NO APRIL FOOL
1 April 2008
Thomas Jefferson upset Stone Bridge on Tuesday, April 1, outscoring the Bull Dogs by 4-2. The Lady Colonials challenged from the first at-bat as junior Toby Loewenstein fended off 7 pitches to earn a walk. Senior Kate Cooper immediately followed with a line drive to left field. Both runners then advanced on an error by the Bull Dogs. Freshman Barbara Lantz brought Toby home on a ground ball down the first base line, and Cooper scored on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the first, the lead off batter for Stone Bridge took advantage of a dropped third strike to take first base. Sophomore pitcher Meghan Mutchler then dashed the hopes of the Bull Dogs striking out the next batter, catching a popup in the pitcher's circle, and tagging the lead-off batter in a pickle play. A heads-up throw down by catcher Amy Plunk to third baseman Lowenstein caught the Stone Bridge runner half way between second and third base. Shortstop Hope Smith prevented the runner from returning to second, and Mutchler executed the tag as the runner tried to slide into third.
The Lady Colonials scored two more runs in the third inning. Mutchler singled, Lantz reached on error, and Plunk brought them both home with a single to center field. Lantz also tripled in the 5th inning but was unable to score in that inning. Cooper and sophomore Sydney Schrider too were stranded after delivering well hit singles to the green.
The game victory was achieved by solid team work. Mutchler dominated on the mound inducing a combination of punch-out strikes, fly balls, and in-field grounders. The in-field made quick work of all grounders and bunt attempts. Schrider, in particular, showed mastery of her position as she covered first base for several bunt attempt outs. Lantz at center field and sophomore Emily Schultz both made outstanding fly ball catches late in the game. Plunk and Cooper made breath-taking catches of foul balls that brought the stands to their feet.
The TJ crowd stayed on their feet to cheer as their team brought home the victory. Coach Brian Fleury kept the team pumped and focused. His final comment: "That was fun." ... No April Fool!
A Washington Post article about the varsity team can be seen at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040303963.html
OUT OF THE GATE
25 March 2008
Thomas Jefferson's softball team started the season with four straight wins. They're now 4-and-2 after the spring tournament at Hayfield High School.
Meghan Mutchler tossed a no hitter and fanned 14 of 15 batters in a 15-0 win over Falls Church in the season opener. The sophomore also had three hits and 2 RBIs in the game. Freshman Barbara Lantz added two hits. Singles were contributed by senior Amy Plunk and sophomores Hope Smith and Sydney Schrider.
The momentum continued into the spring tournament with a 9-2 win over Edison followed by a tense 5-4 victory over Marshall in eight innings. The game was decided using the "International Tie Breaker rule". The Colonials earned their fourth straight win by beating Chantilly 5-2. Tournament host Hayfield posted the first win of the season over TJ 14-1. Good Counsel handed the Colonials their second loss 6-3. Here are some other highlights from the tournament:
- A five game total of 9 hits by Toby Loewenstein while catcher Amy Plunk had 8.
- Kate Phillips and Meghan Mutchler added 6 hits while Sydney Schrieder came up with 5. Mutchler hit the first home run of the season with a line drive that soared over the left field fence.
- Emily Schultz added 4 hits, including 2 doubles. Emily also contributed from the circle pitching 10 innings in the last couple of games.
- Kate Cooper had two hits and drove in four runs.
- Defensively, Sydney Schrider, Kate Cooper and Barbara Lantz led with 14, 13 and 12 put outs respectively. Hope Smith had 13 assists and 3 put outs. Ariel Deutsch and Mandy Rohrer each made several key and timely defensive plays.
- Special thanks go to junior Sally Bornbusch who is helping out as first base coach while she is recovering from an early season injury. Her positive attitude and great cheerleading is a big boost to the team.
- And a big thanks to JV freshman Kelsey Henderson for filling in as players left for spring break vacations. Kelsey had an assist and also filled in as first base coach.