The most anticipated softball game in the Central Region this season produced the pitchers’ duel everyone expected.

That the game’s only run came on a mistake was no surprise, either.

Lee-Davis, ranked No. 3 in the final Times-Dispatch Top 10 after occupying the top spot for most of the season, eliminated top-ranked Thomas Dale 1-0 in the first semifinal of the region tournament Thursday at Lee-Davis.

The Confederates advanced to tonight’s final at 7. Their opponent is No. 9 Matoaca, which took advantage of Cosby errors and bounced the Titans 2-0.

Lee-Davis is in the title game for the second consecutive year. Matoaca, winner in nine of its past 10 games, is in the region tournament for the first time.

Both winners earned berths in the state tournament quarterfinals Tuesday against the Northwest Region representatives. Haleigh Cottrell’s two out single in the bottom of the third got the Confederates started. Charyssa Parent bounced a single under the glove of Thomas Dale second baseman Kate Watkins, and Cottrell wound up on third. With L-D pitcher Kelly Heinz at the plate, a low outside pitch got away from catcher Kelci Simonsen, and Cottrell scored.

  Thomas Dale got no hits. Heinz, who pitched a perfect game in the state semifinals last year, gave up two base runners on walks. Cottrell threw out one on a steal attempt in the first. Heinz pitched to 22 batters, one over the minimum. She struck out 11.

  “When she’s on target, she makes it easy. She’s not going to miss her spots,” Cottrell said of her battery mate.

  The Knights entered the game undefeated. Region pitcher of the year Lacey Waldrop allowed four hits and struck out six.

  “We knew we had to score first,” Heinz said. “Usually whoever makes the first mistake loses. Everybody comes out ready to play these games.”

  Matoaca used three Cosby throwing errors and a sacrifice bunt to score in the fourth. They added an insurance run in the sixth when Berkeley Driskill opened the inning with a single to left, was sacrificed to second by pitcher Jessica McCabe, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Krysten Davis.

  “We’re not a big hitting team. We scratch out a run and hold on,” Matoaca coach Scott Driskill said.

  Cosby, which lost in the semifinals for the fourth consecutive year, got the leadoff batter on third in the fourth and sixth innings and didn’t score. In the fourth, Maddie Lloyd tripled. Holly Stargardt hit a bouncer to McCabe, a freshman, who looked Lloyd back then faked a throw to first.

  Lloyd broke for home, and McCabe threw her out. Meagan Jones reached third on a three-base error in the sixth, but McCabe struck out two and induced a popup to second.

  “Nobody expected us to get this far. I don’t think we did. There’s no pressure. We’re a defensive team, but it’s working for us,” Berkeley Driskill said.

Arthur Utley is a staff writer for the Richmond Times Dispatch.
T. Dale 0000000—001
Lee-Davis 001 000 x—140
Waldrop and Simonsen; Heinz and Cottrell
Records: Thomas Dale 19-1; Lee-Davis 22-1

Matoaca 0001010—222
Cosby 0000000—034
McCabe and Driskill; Higbie and Hall. Records: Matoaca 16-6; Cosby 18-2