Softball Round-up: Potomac Falls Knocks off Broad Run for First Time in School History

Potomac Falls softball coach Joe Pettit talks about his team's big win over Broad Run

(April 15) - The Potomac Falls High School softball team did something last Friday that no Panther team had done in their school's 13-year history -- and that no other Dulles District team had done in the regular season since 2005 -- which was to defeat superpower Broad Run.

The Panthers had come close last season, dropping two one-run games to the three-time defending AA state champion Spartans, but on Friday Potomac Falls finally broke Broad Run's dominance in the series as junior Heather Kiefer tossed a 3-hitter with seven strikeouts and went 2-for-2 at the plate and senior catcher Courtney Sunderland drove in two runs.

The win was huge for Potomac Falls in more than historical context as the Panthers had dropped two extra inning games earlier in the week (3-2 at Briar Woods and 1-0 at Park View) to open the AA Dulles District season 0-2 and the Panthers could ill afford to go 0-3 and hope to win the regular season title in a 12-game schedule.

The Panthers scored three runs in the third inning when sophomore Carlyn Hanzel singled to center and sophomore Lauren Fulcher sacrificed her over to second while reaching base on an error. Kiefer then made it 1-0 with an RBI single to left center and Sunderland followed by ripping a 2-run single up the middle.

Potomac Falls scored again in the fourth when senior Paige Waltz led off with a single to right field, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Julie Griffin, advanced to third on an infield groundout and then scored on an overthrow.

Broad Run sophomore Kate Sims pitched a complete game and picked up the loss. The Spartans got on the board in the sixth inning as Anna Blessing’s one-out double gave the team a much needed spark. Sims followed with an RBI single to right field, and after moving to second base on the throw, she was able to score on a two-out throwing error. Kiefer ended the inning with a strikeout, something she did in five of her seven innings pitched.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E LOB
BR 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 2 6
PF 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 4 6 4 5

Potomac Falls (5-3, 1-2)
Carlyn Hanzel cf 1-3, run
Lauren Fulcher 3b 0-2, sac, reached on error, run
Heather Kiefer p 2-2, RBI, walk
Erin Frasca cr 0-0, run
Courtney Sunderland c 1-3, 2 RBIs
Katy McClung cr 0-0
Ashley Lamb lf 1-2, sac
Bonnie Pascal ss 0-3
Paige Waltz dp 1-2, run, walk
Julie Griffin 1b 0-2, sac
Peyton Valentine rf 0-3
Caitie McClay 2b/flex 0-0

Heather Kiefer (W, 4-3) 7.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 7 K, 2 BB
Part Two of Potomac Falls softball coach Pettit's interview


VivaLoudoun Softball Round-up
Tuesday, April 13
Briar Woods 10, Freedom 0 (6)
The Skinny: Sophomore Macy Jones hit her first career home run, drove in four and combined with junior Krisitina Karagiorgis on a no-hitter as Briar Woods blanked Freedom 10-0 in six innings Tuesday night in Ashburn.

The Falcons (5-1, 3-0 Dulles District) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior Holly Dominguez drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Jillian Olson and scored on a single by Jones. Briar Woods then plated four runs in the third to open a 5-0 cushion. Karagiorgis reached on a one-out error and Jones followed with a two-run blast to left center. Junior Kasey Ball, freshman Lynn Brantley and senior Hayley Olson then hit consective singles, and sophomore Hope Vivian dropped a single into shallow left field to plate both Ball and Brantley.

The Falcons added two more in the fourth when Jones ripped an RBI triple and scored on a single by Ball. Senior Kate Fowler drilled a pinch-hit two-run homer in the fifth to make it a 9-0 contest. Freshman Jessica Joyce walked to open the sixth and later scored on a passed ball to bring the game to an early finish due to the 10-run rule. Karagiorgis struck out seven and walked two in five innings to earn the win. Jones struck out all three batters she faced in the sixth.

Heritage 16, Loudoun County 3 (6)
The Skinny: After a 15-run outburst against James Wood last night the Lady Raiders struggled against crostown rival Heritage losing 16-3 in a game stopped by the mercy rule after 6 innings.
The Raiders struggled both in the field and at the plate. There were some bright spots though. Katelyn Packard and Renay Aubel both went 3-3 and scored for the Raiders. The Raiders other run was scored by Erin Ertel who was 1-3 with a double. Alex Petruzzo went 2-3 with 2 doubles and drove in a run. Sarah Nordseth drove in the other 2 Raider runs with a double while going 1-3. Kiley Jacobus was tagged for her 1st loss of the year with fellow freshman Allyson Kuhn finishing the last 3 innings. (Heritage did not report on this game)

Park View at Broad Run PPD (make-up 4.22)
The Skinny: The Patriots broke the Spartans 67-game winning streak against Dulles District foes in last year's district tournament

Potomac Falls 18, Dominion 0 (5)
The Skinny: On a cold and rainy night, the Panthers offense was red hot and exploded for 18 runs with an 18 hit-attack in just five innings of play against district opponent Dominion. Nine different batters had hits, six with multi-hits, and four extra base hits, and the Panthers scored in every inning but the first including 11 runs in the rain soaked 4th inning. The Panthers were lead on offense by sophomore Lauren Fulcher (4-for-5 with 3 RBIs), senior Paige Waltz (3-for-4 with 3 RBIs) with doubles by sophomore Carlyn Hanzel (2-for-5), Fulcher, junior Heather Kiefer (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), and Waltz. Junior Katy McClung (2-for-2 w/ RBI) and sophomore Julie Griffin (3 RBIs) got their first hits of the season. Senior Ashley Lamb filled in at catcher and went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Junior Erin Frasca and sophomore Peyton Valentine also had hits. Kiefer got the win throwing her fourth complete game shutout of the season on a one-hitter while striking out 11 in just 5 innings of work.
1 2 3 4 5 R H E LOB
PF 0 3 2 11 2 18 18 0 7
D 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2
Potomac Falls (6-3, 2-2)
Carlyn Hanzel cf 2-5, 2 runs, double
Lauren Fulcher 3b 4-5, 3 RBIs, 3 runs, double
Ashley Lamb c 2-5, RBI, run
Heather Kiefer p 2-3, 2 RBIs, double, walk
Anna Zembar cr 0-0, 3 runs
Katy McClung lf 2-2, RBI, run
Erin Frasca lf 1-2, run
Bonnie Pascal ss 0-4, RBI
Paige Waltz dp 3-4, 3 RBIs, 3 runs, double
Peyton Valentine rf 1-3 , 2 runs, HP
Julie Griffin 1b 1-3, 3 RBIs, 2 runs
Caitie McClay 2b/flex 0-0

Heather Kiefer (W, 5-3) 5.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 11 K, 1 BB, 1 HP

Stone Bridge 16, Langley 1 (6)
The Skinny: Bulldogs defeated Liberty District foe the Saxons. Stone Bridge had 12 total hits, including multiple hits from Cori Prince, Beth Lewis, and Paige Radakovich.


Monday, April 12
Loudoun County 15, James Wood 5 (6)
The Skinny: The Loudoun County Raiders responded from their shut out on Friday in a big way versus the James Wood Colonels with a 15-5 win stopped by the mercy rule in the bottom of the 6th. The Raiders pounded out 13 hits with 6 going for extra bases. The Raider attack was led by Renay Aubel who went 3-4 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored, and 3 Rbi's. Kelley Duerbeck was 2-4 including a triple, 2 Rbi's and a run scored. Katelyn Packard was 2-4 with 2 Rbi's and 2 runs scored. The game ended on Sarah Nordseth's home run in the bottom of the sixth. Sarah was 2-2 with 2 Rbi's and 2 runs scored. Also with hits for the Raiders were Katie Graff, Kiley Jacobus, Erin Ertel, and Alex Petruzzo. Allyson Kuhn picked up the win for the Raiders, going 3 and 2/3rds innings. Kiley Jacobus came in to finish the game for the Lady Raiders who improved to 4-1 (1-1 district).

Saturday, April 10
Musselman (WV) 4, Loudoun Valley 1
The Skinny: Vikes split with WV school.
Loudoun Valley 4, Musselman (WV) 1
The Skinny: Vikes split with WV school.

Friday, April 9
Briar Woods 18, Dominion 5 (6)
The Skinny: Briar Woods pounded out 18 hits and used a pair of big innings to down Dominion 18-5 in six innings in Dulles District action Friday night in Sterling.

The Falcons (4-1, 2-0 Dulles District) got on the board first in the top of the third when junior Kasey Ball laced a two-out, two-run double to score senior Holly Dominguez and junior Jillian Olson, who both singled earlier in the inning. The lead was short-lived, however, as Dominion scored four times without a hit in the bottom of the inning. The Titans used a walk, three fielder’s choices and three Falcon errors to take a 4-2 lead.

Briar Woods wasted little time moving back ahead, exploding for six runs – all with two outs – in the top of the fourth to build an 8-4 lead. Sophomore Hope Vivian reached on a one-out error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Alex Fierszt and scored on a two-out, two-strike triple from Dominguez.

Dominguez’s clutch hit sparked the Falcons, and Olson, junior Kristina Karagiorgis and sophomore Macy Jones smacked consecutive RBI doubles. Ball then walked and later scored on an error, and freshman Lynn Brantley capped the rally with an RBI single. Briar Woods then put the game away with 10 runs in the top of the sixth. The Falcons sent 15 batters to the plate, and seven straight hitters had singles at one point during the inning. Fierszt and Olson highlighted the outburst with two-run singles. Dominion tacked on another unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to close the scoring.

Karagiorgis and Jones combined on a one-hitter and 13 strikeouts. Karagiorgis didn’t allow a hit in her three innings but was hurt by an uncharacteristic four Falcon errors. Jones earned the win after tossing three innings of one-hit relief. She struck out eight and walked one. Dominguez paced the Falcons with four hits and three runs scored, while Olson and Jones added three hits apiece. Olson drove in three runs and also scored three times, and Jones doubled twice, walked twice and scored three times. Ball and Brantley each drove in three runs as well.

Park View 2, Loudoun County 0
The Skinny: Park View won its second straight Dulles District game against a tough opponent by beating Loudoun County by a final score of 2-0. Sophomore Sam Thomas led off the Patriot first with a hit and eventually scored on a wild pitch to score the only run that would be needed by Junior pitcher Robin Heironomus -- who recorded her fourth shutout of the year, giving up five hits and striking out 14 against 4 walks. This is the second time this year she has struck out 14 hitters, two shy of the Park View record. Becca Patton drove in fellow co-captain Sammie Gleason in the sixth with the insurance run. Junior Emily Nykorchuk collected two hits for the third straight game.

Loudoun County 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 5 1
Park View 1 0 0 0 0 1 x -- 2 7 0

Potomac Falls 4, Broad Run 2
The Skinny: See above

Stone Bridge 9, Fairfax 2
The Skinny: Meg Boyle went the distance in the circle for Stone Bridge, allowing 6 hits, with 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Stone Bridge had 12 total hits. Niki Prince, Beth Lewis, Paige Radakovich, and Caroline Kittinger each had multiple hits, including 1 triple from Prince, and 2 triples from Kittinger.

Thursday, April 8
Stone Bridge 8, Heritage 0 (6)
The Skinny: This game got off to a rocky start with a lightning delay in the top of the 1st inning. The game was eventually called after 6 innings due to heavy rain. The Bulldogs banged out 14 hits. Allie Brill went the distance from the mound allowing only 3 Heritage hits, and striking out 6.