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| Briar Woods Wins 1st Softball State Title! |
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| Broad Run Girls Soccer Makes it 4 Straight State Titles! |
Event the teams that didn't take home titles, fought hard and just missed out as Woodgrove softball -- in its first year with no seniors! -- finished runner-up to Briar Woods in the All-Loudoun softball finale and the Woodgrove girls soccer and Heritage girls soccer teams each fell 1-0 in the state semifinals. The lone boys team advancing to the Final Four was Broad Run baseball and the Spartans, after two weather delays, exited after a 7th inning rally in the semifinals fell short.
We have rounded up the scoop on all the games for you from what the teams have sent to us, to links to our Live! coverage to what the other media outlets reported such as the Washington Post and Loudoun Times-Mirror ...we hope you enjoy reliving it as much as we enjoyed covering it!
Softball: Briar Woods Beats Dulles Rival Woodgrove for AA State Title
By Chris Starke
Briar Woods Softball
RADFORD, Va. – On paper, the 2011 Virginia High School League Group AA state softball championship game between the Briar Woods Falcons and Woodgrove Wolverines couldn’t have seemed much closer.
Each team entered the final with a 24-4 record, each team posted a 13-3 Dulles District mark, and each team beat the other twice earlier in the season (the teams split two regular-season meetings as well as a pair of post-season contests, with Briar Woods earning a 4-1 win in the Dulles District tournament championship and Woodgrove picking up a 5-2 victory in the Region II title game).
However, on the RU Softball Field scoreboard Saturday afternoon, it was Briar Woods that separated itself as the top team in the state as the Falcons posted a convincing 9-1 win over the Wolverines.
The win gave the Falcons their first-ever softball state championship in the school’s six-year history, completing an impressive climb that started with an 0-21 inaugural season in 2006. After a 2-19 campaign in 2007, the Falcons took off – both figuratively and literally – with a 12-8 mark in 2008, an 18-5 record in 2009 and a 21-4 finish in 2010.
This year’s 25-4 record was even more remarkable considering Briar Woods was just 7-3 and sat three games behind undefeated Woodgrove in the Dulles District standings midway through the regular season. The Falcons then reeled off a school-record 15 straight victories before slipping up in that 5-2 loss to the Wolverines at home in the Region II title game.
That defeat brought a renewed energy to the Falcons, who went on the road and defeated traditional powerhouse Powhatan 4-0 in the state quarterfinals before rolling past Broadway 8-1 in the state semifinals.
In Saturday’s championship contest, the Falcons simply wouldn’t be denied.
Senior captain Kristina Karagiorgis, who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in Friday’s semifinal win over Broadway, went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, a school-record six RBIs, three runs scored and two walks against Woodgrove, while junior captain Macy Jones scattered seven hits and struck out nine after waiting out a two-and-half-hour rain delay and pitching in an unforgiving heat for the second straight day. Jones also doubled, walked twice and scored twice.
Briar Woods was set down in order in the top of the first, and Jones worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the bottom of the inning before the Falcons began to flex their offensive muscle with a pair of runs in the second.
Karagiorgis opened the inning with a walk, and fellow senior Kasey Ball followed with a single. One out later, hot-hitting freshman Caroline Fowler dumped a single into left to load the bases, and freshman Carrie Keevey followed with a groundout to first which scored Jones with the game’s first run.
Senior Alex Fierszt then came through with a single to right to plate Ball, but Fowler was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Woodgrove got a single to start the second, but Jones sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a pop up to Ball at second to quickly quell the scoring chance.
The Falcon offense went right back to work in the third. Senior captain Jillian Olson lined a one-out single through the left side of the infield and Jones followed with a walk. Karagiorgis then stepped to the plate and sent a lined shot off the left-field foul pole for a three-run home run that gave Briar Woods a 5-0 lead and sent the Falcon faithful into a frenzy.
The Falcons continued to pressure later in the inning, as Ball singled and beat a throw to second on a fielder’s choice by sophomore Lynn Brantley. After a fly out, Keevey reached on an error to load the bases, but Woodgrove used a fielder’s choice to avoid further damage.
Jones kept the Wolverines at bay again in the bottom of the third, wrapping strikeouts around a single and a stolen base before Fierszt tracked down a fly ball in right center for the final out of the frame.
Briar Woods looked to increase its 5-0 lead in the fourth but came away empty. Freshman Casey Forbes reached on an error and Olson followed with her second single of the game. Jones sent a screaming liner to first, but her hard shot was snagged out of the air and Olson was doubled off first. Karagiorgis drew her second walk of the afternoon and Ball reached on another Wolverine error, but Brantley was retired on a pop up.
Woodgrove opened its half of the fourth with back-to-back singles, but Jones worked out of trouble, fielding a comebacker to the circle and firing to second for the first out. Brantley then tracked down a fly ball in foul territory down the left field line for the second out, and Jones registered another strikeout for the final out.
Woodgrove got its lone run in the bottom of the frame on a two-out error, a wild pitch and a bloop single into left. The Wolverines then loaded the bases with two outs before Falcon freshman Kacie Kondrotis snagged a soft liner to first to squash the rally.
The Falcons then blew the game open with two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
With one out in the sixth, Jones doubled to left center and came around on a Karagiorgis single. Brantley later knocked in Karagiorgis with a single up the middle to give Briar Woods a 7-1 cushion.
In the seventh, senior Tracey Carney led off with a pinch-hit single, and sophomore Emilie Ball added another pinch-hit single one out later. Olson hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out, and Woodgrove wanted nothing to do with Jones, walking her on four straight pitches to load the bases.
Karagiorgis then stepped to the plate and laced a two-run single to left to plate both Emilie Ball and Olson with the game’s final runs.
With the "Falcon Family" ready to explode, Jones quickly retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh. Karagiorgis fielded a slap hit at short and threw to freshman Kacie Kondrotis at first for the initial out, and Fierszt corralled two fly balls in center to seal the victory, sending all wearing blue and orange into a true Falcon Frenzy.
The contest brought to a close the outstanding high school careers of five Falcon seniors – Kasey Ball, Carney, Fierszt, Karagiorgis and Olson. In their four seasons in blue and orange, the quintet helped Briar Woods to combined 76-21 overall and 42-14 Dulles District records, win three-straight Dulles District tournaments and two-straight Dulles District regular-season titles, claim two Region II runner-up trophies and win the 2011 AA state championship.
More coverage:
VivaLoudoun photo gallery from trophy presentation/postgame celebration
VivaLoudoun Editor Dan Sousa's Live! blog of finals
VivaLoudoun Editor Dan Sousa's Live! blog of Briar Woods semifinal win
VivaLoudoun game story from Briar Woods semifinal win
Paul Tenorio's game story from WashPost on title game
Jason Rufner's game story from LTM on title game
WashPost photos from Woodgrove's semifinal win
Roanoke Times game story on Woodgrove's win
Girls Soccer: Four Square! Broad Run Girls Add 4th Straight State title
The Broad Run High School girls soccer team put the finishing touches on a fourth straight state title with a 1-0 win over Blacksburg Saturday at Radford University, on the same field where the Spartans 1-0 in 2008 to start the incredible streak.
It was almost an all-Loudoun finale as first-year Woodgrove out-played Blacksburg but fell 1-0 in a physical semifinal match. In the AAA state semifinals at Westfield High School, surprising Heritage almost made it to the finals but fell 1-0 to Cox in the semifinals.
More coverage:
VivaLoudoun's Live Blog of Finals
VivaLoudoun's Live Blog of Broad Run's semifinal win
VivaLoudoun's Live Blog of Woodgrove's semifinal loss.
James Wagner's game story on title game from WashPost
Carl Lukat's game story on title game from LTM
Nelson County Times story on Broad Run semifinal win
Roanoke Times article on Woodgrove's semifinal loss
Virginian-Pilot article on Heritage's semifinal loss
Baseball: Broad Run Falls in State Semifinals
The Broad Run Spartans Baseball team had their outstanding season come to a close with a 6-3 defeat in the AA state semifinals at the hands of Tunstall High School. The last time the Spartans reached the state semi's was 1996.
The Spartans end their season with a record of 23-4. The 23 victories breaks the school record set by the 2008 team (previously 21). This year's team won the Dulles District Regular Season Championship and the Region II Championship.
The Spartans had numerous stand outs throughout the season but were ultimately led by their senior class of Shea Bargiel, Taylor Clarke, Brandon Craft, Patrick Dawson, Nick Richardson, and Zach Rawson. Each one of these seniors made significant contributions to the program over the last four years as listed below:
Shea Bargiel - 2-year Varsity team member
Sr- 2nd team All-District...finished regular season with 2 HR's, .438 BA, 30 RBI
Brandon Craft - 3-year Varsity team member
4-1-1 record senior year on the mound
Defeated Potomac Falls in Region Championship game
Patrick Dawson - 2-Year Varsity team member - hit over .350 as a senior starter in the OF
Nick Richardson - 3-Year Varsity team member
- hit .442 as a Junior (2nd team All-Region OF)
- Senior year - finished regular season over .350
Zach Rawson - 3-year Varsity team member
hit over .400 in two of his three years on Varsity
All-Dulles District OF (2nd team)- 2009, 2010
*Will play baseball at St. Peter's College (NJ)
Taylor Clarke - 3-year Varsity team member
2011-Dulles District Player of the Year
2011-All-District (1st team-DH) and (2nd team-Pitcher)
2011-1st Team Unanimous All-Region as a DH
2011- 2nd team - All-Met DH in The Washington Post
2011 - Finished the year with a 10-1 pitching record
2010 - All Region (2nd team-Pitcher) with a 9-1 record
Finished 3-year pitching career with a 23-4 record
*Signed scholarship to pitch at Towson University
More coverage:
Game story from GoDanRiver.com
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