May 19, 2014
Six Wolverines Receive All-Conference Honors
Six Wolverines made the all-conference team:
1st
team:
Raven Williams
Maddie Miller
Jayne Orleans
2nd
team:
Nikki Minnis
Honorable Mention:
Annabelle Miller
Kate Gregory
Congratulations!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Wolverines Alertly Prove Adept In Continuation Games, Beat West Springfield 8-0
West Potomac is now 2-0 in continuation games this season, taking a 5-0 lead on Tuesday against the Spartans, and taking less than 35 minutes to tack on three more runs and secure the seven outs needed to win the game Saturday afternoon.
(Continuation games are like reindeer games, except they are not celebrated in song.)
Tuesday night, the Wolverines were one out away from winning in a required five innings when thunder and lightning struck -- literally, not figuratively (see the previous story for the difference). Despite a refusal of the heavens to rain, the thunder and lightning show continued for long enough to require a return trip to the bucolic Rolling Road home of West Springfield.
"We actually practice continuation games. We will start a drill in practice, and in the middle, I will stop it. We then pick up the drill several days later right where we left off. We did this about ten times this season," said Coach Craig Maniglia. "Doing this gets the girls ready mentally and physically for just this situation where we stop play on a Tuesday and continue on a Saturday," Maniglia added in a couple of quotes I just totally made up. (Editor's Note: Uh, that completely contravenes all standards of journalism. Reporter's Note: This is a blog, who said anything about journalism?)
Jayne Orleans and Christina Dillard combined for a one hit shutout. If it weren't for a sole Spartan single in the seventh, it would have been a no-hitter (Editor: I think people understand that "one hit" is one more than none. Reporter: I just don't want to overestimate the intelligence of our readership.)
The victory is the Wolverines ninth shutout win of the season, and drives their record to an impressive 15-5 as they head into district conference tourney play. (Editor: Tourney? Reporter: It's insider speak for "tournament." Aren't you impressed with the lingo that I know? Editor: Whatevs.)
Before the game started, the PA system played the "Spartans, prepare for glory" line from the movie "300." Apparently, both "prepare" and "glory" have different definitions in West Springfield than they do in Alexandria section of Fairfax County.
Not much happened offensively in the game for the Wolverines until the third inning. After reaching on a fielder choice in the first, Grace Moery stole second but got no further. Meanwhile, Jayne mixed in a strikeout on a change-up in the first.
In the second inning, Torie Bolger and Nikki Minnis combined on an alert ("be alert, the world need more lerts!") play. With a runner on first, there was a mini popup that neither Jayne nor Torie could catch. The ball hit the ground and went right into Torie's bare hand. The runner had to stick close to first in case of a catch, so Torie easily gunned the ball to Nikki covering second for the force.
In the top of the third, the Wolverines followed the old adage, "when someone gives you a gift, open it."(Editor's note: Unless it's a Trojan horse. Reporter: That was before my time.) After an out, Kate Gregory reached on an error. Nikki thought that was cool, so she also reached on an error. Grace got the first Wolverine hit of the game to load the bases. Annabelle Miller followed the Wee Willie Keeler advice and "hit it where they ain't" -- just over the third baseman's head. Annabelle's hit doubled in two runs to put the team up 2-0.
In the bottom of the third, Torie alertly picked-off a runner who reached on a walk, and the PA system did not play the "Spartans, prepare for glory" line. ("Be alert! The world needs more lerts!") In the top of the fourth, Kate singled and stole second, but that was it for the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Spartans had their first hit of the game taken right away from them by another alert Wolverine defensive play. The runner on first who walked with one out held close to first on a flare to center. The ball dropped in, but Grace alertly pegged the ball to Nikki for the force at second (be alert! The world needs more lerts!)
The Wolverines broke the game open in the visiting half of the fifth. Grace led off by strategically getting hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch, she moved to second, scoring on Annabelle's single to left center for her third RBI of the game. Raven Williams reached on a fielder's choice, and then scored the old-fashioned way -- moving up on a wild pitch, then alertly scoring from second on a dropped third strike (that's four alert plays so far, for those keeping track at home). (Be alert! The world needs more lerts!)
Jayne reached on an infield single, and then Torie moved her pinch-runner (Harley Divine) to second with a smashed single through short. Harley went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, the lightning started (again, literally, not figuratively). Wolverine parents rooted for three outs, but it was not to be. After a walk to the lead-off hitter, the Spartan took second on a sacrifice bunt down 5-0 (Editor: so, you disapprove of small ball in a 5-0 deficit? Reporter: yes.) Jayne struck out the next batter for the second out, but never got to pitch to the fourth hitter of inning, as the umps heard thunder. (So, the umps couldn't see the lightning but did hear the thunder -- insert your own blind ump joke here. Actually, just kidding -- to be fair to the umps, the lightning was off to the north, not in a direction either were looking.)
(Please wait four days to read the rest of this article.)
(I said, wait four days!)
Saturday dawned clear and bright. The game picked up where it left off -- Spartan on second, two outs, bottom of the fourth. Christina took over on the mound, striking out the last batter. A clever (and handsome) West Potomac parent, jokingly shouted "good inning girls!" as they jogged off the field. To the credit of all, parents from both teams laughed at my the handsome stranger's witty line.
Nikki stole a base after a walk in the sixth, but nothing else happened. Then, in the seventh, the Wolverines tacked on three more runs. Raven singled. Elizabeth Drotos pinch-ran, and beat the throw to second on a failed fielder's choice. She and Izzy Crawn both scored on Caroline Bowman's towering double to right center field, as the JV call-up smartly earned two RBI in an audition for next season. After a wild pitch, Kate earned an RBI on a groundout to close out the scoring.
West Springfield led off the bottom of the last inning with their one aforementioned hit, but it was for naught. After Annabelle erased the successful hitter at second on an assist to Kate, the third sacker finished things off by catching a line drive and alertly (be alert! the world needs more lerts!) throwing to first for the twin killing. (Note to squeamish readers: it's NOT literally a twin killing; it's a euphemism for a double play, only much more dramatic to the mind of a sportswriter who needs something better to do with their life.)
(Editor: You used that trite "be alert, the world needs more. . ." phrase five times! Reporter: It never gets old, does it? Editor: Actually, yes it did, part-way through the first use!)
Wolverine Whispers: Monday night, which is either tomorrow or tonight, depending on when you read this (or three days ago if you actually followed my explicit directions above to wait four days before reading the article), West Potomac hosts Woodson in the opening of what hopefully will be three conference playoff games.
A win Monday sends the Wolverines to South County for the semi-finals (assuming South County sneaks past Annandale in their first round game) and also clinches a spot in the regionals. The first game of regionals would be on Friday, May 30th, which means the Team Rep's husband won't have to spend a ton of money on an anniversary dinner. Because the team rep's husband doesn't have to wear a suit on a Friday night, he should slip the person who scheduled the game for that day a fiver in thanks. But he's too cheap.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Conference 7, aka the Patriot District, Standings As of Today, and Only Today
| Lake Braddock | 11 | 1 | 91.7% |
| South County | 9 | 1 | 90.0% |
| WEST POTOMAC | 7 | 4 | 63.6% |
| West Springfield | 4 | 6 | 40.0% |
| T.C. Williams | 4 | 7 | 36.4% |
| Woodson | 2 | 9 | 18.2% |
| Annandale | 1 | 11 | 9.1% |
The records were put together by Coach Lee Harrington.
West Potomac officially clinched third in the conference, which means our Wolverines will host sixth-seeded Woodson on Monday night at 6:30.
(Discerning fans with no life will recognize that the local team has been shown in ALL CAPS as a homage to sports pages in the 1970s-80s that would capitalize the local team in the standings. If you didn't know that before you read this, well, now you know.)
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