CHANTILLY— The 2010 VHSL state softball championship game brought out the tears for Lee-Davis players. After a stellar season, many of the Confederates were sorrowed by inability to close out the final game mistake free which led to a loss. Their tears fell because they knew they were good enough to win.

  The return trip to the state championship game in 2011 once again brought on the tears, but this time they flowed freely, with a sense of triumph as the Confederates out-battled a senior-laden Battlefield team for the state trophy.

  For senior short stop Taylor Melton, it was a day that began near tears and ended in them as well.

  The first play of the game came Melton’s way. Battlefield’s Courtney Little took the first pitch of the game from C-fed Kelly Heinz and blooped a shot towards short. Melton raced towards the ball, made a dive and came inches short of making a remarkable catch.

  When Melton climbed back to her feet, it was obvious that giving up a hit on the first pitch of the game was not the way she wanted to start the contest. Melton bowed over, hands on knees, trying to regroup. The pained expression on Melton’s face as she fought to hold back tears drew a timeout from head coach Jackie Davis, who came onto the field to make sure her player was all right.

  Though Melton was speaking of Battlefield following the game, the same thoughts had to be running through her mind after the first play. “Coach Davis has been telling us all year, coming into big games like this it’s the first team that makes the mistake that’s going to lose,” Melton said.

  And though no one watching would have called Melton’s missed catch a mistake, it was obvious she felt as if she should have made the play.

  Likewise, Heinz could have gotten down on herself for giving up a hit on the first pitch, but both Heinz and Melton knew they had a long game ahead of them. “Courtney Little, she’s a really good hitter,” Heinz said. “I knew that she was going to put a bat on the ball and it’s only the first hit of the game. It’s the first batter and I knew that they were good ball players, just get it out of the way early.”

  Heinz struck out the next three batters to escape the first without damage.

  And Heinz kept the strikes coming, finishing the day with 16 in a championship game that provided solid evidence the two best teams in the state were facing one another.

  In a scoreless tie midway through the contest, it not only appeared that the first to make a mistake would lose, but the first to score would most likely win.

  The Confederates saw their chance to grab a lead in the fourth elude them on a fortuitous bounce of the ball for Battlefield.

  With Lee-Davis freshman Ryleigh Hawker on third, senior Meredith Holmes swatted a hard bouncer that glanced off the third baseman’s glove.

  When the ball was deflected Davis sent Hawker racing for home.

  “The ball hit off the third baseman’s glove and we thought it was going to be an error,” Davis said. “But a lucky hop hopped it right into the short stop’s glove.”

  Battlefield’s Shannon Black fired the ball home where catcher Stephanie Figgins was able to make the tag on Hawker in a toss-up play at the plate.

  Still scoreless in the top of the fifth, Davis made a brilliant adjustment on offense, switching to small ball.

  “Coach told me before I got to the bag to sneaky bunt,” Melton said. “I trusted her and her opinion of what we needed to do, I did everything I could to get it down.”

  Melton laid down a perfect bunt then sped towards first to beat the throw. When she was called safe, the normally stoic Melton released an emotion-charged scream, leaping off the ground with fist pumped in the air.

  “You know, reaching for that bag felt so good,” Melton said. “I’m just glad I didn’t pull anything.”

  Junior Lacie Madison followed Melton’s example and also reached safely via bunt. Next up, a sacrifice bunt from sophomore catcher Haleigh Cottrell moved both runners into scoring position.

  With two outs, Heinz hit a bouncer to Black at short and a moment of indecisiveness allowed Melton to score the only run of the game.

  “That’s an amazing feeling, coming through like that but it’s everybody together,” Melton said. “We capitalize on the mistakes and Coach (Davis) has been saying offense wins games and defense wins championships. That’s all we could hope for tonight, that our defense was going to be on point and played lights out. Offense, we kept pushing through and fighting and that’s exactly what we needed to do.”

  When Heinz threw her final strikeout of the game to give Lee-Davis the championship tears once again returned to the eyes of Melton.

  “Coach Wyatt Hicks had been telling me all year that I would be coming up big and that was going to come through for the team when I needed it,” Melton sobbed. “It felt so good to be able to do that for my team this year, especially when it’s my last year, my last game.

  “As a senior coming back after last year you really get a taste of what it’s like to be on the losing side but it so much sweeter on the winning side,” Melton said.
  To emphasize the emotions of the day, the skies broke loose just as the Confederates were handed the trophy. It was as if the heavens above were joining in the tearful celebration to proclaim Lee-Davis as state champions.