|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Barbour, Carpenter bring hurt to Warren County in 18-1 Tiger victory
Talk about a hit parade!
Brentsville District catcher Kaitlyn Barbour hit two home runs and first baseman Abby Carpenter socked another last Friday as part of an 18-1 Tiger win over Warren County in the Northwestern District tournament opener.
From the moment they stepped on the field, the Tigers meant business. Brentsville led off the bottom of the first inning on their home field in Nokesville with six straight hits, including doubles by Barbour and pitcher Devon Hileman. Carpenter cleaned up in the six-hole with a three-run jack over the left-centerfield fence.
“We really needed a big game like this,” opined Brentsville coach Amy Beard, noting her team won by only a 2-0 margin the night before at Skyline. “So, coming out here and hitting, really hitting the ball: It did us good.”
Though Barbour has made a career out of being one of the Tigers’ biggest bats, the young Carpenter has also provided a pop at the plate in her rookie season.
“She’s just been pounding the ball all season long,” Beard said. “So when she got that one up like that, I knew it was going.”
While the Brentsville bats sounded early and often, Hileman produced another solid outing for the Tigers from the rubber. The sophomore struck out four Wildcats while giving up only four hits and one walk before the game was called after the fifth inning.
“We all came together and hit well,” understated Barbour.
Barbour said she learned from the last time top-seeded Brentsville (17-1 overall, 14-0 district) faced eighth-seeded Warren County (0-19, 0-14) during the regular season that high and inside pitches tended to jam Wildcat hitters.
“And Devon did a good job of keeping it in on them,” noted the catcher. “And then when she needed to go (outside): perfect.”
Warren County scored its run after trailing 12-0 in the top of the fourth when sophomore Trish Lovett brought in Monica Lowry from third base, following a throwing error at third base.
With an undefeated regular season district record, Brentsville secured home-field advantage throughout the district playoffs and is guaranteed to host the first round of regions. In fact, the Group AA Tigers’ only loss of the season came from cross-county Group AAA rival Battlefield.
Yet Beard and her staff are still trying to keep the girls as focused as possible for what could be a potentially tough slog to the state tournament.
“We just told the girls, you know, there aren’t going to be any easy games,” said the head coach as she recalled her team’s post-game meeting. “And, we’ve got to keep our goals in mind and what we’ve wanted to accomplish all year long.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.