Softball: Woodgrove Falls One Game Shy of Retaining AA State Title

By Jason S Rufner
Special to Viva Loudoun
Radford (June 10, 2013) - Making an appearance in the Group AA state championship softball game for the third consecutive season, the defending champion Woodgrove Wolverines suffered a 9-3 loss to Cave Spring in Radford on Sunday.

"We might have been trying to do a little bit too much, trying to overpower the ball a little bit," Woodgrove coach Joe Spicer said as his players showed somber expressions in the game's aftermath.

The Wolverines (26-3) were not without offensive opportunities against the Knights (24-4).


The girls from Purcellville collected six hits and worked seven walks off Cave Spring pitcher Taylor Asimakopoulos. But the Wolverines were unable to string hits together, stranding 11 including a bases-loaded chance in the sixth.

"We missed some opportunities early ... and [Cave Spring] hit the ball with runners in scoring position," Spicer said.

Spicer used four pitchers -- starter Jazmyn Rohrer and relievers Corinne Vennitti, Taylor Kilgour and Lindsay Harris -- in an effort to solve Cave Spring's potent attack.

None found sustained success, as the Knights put three runs in the third and four in the sixth in an 11-hit barrage.

It is Cave Spring's first state softball crown since the Roanoke school began playing the sport almost 30 years ago.

"Getting to a state final isn't our right. It's something you have to earn," said Spicer, who owns three Virginia High School League softball titles to go with four runner-up finishes. "There's an awful lot of teams that don't get a chance to be here."

Hallie Daughtry and Adriana Erickson delivered RBI singles for the Wolverines. Delanie Daughtry brought in a run with a fielder's choice.

Seven Wolverines see their high school careers finish: Mackenzie Moler, Ashley Cole, Alayna Furr, Paige Schaffer, Delanie Daughtry, Meghan Roush and Alexa Plichta.

"No team has ever gotten this far in the first three years of their existence," Spicer pointed out. "These seniors did all that. They've set a very high standard for us ... but we have a really nice core below them. We'd like to come back next year."