Fluvanna County took early control and looked poised to cruise to cruise in its Region 4A North quartefinal with Sherando. And then the Warriors finally found a way to scrap together a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to make it interesting. And then the weather decided to make it interesting.
“I just let them got back and do their thing during the delay, let them get goofy on the back of the bus,” said Fluvanna coach Aimee McCall. “I think it helped because we came off the bus with the right attitude.”
When the Flucos and Warriors took the field after a 45 minute delay though, Fluvanna put an exclamation point on the game. Thanks to a 4-run rally in the bottom of the sixth and then a quick top half of the seventh, the Flucos did cruise in the end to the tune of a 10-2 win to put them a win away from a Group 4A tournament berth.
“The girls came in relaxed and did what they needed to do,” McCall said. “I was thrilled with the extra base hits and getting those with runners on base. They came through at the important times.”
The Flucos had quite the day at the plate as six of their 10 runs came off of extra base hits. However, in the first inning it was a little small ball that put them on the board as Tiffani Shaheen led off with a single and was brought home after a passed ball and a sacrifice fly from Kaitlin Presley.
“If Tiffani gets on she just kinds of leads us, we all wind up on the attack,” said Fluvanna senior Alexis Scott.
In the second inning the Flucos took control of the game. With Annaliese Kennedy dealing from the circle early and mowing down batters, the Flucos went to work in the bottom of the second starting with a solo blast from Sophia Kershner to make it 3-0. Then after a walk and a passed ball, Fluvanna got RBI single on a bunt from Shaheen. A single from Kiersten Allen followed by another passed ball allowed Shaheen to score and make it 4-0.
In the fourth inning Scott drove in Allen on an RBI double. Scott later scored on a bunt from Victoria Belew, who’s mark on the game would be felt in the sixth.
“We faced a bunch of different speeds pitching (during Jefferson District play) and in (the Conference 23 tournament) and we just didn’t know what was coming here,” Scott said. “So we stayed aggressive, something we’ve done all year and went after the first pitch if it was a strike.”
While Kennedy breezed through the first five innings, the sixth saw the Warriors finally plate a runner, two actually. Back-to-back singles with one out and an error in the next at-bat cut Fluvanna’s lead to 6-2. But Kennedy escaped without further damage. But just as soon as Fluvanna got out of the jam, lightning delayed the finish.
Fluvanna took the bottom of the sixth after the delay and delivered the final nail in the coffin to Sherando. The 4-run rally started with another RBI double from Scott. Then Belew pelted a 3-run homer — her first of the year — to make it 10-2.
“That was really exciting, it was her first home run and got us all pumped up,” Scott said.
That was more than enough for Kennedy as she retired the side in the seventh in order and struck out the final two batters she faced to preserve the win.
“I think the communication with me, my catcher and my pitcher coach is better than ever right now,” Kennedy said. “It helps so much. If something’s not working we can fix it. We didn’t know a lot about this team, what they could hit, what they couldn’t coming in. The communication, that was mainly why we succeded.”
For Fluvanna, Scott was 2 for 3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Belew was 1 for 3 with 4 RBI. Allen and Shaheen were both 2 for 4. Shaheen had three runs scored.
Kennedy’s line was pretty impressive from the circle where she finished with the complete game win on 12 strikeouts to just four hits and no walks. As it turns out, it was an awfully busy day for the Flucos’ junior ace.
Kennedy signs with Appalachian State
Just a few hours before she threw the first pitch in the Region 4A quarterfinal with Sherando, Kennedy found herself finalizing a rare decision. While still technically a junior, by taking three courses this summer, the Flucos big arm is eligible to graduate. And just a few days ago Appalachian State made the offer for Kennedy to join up and play Division 1 softball in college. It took some quick thought, but after some diliberation Kennedy made the choice to forgo her senior year, take the summer courses and enroll a year early with the Mountaineers this fall.
“It’s such a good opportunity,” Kennedy said. “I did not want to pass this up. I’m able to graduate early so I will. This just came up so it was really a last minute decision. I’m definitely anxious, but I’m also really excited.”
