On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa - Falcons Dedicate Emotional Win to Grieving Teammate

Briar Woods senior Kate Fowler and sophomore Macy Jones talk about Tuesday's emotional win over Potomac Falls on the same day that the entire team attended the funeral of teammate Kristina Karagirgis's mother, who passed away from breast cancer.


By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudou.com Editor
(Apr. 7, 2010) - You could say that an emotional Briar Woods High School softball team was wearing their hearts on their sleeves Tuesday but the truth of the matter is that the Falcons, just hours after attending the funeral of a teammate's mother, were wearing their heart on their cheeks and in their hair.

The initials on the faces of the young players, in place of the traditional "eye black", were that of junior teammate Kristina Karagiorgis, and the pink ribbons in their hair were in memory of her mother who passed away from breast cancer during the school break. The team, organized by junior catcher and captain Jillian Olson, sought permission from the school to attend the funeral Tuesday morning to support their teammate and just hours later they took the field at home in their AA Dulles District opener.

"They were a rock this morning for Kristina," said Briar Woods coach Jennifer Traina.

Considering the emotional turmoil of the day, there would be no shame if they fell to a very good Potomac Falls team and junior pitcher Heather Kiefer, who for the first trip through the Falcon order Tuesday did not allow a ball to get past the pitching circle as the BW batters either struck out or grounded back weakly to the pitcher.

The Panthers were up 2-0 after senior catcher Courtney Sunderland drove in two runs in the third inning on a double and appeared headed for the win when the Falcons rallied. After the game the players said it was motivation for Kristina and her family for them to win the game and that fueled a comeback in the sixth inning as Fowler and Kasey Ball drove in Holly Dominguez and Olson to tie the game.

As the game headed into extra innings it appeared that the Panthers would still come away with the win, especially when they loaded the bases in the top of the 8th inning with just one out but BW turned an improbably 4-2-3 double play (second to home to first for those fans not used to scorebook lingo) with Olson making a nifty pivot at the plate and gunning down to first where Jones stretched to complete the rare feat in softball with its shorter basepaths.

It seemed that this was destined to be the Falcons night and that they would win this emotional game. Jones, a ball of energy and hustle, helped manufacture the winning run as she beat out an infield hit, moved to second when Fowler was hit with a pitch and then hustle to third when a pitch to the plate just got away on a bunt attempt. Sunderland's throw down to third skipped away from the bag but not by far ... Jones, however, wasn't looking for any red lights or stop signs as she sprinted home and won the game standing up.

There were smiles and hugs and a few tears. As soon as the Falcons grouped in left field, a cell phone was produced and a call was made to Karagiorgis and she was put on speaker phone as her teammates shared the good news of the victory with her.

For Traina, she was almost left speechless by her team's comeback and ability to weather the emotions of the day and emerge with the win.

"I had nothing to say to them, except that I was super proud of them ... all day long," said Traina.

More of the Fowler and Jones interview