VIRGINIA DEFEATS 2013 WORLD SERIES CHAMP LOUISIANA The Louisiana state champions haven’t lost a game in two years of Dixie Softball….until today against Virginia. The Montgomery County All-Stars had heard all the buzz about the Jefferson Parrish West All-Stars, the state champs from Louisiana. They knew they were the reigning and defending World Series champions, they had seen all the signs, the parks and rec van with the players’ images, the flags, the large and vocal crowd, the JPRD uniforms they wear instead of home state Louisiana and even the stories from some other local Louisiana teams. They knew they would have to play a near perfect game, and that’s exactly what the state champions from Virginia did on a hot and steamy afternoon on Louisiana bayou. The game was delayed for over two hours due to previous games running late but when it started, Louisiana came to bat first and ran into Virginia ace pitcher Skyler Dehart. Dehart struck out the first batter, then hit the second one only to come back and strike the next two out swinging to get out of the top of the first. Louisiana’ pitcher was equally as good as after giving up a leadoff single to Jaylin Shepherd came back to strike out the side to end the first. Louisiana would get on the board in the top of the second as the leadoff batter worked a walk and came in to score later on an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead. With 2 outs in the bottom of the second, Abigail Wilson would single, steal second and score on an RBI single from Becca Harding to even the score at 1-1 after 2 innings. Two batters would reach for Louisiana in the top of the 3rd but strong pitching and defense kept them at second and first to keep it 1-1. With one out in the bottom of the 3rd, Adyson Huff crushed a ball to deep right field clearing the right fielder, Huff would touch them all for an inside the park home run to put Virginia ahead 2-1. With 2 outs, Shepherd would reach on an error, take second on a Dehart single and score on thanks to an RBI single from Emily Scaggs. End of three is was 3-1 Virginia. The defending champs would strike right back in the top of the fourth thanks to a single, a triple to the wall, and a sacrifice bunt to even the score once again, this time 3-3. Pesky Virginia would once again score a run with 2 outs on the board as Wilson would reach on an error, advance thanks to a Becca Harding single and score off and RBI double from Cortney Cochran. Virginia once again led 4-3 after four innings. In the top of the fifth, Louisiana would strand a runner at third after she had doubled thanks to great play after great play by Virginia’s defense. That momentum would carry over into the bottom of the fifth. Huff would single, and once again with 2 outs on the board, Shepherd would single driving in Huff, Dehart would double scoring Shepherd, and Scaggs would then double to score Dehart. The damage was done as Virginia had their biggest lead of the game 7-3 after the fifth. The lead was too much for Louisiana to overcome as they went down quietly in the top of the sixth to end their two year unbeaten streak, with a 7-3 loss to Virginia. Louisiana would finish the day with 3 runs off 7 hits but commit 3 errors along the way. Virginia would score 7 off 13 hits (mostly with 2 outs) and commit only 1 error. Dehart (1-0) picked up the win on the mound, pitching a complete game walking 2 and striking out 7. Next up for Louisiana is an elimination game against Oklahoma, who lost to Alabama earlier in the day. It would be a surprise to no one if Louisiana works their way back up. It’s very likely Virginia and Louisiana will cross paths again in this tournament. This win was huge for Virginia, one of the biggest in program history but the goal now is to remain calm and do it again. Next up are the state champions from Alabama who absolutely crushed Oklahoma earlier in the day. Montgomery County, VA vs. Montgomery City, AL is set for Sunday at 1:00PM EST/12:00PM CST. Sunday is doubleheader day and Virginia will also be in action during the evening session, time TBD.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 23:07:11 +0000
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