The two-time defending state champion Spartans were no strangers to the Tunstall Trojans, having played them the past two seasons en route to their titles. Tunstall's Head Coach Roger Cook was going to retire last spring, but after some convincing from his star pitcher Brittany Arn and the rest of his team, Cook decided he would give it one more year to try to get a ring.
Unfortunately for Cook and his team, Ed Steele's program just wouldn't let it happen. Sunday's game was much like the 2007 extra inning contest the two teams played, which ended in a 1-0 Broad Run win. However, there was one big difference: Broad Run would have to come from behind if they were going to defend their title.
The Trojans got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when left fielder Heather Francisco singled in teammate Taylor Dix from second. Francisco's RBI hit gave the Trojans their first ever lead over the Spartans, and they held onto that lead for two innings.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Broad Run had a runner at third with nobody out, and attempted to pull off a safety squeeze. However, Arn fielded the bunt up the third baseline, and tossed the ball to catcher Megan Dillion for the out. That kept the game at 1-0 in Tunstall's favor.
In the bottom of the fifth, Broad Run finally cracked the scoreboard when first baseman Jenn Soroka hit a two-strike pitch out to left field with the bases loaded and nobody out. The sacrifice fly allowed Megan Waterman to tag and score from third base, and the game was tied at 1-1.
On the throw home, Haley Johnson and Maggie Betz both moved up to second and third with still just one out in the inning. However, Arn hunkered down and got out of the jam, and the score remained tied.
At this point in the game, the pitching of Judy Betz and Brittany Arn took center stage. Both were effective at keeping hitters off balance. While both teams threatened on the base paths, no runs were allowed as the game moved into extra innings.
In the top of the ninth inning, freshman Taylor Dix singled for Tunstall with nobody out, and then stole second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position for Francisco. Just like in the third inning, Francisco once again came up with a big hit, this time to right centerfield. Her double appeared to be enough to get Dix home to take the lead, but Blessing used her speed and arm strength, and threw a rope to catcher Haley Johnson to get the out at home.
Judy Betz then went to work on the bottom of the Trojan order, and retired Morgan Jones and Jess Chandler to keep Francisco from scoring, and the game tied at 1-1.
In the tenth, both Betz and Arn allowed base runners, but neither lineup could muster a big hit to drive in a run, and the game moved to the 11th still knotted at 1-1.
In the top of the 11th, Betz went right after the meat of Tunstall's lineup, and held the Trojans in check to give her team a chance to win the game in the bottom half of the inning.
Megan Waterman led off the inning with a first pitch ground ball back to Arn for the first out, and then Haley Johnson grounded out to third baseman Leslie Hudson. With two outs, it appeared that the game was headed for a 12th inning, but Maggie Betz had other ideas.
She singled with two outs on a hard hit ground ball up the middle, past the outstretched arms of second baseman Jenna Rudder. That put a runner on first base for Soroka, who had already singled and accounted for the only Spartan run of the day with a sac fly in the fifth.
Soroka looked at a ball on the first pitch from Arn, and then dug into the batter's box with her team cheering her on. The 1-0 pitch from Arn was a fastball, and Soroka got the good part of the bat on it, lifting it toward the left centerfield gap.
Trojan centerfielder Alyssa Dougherty thought the ball was hit softer than it was, and took two steps in after seeing it off the bat. The ball landed in the gap, and Francisco came over to help, but the ball fell out of her glove, and Steele decided to waive Betz home as she rounded third.
The throw sailed wide to the left, and as Betz touched home plate, she was mobbed by her teammates. Soroka was credited with the game winning RBI double, one that put Broad Run into the history books with at 2-1 win–and three consecutive Group AA State Softball Championships.
After the game, Soroka said she couldn't have dreamed for a better way to end the season.
"I'm feeling so good, just so excited," Soroka said. "With Arn pitching well, I knew that I had to pick up my bat speed and see the ball out front, and hit the ball hard. I was sure hoping after I hit it, the game was going to be over in a good way for us."
"When the ball was in the air, I saw both of the outfielders looking at one another, and I knew they weren't going to catch it," Steele said. "With two outs, I knew we had to try to score, even if they threw us out."
For head coach Ed Steele, Sunday's win gave him four State Championships as the softball head coach at Broad Run. After the celebration calmed some, Steele said that this year's title was a special one because of how it played out.
"The first one proved that you're not going to cave, and the next one we just dominated everyone. With this one, I don't think anyone gave us a chance to get here," Steele said. "Early on we battled injuries and during that time, it didn't seem likely we could do it. But the healthy seniors stepped up, and the younger kids started to step it up, and we saw it coming together and we said wow, this could be a really special year. And that is how it turned out."
The veteran coach also said that he was especially proud of his seniors, who had been the core of his past three championship teams.
"This core of seniors has been starting since their freshman seasons, and I'm just really proud of them, they really deserve it," Steele said. "I'm sure winning three straight State Championships in Group AA state softball has never been done before."
Senior pitcher Judy Betz had waited over the past two seasons for her chance to lead Broad Run to a state title, and on Sunday, she capitalized on her opportunity. Betz allowed just one run on five hits, and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. She threw 175 pitches to get the win.
In two days of pitching in Radford in the semi's and the finals, Betz threw over 300 pitches and struck out 26 hitters. That kind of championship performance is what etches a legacy in stone, and after Sunday's win, Broad Run softball fans will mention Betz with the other Spartan pitching legends over the past decade.
After the game, Betz said she knew the game was going to be tight, but she never was worried about her team's chances to win the game, no matter how long it took.
"After they got the first run, I wasn't that nervous," Betz said. "I could tell something was going to happen for us because they had less and less runners on as the game went on, and we kept putting more and more on."
The loss on Sunday was especially heartbreaking for Tunstall. The Trojans have a championship caliber program, and if it weren’t for some great Spartan teams, they could very well be wearing state title rings for the past two years. The 2-1 defeat in 11 innings was the first loss of the season for the Trojans, and they finish 0-for-3 in the state playoffs against Broad Run over the past three seasons.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
Jenn Soroka - Broad Run first baseman
Soroka was the clutch hitter for the Spartans all day long. She would have most likely given Broad Run the lead earlier in the game when she singled immediately after Tunstall tagged out Megan Waterman running to third with just one out. That play took the Spartans out of scoring position, and kept Soroka from providing the heroics earlier in the game. However, it didn't matter, her double in the 11th was well hit, and while other hitters in the lineup struggled to figure out Arn, Soroka was on fire at the plate. She single-handedly put Broad Run into the history books with her performance on Sunday.
Heather Francisco - Tunstall Left Fielder
Every time Tunstall needed a big hit, they turned to Francisco, and every time she delivered. Her single with two strikes scored the game's only run for the Trojans in the third inning. She later doubled, and it appeared she would give Tunstall the lead with another RBI, but teammate Taylor Dix was tossed out at home on a great play defensively by Broad Run. All together, Francisco played like a champion on Sunday.
COACH HAYES' ANALYSIS:
I've seen Ed Steele coach Broad Run softball for over a decade. My sister played for him back when they were in Group AAA for a short time. On my drive home from Radford, I called my colleague Bruce Bornarth to tell him about the exciting 2-1 win for Broad Run on Sunday. His first comment to me was, "Well, maybe finally Ed will get the credit he deserves for being one of the great softball coaches in the game." That comment summed it up for me.
While Steele has been blessed to have some amazing talent on the mound, because of that, his coaching often takes a back seat as to why the Spartans continually win. Well, that can't be said anymore because he took a team decimated by injuries, and put freshmen into the fire, and still got the same result.
You don't win state championships that easily, and I'm with Bruce, it's time that Steele became known as not just a great coach, but a hall of fame coach. Leading a team to three consecutive state championships is unheard of on any level. Add to that the fact that Group AA softball in the state has notoriously been the most competitive, and the achievement becomes even more impressive.
I visited with Coach Steele on the first day of practice this spring, and I could tell by his comments that he was optimistic about having a good year. But he was worried about the injuries to Judy Betz and Reagan Doiron, and for good reason. Without them leading the way, Broad Run's chances to defend their two championship seasons were slim to none.
Looking back though, the fact that Doiron and Betz were banged up was a good thing. It allowed for the younger players on the team to play a more prominent role, and when his senior leaders returned, Broad Run was an even better team because of it.
Steele took a group of freshmen four years ago and threw them into the fire too. Their names were Judy Betz, Reagan Doiron, and Haley Johnson. He put them in the lineup along with a super class of sophomores, and together, they became the most dominating softball team to ever play in the state at the Group AA level.
Most didn't think that Betz, Doiron, and Johnson were enough for Steele to keep the Spartans on top, but again, the veteran coach saw something the pundits didn't. He knows talent, and he gets the most out of his players no matter their age.
That is what makes him a great coach, and with Sunday's win, he has proven that he has few rivals in the softball coaching world.
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