In the Midst of History

Broad Run Softball Players Focus on Next Game, Not Their Legacy

A few minutes after the final bell sounded at Broad Run High last Friday, the players from the school's nationally ranked softball team emerged from the building on a brilliant afternoon, walking purposefully toward the softball field.

Squinting under the cloudless sky, they carried equipment bags slung over their shoulders, decked in mesh shorts and T-shirts. Once inside their dugout, they quickly slipped on cleats, hung bags on the chain-link fence and walked out to the diamond, whirling their arms in circles, dipping down and grabbing their shins. Like most days, the Broad Run coaching staff was taking its time inside the Ashburn school.

"Where is Kaitlyn?" two-time All-Met pitcher Caitlyn Delahaba asked, referring to the Spartans' starting right fielder, Kaitlyn Tiplady.

"Camping," another player replied.

"All right," Delahaba said, scanning the diamond. "I guess we're not missing anybody. Let's start."

It was just another day for Broad Run, which is in the midst of a three-year stretch in which it has become one of the most dominant high school softball teams ever in the Washington area. While some of their classmates filtered into their cars in the adjacent parking lot, discussing plans for the holiday weekend ahead, the players took off in a jog around the softball facility before stopping in the outfield to stretch. In succinct rhythm, they tugged at their arms, legs and back, a routine they have followed so closely it has become second nature.

The previous night, the top-ranked Spartans won their third straight Virginia AA Dulles District tournament title, stretching their winning streak to 52 games. Veteran coach Ed Steele and assistant Dave Morris, who joined the team more than 15 minutes after practice started, gave the players the weekend off because they won't have a game until today, when they host Fluvanna at 7 p.m. in a Region II semifinal game.

But like the players normally do when given a day off, they still congregated on their own over the weekend to condition, work on fielding and smack hundreds of balls in a batting cage. Whether in season or out, Broad Run's players spend long days and nights dedicated to getting better, a shared work ethic that has built this team into a national name.

Over the past 15 years, as the population boomed in Loudoun County, it has developed into the most talent-rich area for softball in the region. Since 1997, 10 Loudoun teams have played for state championships; during the past eight years, three schools in the county have won a combined five state titles.

Perhaps no team, though, has been as dominant as Broad Run, which has compiled a 78-1 record since the start of the 2006 season. After going 29-0 last season on their way to winning the state title, the Spartans have shut out 22 of 23 opponents this year, turning historically balanced rivalries against Park View, Loudoun County and Stone Bridge into one-sided contests.

"This is something that hopefully all these kids understand how special it is," said Huntingtown Coach Mike Johnson, who has coached for 21 years in Maryland and won seven state titles. "They're not only making history, they're setting standards that are going to be out there for a long time for a lot of kids to look up to and strive for. They have to be one of the top three or four teams I've ever seen."

The last team before Broad Run to complete an undefeated season in The Post's coverage area was Thomas Stone, which finished 22-0 in 2000. This year, Broad Run is aiming to become only the second Virginia team since the Virginia High School League began using a softball tournament format in 1978 to compile consecutive undefeated seasons; Madison, in 1988 and '89, is the only team to finish unbeaten two seasons in a row.