It took only a few pitches for Evan Frederickson to know. It was the same feeling the Oakton senior had experienced on three previous occasions.
Seven innings and 18 strikeouts later, Frederickson had his fourth career no-hitter, and No. 5 Oakton had a 5-0 victory over Herndon in the AAA Concorde District championship game yesterday at Madison.
"When I got here, I took one look at the [rain-soaked] field and said, 'As long as my pitcher strikes out 18, that means we only need to catch three balls,' " Oakton Coach Scott Rowland said. "I said that, I swear."
Frederickson, a 6-foot-5 left-hander, mixed a potent fastball with a deceptive array of curveballs to help the Cougars capture their first district title since 2003. It was also the second postseason no-hitter for the Virginia Tech recruit, who accomplished the feat against Langley in a region playoff game two years ago.
"After the way I started, I just wanted to keep it rolling," said Frederickson (4-1).
In the Liberty District championship game, also at Madison, W.T. Woodson held on to beat Langley, 6-5, giving the Cavaliers their first district title since 1990. Jacob Morley singled home Jim Gibbons with the go-ahead run in the fifth inning, and reliever Brian Kramer made sure the lead stood by striking out a Langley batter with two outs and a man on third base in the seventh inning.
"It was a long time coming for these guys, especially after coming so close last year," W.T. Woodson Coach Chris Warren said. "I'm so happy for them."
Tomorrow's first round of the Northern Region tournament is Marshall (6-15) at Oakton (17-5); McLean (13-6) at Herndon (14-6); Chantilly (7-10) at W.T. Woodson (17-5); and Westfield (16-5) at Langley (18-4).
In the Oakton game, Frederickson struck out eight of the Hornets' first nine batters and faced only two batters more than the minimum (he walked one batter and hit another). He finished the game just as impressively, striking out the side in the seventh.
"It was kind of boring out there," Oakton outfielder Bryan Kidwell joked when asked about Frederickson's gem. "I could sense it early."
Kidwell led off the first inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Preston Madden to put Oakton ahead 1-0. Senior center fielder Matt Butler went 4 for 4 with an RBI and a run; and Frederickson went 2 for 3 at the plate.
