Without surrendering a run, National Cathedral sailed smoothly through the first 20 innings of the District of Columbia State Athletic Association playoffs. Then in the 21st and final frame, Sidwell Friends loaded the bases and turbulence set in.
After Robinson hit a batter to give away a run, Sidwell Friends' tying run was 60 feet from home. The Eagles bent as far as they could but did not break. Shortstop Jamie Wang gratefully caught the final out as National Cathedral held on for a 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast.
“When I hit that girl to make it 4-3, that was really hard for me,” Robinson said. “But I just kept believing in myself and throwing the pitches that I know and trust.”
Robinson smacked an RBI single as part of a three-run fifth inning that gave National Cathedral a 4-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, Sidwell Friends senior pitcher Kaylee Simon started the Quakers' rally with a single up the middle. After junior Abby Meyers bunted for a single to load the bases, things really got interesting.
Midway through the season, Sidwell Friends began practicing suicide squeeze plays, and that preparation proved invaluable during the season's final inning. With the bases loaded, junior Lia Assimakopoulos and sophomore Lema Gang laid down successful bunts to score runners from third and cut the Eagles' lead to 4-2.
“It’s a risky situation because you have to get the bunt down, but under a lot of pressure we executed,” Sidwell Friends Coach Bethany Sindy said. “But sometimes you come a couple outs short.”
As the No. 4 seed, Sidwell Friends (11-8) knocked out St. John’s and top seed Visitation to reach the final. After losing in the Independent School League semifinals, National Cathedral (11-5) bounced back to capture its second straight DCSAA title.
“We always say we have three seasons — regular season, ISL, and DCSAA,” Robinson said. “We had some tough times at first, but we got hot at the end and that’s all that matters.”
Virginia Conference Tournaments
Centreville won Conference 5 with a 9-5 victory over Westfield. Langley upset South Lakes and McLean before falling to Madison in the Conference 6 final, 6-0. West Potomac upset Lake Braddock before shutting out West Springfield 5-0 in the Conference 7 final.
Osbourn Park avenged its only loss to Battlefield with a 3-2 win over the Bobcats in the Conference 8 final. Marshall crushed Edison 15-1 to win Conference 13. In Conference 14, Stone Bridge topped Tuscarora 7-5.
The Conference 22 tournament begins on Monday as top seed Freedom-South Riding hosts Liberty and Champe hosts Fauquier. Woodgrove hosts James Wood on Monday in the Conference 21a final. Heritage hosts Rock Ridge in Tuesday night's Conference 21b final. Riverside will face Culpeper County on Thursday night in a Conference 28 semifinal.
Northeast wins Maryland 3A East region Final
Jenna Matulonis pitched five innings of one-run softball and Veronica Hampton and Maria Weddle drove in two RBI each to lead Northeast past Glenelg, 13-1, in the Md. 3A East region final Saturday.
Northeast trailed, 1-0, after the first inning Friday but rallied to take a 5-1 lead before thunderstorms caused the game to be postponed until Saturday in the top of the fourth. Nine Northeast players had one or more RBI as the Eagles claimed their second consecutive 3A East region title.
Glenelg pitcher Amy Stetson pitched up until the delay, while singling twice and driving in the Gladiators’ only run of the game. Senior catcher Katie Dustin also notched a pair of singles.
Around the Maryland state Tournament
Northwest took down Blair, 14-11, in the 4A West region final. Arundel blanked Leonardtown, 3-0, to win the 4A East region title. Sherwood defeated Dulaney, 2-1, in the 4A North region final. Eleanor Roosevelt won the 4A South region title, 10-0, over High Point.
Huntingtown defeated Blake, 10-0, to win the 3A South region title. Southern defeated La Plata, 1-0, in the 2A South region final. McDonough fell to Bohemia Manor, 14-0, in the 1A North region final.
Softball Player of the Week: P Tori Fletcher, Huntingtown, So.
Fletcher gave up just one hit while striking out eight batters and holding Blake scoreless as the Hurricanes locked up the 3A South region final.
The Big Number: 10
Bases stolen by Edmund Burke during a 5-1 win over Oakcrest in Tuesday's Potomac Valley Athletic Conference final. Sophomore Vera Walsh-Alker struck out eight batters as the Bengals repeated as PVAC tournament champions.
The Post Top 10
O'Connell capped a dominant season with an 8-0 win over Norfolk Christian in Saturday's Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association final. The Knights allowed six runs this spring to complete their first undefeated season since 1998 … Madison will host Westfield on Tuesday in the first round of the Virginia 6A North playoffs … Osbourn Park will host South County on Tuesday in the 6A North playoffs … Senior Lexi Acton was 4-4 at the plate as Woodgrove shut out Loudoun Valley 4-0 on Tuesday.
1. O'Connell (27-0) LR: 1
2. Madison (22-1) LR: 2
3. Osbourn Park (21-1) LR: 3
4. Woodgrove (17-0) LR: 4
5. Sherwood (18-1) LR: 6
6. Northwest (17-2) LR: 8
7. Leonardtown (20-2) LR: 5
8. Huntingtown (17-3) LR: NR
9. West Potomac (16-5) LR: NR
10. Quince Orchard (16-3) LR: 10
On the bubble: Battlefield (14-6), Flint Hill (16-1)
Dropped out: No. 7. Flint Hill, No. 9 Lake Braddock (17-4)
Records through Sunday.
