Loudoun Valley Comes Up a Little Short in Final

Loudoun Valley Coach Joe Spicer took a slow, methodical walk toward home plate in the bottom of the seventh inning of yesterday's Virginia AAA softball championship game at Westfield. His team trailed by a run and had managed one hit all afternoon. Spicer, in his 17th season at Loudoun Valley, was trying to give guidance to senior Hailey Tretick, hoping she could get a hit off Great Bridge senior hurler Kaitlynn Szczepanski.

"I told her to just try and punch it through, don't try to take it out" of the park, Spicer said. "Find a hole somewhere."

The conversation was to no avail -- she became Szczepanski's sixth strikeout victim -- but on this day, no Viking could figure out the Wildcats senior, who brilliantly mixed up speeds with her drop ball, rise ball and change-up in a 1-0 victory that required her to throw only 63 pitches over seven innings.

Loudoun Valley (24-5) was in the championship game for the first time as a Class AAA school -- the Vikings won state titles in AA in 2003 and '05 -- but was unable to duplicate Saturday's late-inning heroics, when it scored two runs in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie in the semifinals.

"She pitched a great game, she had our number," said James Madison-bound senior Caroline Williams, who pitched a fine game in her own right for the Vikings, striking out five and scattering five hits while walking one. "We were a little too aggressive, antsy. We were not waiting on what she gave us."

Only two runners reached base off Szczepanski. Junior Shelby Wassman reached on Szczepanski's error to lead off the bottom of the second, but she was erased on a double play later in the inning.

Amanda Horton got the Vikings' only hit with a two-out single to left in the sixth but was stranded.

Szczepanski drove in the game's only run in the top of the first. Her single drove in senior Jaclyn Paulk, who had tripled to the gap in left-center. That capped quite a weekend for the Georgia Southern-bound Szczepanski, who hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh in Saturday's semifinal.

With a one-run lead, her mix of pitches and some standout defensive plays were enough for Great Bridge (24-3).

"Sound defense -- they've been here [for me] all year," Szczepanski said. "I wouldn't want anybody else behind me. Even if it's a hit they keep it in front of them so no extra bases.

Great Bridge 1, Loudoun Valley 0 Whoops: Loudoun Valley senior Hailey Tretick got a shock when VSHL officials handed her the championship trophy instead of the runner-up trophy in the postgame ceremony. She looked stunned, then moments later was face-to-face with the VSHL official again, who walked back to Tretick with the correct trophy after realizing the mistake. Make It Four: Great Bridge, from Chesapeake, won its fourth state title. The Wildcats won three straight AAA titles in 1998-2000.