Barring death or something really close to it, the Brentsville District softball team could not have started off the season much worse.

Months before the season even began, the girls learned Devon Hileman, one of the Tigers two ace pitchers, would miss most or all of the season due to a shoulder injury.

Then, last Wednesday on opening day, Brentsville's other ace Grace Nordon caught a line-drive off the right side of her face against district rival John Handley, leaving her bloodied on the field and out of commission for an untold number of weeks.

"It came so fast. And Grace has great reaction time, so for her to not get her glove up; nobody would," said manager Amy Beard.

The two juniors have been the core of the Tigers' pitching since they were freshmen in the 2007 season. They've captured back-to-back district titles and brought the team within two runs from clinching a state berth last year.

Fortunately for Beard and the Tiger team, they have some fresh-faced talent ready to take charge on the rubber.

Junior Tori Thompson proved to be ready for the task Monday night as she battled through seven innings Monday night, pitching a complete game as part of a 7-3 Brentsville victory over host-team Potomac Falls (0-1) in Sterling.

In her first appearance as a starter for Brentsville (1-1), the transfer from Herndon struck out seven batters, including the last one of the game with the bases loaded and two away.

She battled against more than just the Panthers' line up as Mother Nature provided to be a formidable foe too. Rain showered all throughout the game and left Thompson with some control issues by the final inning.

With one abroad, she walked a second batter and hit a third to load the bases with two outs before finally regaining momentum and whiffing her opponent in three pitches.

"We got the bases loaded, but I think we came to the point where we didn't have enough outs. We ran into that last out and that's just the way it went," said Potomac Falls coach Joe Pettit.

Veterans Kaitlyn Barbour, Becki Tucker and Abby Carpenter provided much of the offense aong with newcomers Thompson and freshman Rachel Lee. Barbour earned RBIs in the second and fourth innings, driving in the shortstop Tucker each time. Thompson and Carpenter also scored as part of a 4-run second inning that established the Tigers' lead when Lee smacked an RBI single on the first pitch she saw from Panther pitcher Heather Kiefer.

She followed up in the seventh by cranking a single to left field, driving in courtesy runner Gigi Kolb from second base.

"I think that we were like we were trying to, you know, just swing at whatever was down the middle and... once you saw her one time, you could adjust and hit better," said Lee, the team's new second baseman.

For instance, she noticed Kiefer tended to throw change ups with two strikes in the count, so she could anticipate her deliveries.

Lee joined fellow freshmen Megan Avakian (1B) and Kayla Dost (CF) in the starting lineup Monday. According to Beard and senior catcher Barbour, the youngest Tigers have already found their niche on the field.

"I don't really see them as freshmen. I see them as if they are my age because they are that good," said Barbour.

"They're just taking them under their wings," added Beard about her veterans. "I heard Kaitlyn say, 'They don't really think of them as freshman,' and I can see that. They just take them and they're part of the team."

If anything, Barbour could be considered as a first-among-equals as she is not only the chief power threat in the Tigers' line up, but the on-the-field player-coach as well.

"Yeah, she told me, [my] curve ball wasn't exactly working and the rise ball was working really well," said Thompson of Barbour. "She would figure out which batter could hit what and then what batter was not doing so well at what and we would throw what they weren't doing so well at."

It's a role Barbour has come to embrace as the James Madison University-bound catcher calls all her own pitches like she has done in years past.

After finishing the 2008 campaign perfect inside the Northwestern District, Brentsville has a new challenge ahead this year as the team must learn to operate with a new pitcher and a host of rookies in the field for at least the foreseeable future.

If the first two games of the season have been any indication of where the Tigers are headed though, then they might have stumbled but certainly have found their footing.

"Honestly, I think it's like the best thing that could have happened to us," Barbour said of the loss to Handley. "Okay, well, we lost this game. Let's think of it as, 'We lost this game. Let's get our heads straight, let's get motivated.'"

Added Beard, "You've got the bad one out of the way, okay? We came out here and we played in a tough situation. We kept our heads up. We hit the ball well, which is what we have to do because Wednesday of last week, we didn't hit the ball."