Coming into the Central Region softball semifinals at Prince George, Patrick Henry needed one more win to continue their improbable post-season run and move on to the state tournament. However, the Patriots knew they were facing a formable opponent in the home-standing and defending region champion Royals.

  Add to that inclement weather as well as a mid-game venue change and the odds continued to climb.

  The game was a matchup of All-Region second team hurlers; Prince George senior Lauren Vinson and Patrick Henry sophomore Emma Mitchell. The contest lived up to the billing, turning into a pitching duel with a combined total of five hits between the two teams. But in one of the most highly contested games of the Central Region tournament, the ball bounced in the Royals favor and they escaped with a 1-0 win.

  Though disappointed by the loss, Patrick Henry head coach Matt Crowder said his team has nothing to hang their heads about. “We were aggressive at the plate,” he said. “You’ve got to give credit to them and their pitcher. Lauren threw a good game. I don’t think we have anything to be ashamed of here. It was just a hard fought game and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of it.”

  The season ended for Patrick Henry but it was a year where there were few expectations for a playoff run at its beginning.

  Though he knew he had talent on his squad, even Crowder was caught off guard by how far the Patriots went. “You want to say that you always have the aspirations of going on and playing further and playing further but I think these guys kind of surprised me a little bit, especially Emma,” he said. “Emma just did a great job all year keeping hitters off balance and not giving up a lot of runs and just keeping us in ball games and giving us a shot to win. You can’t ask a lot more from any kid and she’s done a great job and she’ll get better I hope which will only make us better.”

  Against the Royals, Mitchell recorded six strikeouts while giving up two hits. Vinson finished the game with nine strikeouts and two walks but gave up three hits to the Patriots.

  Therefore, there was relatively little downside for Patriots in the loss. Next season Patrick Henry loses only one player, senior Chris Brim; returning their entire rotation.

  “It’s a good problem to have,” Crowder said. “I just told them that I hope they do some work and work on getting better. We’ve got a few holes we can work on to make each one of them better. It’s going to be up to them to work on the little things.”

  Both defenses played exceptionally well with only Patrick Henry’s Madison Gilmann reaching base in the first inning.

  Sam Moore closed out the first by making an athletic backhand catch on a grounder to short then throwing out Vinson at first.

  But lightening struck in the distance and the skies let loose, drowning the Prince George field. With water pooling over a majority of the infield, the decision was made to move the game to the JJ Moore rec complex where little rain fell five miles away.

  After nearly an hour delay, the game resumed at nearly 9 p.m. and both teams picked up where they left off.

  With two out in the top of the third, the Patriots became the first team to get a runner into scoring position when Alley West stole third on a chip shot from Shanley O’Day. But Vinson managed to strike out Gilman to end the threat.
  The two teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when the Royals finally made a solid connection on the ball. Prince George’s Katie Christopher nailed a shot to the right field fence, past the Patriots’ Allison Tingler. Christopher rounded the bags but held up at third when the ball reached the infield. But the throw to third baseman Kacie Melton, caromed off the tip of her glove to the grass, allowing Christopher to score the game’s only run.

  “It started off in a weird way and I guess it ended in a weird way,” Crowder said. “That’s what I told the kids; basically it’s going to come down to a bounce for one team or the other. Unfortunately for us, the ball bounced the wrong way and they got the run in.”

  Moore was named to the region first team while Gilman, West and O’Day joined Mitchell on the second team.

Patrick Henry…..000 000 0 – 0 3 2
Prince George…..000 010 x — 1 2 0
Mitchell and Gilman; Vinson and Landreth.

Charlie Leffler/The Local
Patrick Henry first baseman Kendalle Weaver gets a force on Prince George’s Lauren Vinson in the bottom of the first. Soon afterward rain forced the game to be moved to another location.