Fewer Whiffs, More Whammies

By Preston Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008

The first few weeks of the season, T.C. Williams batters let too many hittable pitches sail past and swung at too many outside the strike zone.

"We had to start from scratch and say, 'Listen, what we're doing is not working,' " said third-year coach Scott Grossi, who began to emphasize making contact with off-speed pitches and hitting to the opposite field.

It worked. The Titans, who entered the week 11-7 overall and 8-4 in the Virginia AAA Patriot District, have scored 10 or more runs in six of their past seven games. Last week, they knocked off West Springfield (with two runs in the seventh) and South County, two teams they trail in the district standings.

The first four batters in T.C.'s order -- center fielder Pike Brynildsen, second baseman Mike Baber, shortstop Tim Mannel and first baseman Sam Alexander -- are each hitting .380 or higher. All are seniors.

T.C. has not reached the Northern Region tournament since 1998, Grossi said.

Speed Helps Rams' Defense Stay on Track

Ali Heck is one of seven girls' soccer players at Robinson who run track or cross-country in the offseason, giving the top-ranked Rams "a facet we haven't had in a long time, which is overall team speed," said Coach Jim Rike.

Heck, a sophomore defender who has never allowed a goal to her mark, is part of a speedy defense for Robinson, which claimed its sixth shutout in seven games in Tuesday's 3-0 victory over Oakton.

The victory makes Robinson's 5:30 p.m. home meeting tonight against Westfield (7-1-3, 3-0-2) a battle for the Virginia AAA Concorde District regular season title and top seed in the upcoming tournament, where they'll rely heavily on Heck and the speedy defense.

"Ali's got such incredible speed in the back that, many times, she can recover, leave her player and run down someone who might have beat [another defender] and take the ball away and basically stop a counter-attack," said Rike, who watched Heck make up a 10-yard gap in chasing down one of Yorktown's top scoring threats in Friday's 5-1 victory over the Patriots.

Along with sophomore right wing Jensen Smith, sophomore forward Audrey Barry and junior left wing LeighAnne Baxter, Heck won Virginia AAA Concorde District titles in the indoor 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relays.

Now, she's part of a defense that has eight shutouts and has allowed just five goals this season (0.41 goals per game), making Robinson's defense the best among The Post's top 10 teams.

But Heck's speed gives the Rams (11-1, 5-0) another dimension.

Heck, who has two assists, "will attack forward when she wins the ball," Rike said, "which is scary because, many times, teams have practiced handling midfielders overlapping into the attack, but when you look back and see, 'Oh my gosh, here comes a defender too,' how do you mark that person?"

Deja Vu at Patriot District Title Game

Tonight's Patriot District girls' lacrosse championship between Annandale and West Springfield (5:30 at Lee High School) will be a rematch of last year's title game.

In Monday's semifinals, six Annandale (14-2) players found the net, and the Atoms got four goals and an assist from junior Meredith Rutherford in a 12-10 win over Lake Braddock. Junior Rachel Tomlinson scored five goals on six shots as West Springfield (9-4) beat South County, 15-11, in the other semifinal.

Although West Springfield won the title in '07, Annandale, whose only losses came against O'Connell from the strong Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, is the favorite this year. The Atoms beat West Springfield, 10-8, during the season and have outscored their past six opponents 98-30.

"We're not thinking about last year," said Annandale Coach Cindy Hook. "It's a big game because we're working hard and getting better and better. This one's for the district championship and the patches. It inspires everyone to play above and beyond."

For West Springfield to win back-to-back titles, it will need to shut down Rutherford in the midfield and junior Linda Rayasse (who had three goals against Lake Braddock) on attack.

But the Spartans have some firepower, too: Tomlinson and junior Bonnie Lalich (who had four goals and two assists against South County) lead a squad that is young but energized. Seven sophomores (including high-scoring Chelsea Capets) and four freshmen are on varsity.

"We have to play smarter and limit the turnovers," said Spartans Coach Brian Puhlick. "We can't beat ourselves."

Special correspondents B.J. Koubaroulis and Dave Yanovitz contributed to this report.