The Battlefield baseball and softball teams this season could not have been much more different, yet both squads ended up with the same number of accolades in the post-season.

On the one hand, the defending state runner-up softball Bobcats (23-3) did just about everything right all year, losing to two only teams. Loudoun Valley handed Battlefield its lone loss of the regular season and topped the Bobcats again in the Northwest Regional final.

That second loss on May 30 ended up being killer in the end as it forced the girls from Haymarket to travel to Chesapeake in the first round of states where Wildcat pitcher Kaitlyn Szczepanski tossed a no-hitter en route to a 1-0 victory, eliminating Battlefield from the playoffs. Great Bridge went on to beat Loudoun Valley 1-0 in the state championship.

On the other hand, there was the Bobcat boys, fresh off of losing three starting pitchers to graduation from the 2008 season that could all throw 90 miles per hour.

Earlier observers of the 2009 Battlefield baseball team could have made a case that earning a home game in the playoffs with a No. 4 seed would be the best such a fresh-faced team could do as the Bobcats opened the season 4-9, even losing all four games during spring break.

And that's what happened: Battlefield (15-12) earned a fourth seed and hosted No. 5 Stonewall Jackson in the first round of districts.

A four-seed being a five-seed isn't exactly unprecendented. But then topping the No. 1 team, Osbourn Park? And winning the district championship? And cruising in the first two rounds of regions on their way to clinching a first-ever state berth?

That came straight out of left field.

"We had some talented young kids," said baseball manager Matt Caudle, adding, "To their credit, the older kids didn't let their egos get in the way."

One of the older seniors that played in a back-up role during the second half was Chase Garris. Showing the maturity of a seasoned veteran, the outfielder addressed the ball club after spring break and challenged the guys to give it their best shot and quit making excuses for losing.

"He wrote me a letter and expressed what he thought and I asked him to share some thoughts," said Caudle.

Caudle and pitching coach Dave Carroll opted to pull some other upperclassmen from the starting line up in the second half of the season, giving freshmen and sophomores like Zach Harris, Nathanial Abel and Turner Meeks a chance to shine.

"And lo and behold, we got hot at the end of the year and rode a bunch of young kids all the way to the state playoffs," said Caudle.

In fact, the starting line-up in the first round of states against Cox featured only two seniors: catcher Joey El-bisi and first baseman Max Dove.

Freshmen Derek Evans, Chris Moyland and Harris dotted shortstop, second and third base. Two sophomores pitched and two more, Chris Wendell and Meeks, played in the outfield.

One junior hit in the designated hitter spot and another started in center-field.

Starting right-hander John Williams did what he could in the first inning, striking out four batters. If that seems odd, it's because one of the strikeouts went as a passed ball and led to three unearned runs scoring as part of a four-run first for the Falcons.

From there, the two teams fought closely as Cox outscored Battlefield 2-1 from innings 2-7, ultimately resulting in a 6-1 Falcons victory.

To chalk up that game as an older team simply outplaying a younger one would miss the point of how Battlefield even made it to states in the first place.

The Bobcats closed the season on an 11-3 winning streak, winning five out of seven playoff games and six out of seven at the end of the regular season.

"Basically, after spring break, we went young and the young kids [came] through," said Caudle.

Oddly enough, Battlefield limited its errors in the second half, beating arch rival Stonewall twice after the Raiders clobbered the home-team Bobcats in the first half.

"When we came back and beat Stonewall the second time, that gave the kids a lot of confidence," Caudle said.

Playing fundamentally sound allowed Battlefield to come back against Osbourn Park in districts after losing by a combined 17-4 to the regular season champion Yellow Jackets during their first two bouts.

Battlefield's Cedar Run District tournament win was the second straight for the program. Given that seven out of nine starters, including pitcher John-Austin Shepard, who set the school record for most saves in a season with nine, are returning, Caudle and the Battlefield staff have reason to be optimistic about next year.

"I think the state of Battlefield baseball is very, very strong. We were the youngest team in the state tournament by far and we return pretty much our whole starting line up," said Caudle. "So we should make a good two to three year run at this thing."