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Bobcats take first round of state tournament in rain-out win
“They just took it from us,” a teary-eyed Suzanne Spencer declared as she and the rest of the Midlothian softball team walked away from the Battlefield playing grounds and back to the school bus marked “Chesterfield County”.
Mother Nature and the Virginia High School League rule book had just double-teamed the visiting Trojans in the first round of the Virginia state tournament, giving host-team Battlefield a 1-0 rain-out victory.
Who could blame the Midlothian players, coaches and fans for being upset?
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., the Trojans’ Cay Manuel had doubled into left field and reached third base on a wild pitch. Her team trailing 1-0 with no outs, Spencer then had the opportunity to bring in the game-tying run against one of the best strikeout pitchers in the state, Battlefield’s Brittany Black.
But lightning struck in the western horizon.
The umpires immediately cleared the playing field and public address announcer Chirs Lem asked everyone in attendance to seek cover in either their vehicles or the Battlefield High School gymnasium.
Even the concession stand promptly closed.
During the commotion, no one on the Battlefield side was asked to take out a tarp and cover the infield.
A few minutes later, the rain came. Although the downpour did not last long, it puddles and a muddied playing field.
Midlothian’s coaching staff later learned a little less than two hours into the delay that the officials were considering calling the game. A Virginia High School League representative gave them permission too.
According to VHSL rules, state softball tournament games cannot be suspended, or made up, on a later date once 4.5 innings of a game had been completed and a team had a lead.
“So why do we play seven? That’s my question,” stated Midlothian coach Denise Manuel. “Why do you play seven innings in a state tournament if you’re not going to play seven innings?”
In this case, Battlefield catcher Courtney Liddle had scored in the bottom of the fourth inning. She reached second base as lining a 1-2 riseball into left-centerfield for a double. When Shannon Clearly singled to center two batters later and the Midlothian centerfield fell down, Liddle hustled in for the go-ahead run.
“We wanted to play,” said Liddle, who has played travel ball in some of the most competitive leagues across the country during her tenure in high school. “We don’t like just getting handed the win, you know? But, on the other hand, it’s a rule in softball. It’s part of the game. And if you’re thinking bad weather’s coming, you’re thinking, ‘We’ve got to score early just in case.’ And that’s what we did; we got on top.”
Although the Trojans had a runner in scoring position in the top of the sixth with no outs, there was nothing they could do.
Midlothian coaches asked the Battlefield staff to try and do anything they could to make the field playable.
Dirt was brought in, rakes and squeegees came out. As much as they tried, mounds of mud lined the base paths while puddle formed along the leftfield line.
At 8:30 p.m., the game was declared over.
“We wanted to play but we were also being realistic about it,” said Liddle. “Our coaches were out here working their butts off on the field, and we have one of the best field crews and one of the best fields that there is, you know? It’s tough to make it work.”
Battlefield advanced to the semi-finals; Midlothian had to get back on the Chesterfield County school bus for the two-plus hour ride home, west of Richmond.
“And that’s what it feels like, it’s been taken away,” said the Midlothian coach. “Not by Battlefield, you know, but just the situation with the rules and the weather. And I think the game should be finished. If they won, they won. It’s their victory. It doesn’t feel like we lost, you know. We feel it should be played.”
The Bobcats head to Westfield High School in Chantilly on Friday for the semi-finals of the state tournament. Game time is 7 p.m. A win would send Battlefield back to Westfield on Saturday for the state finals. That game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
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