By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
** Click the links to the left to access a full photo gallery and dozens of highlights from Wednesday’s semifinal game!
Centreville senior pitcher Jessica Ferrick rang up her 12th strikeout Wednesday night to close out a 4-0 victory over Robinson, then promptly dropped her glove, ran toward home plate and excitedly leapt into the outstretched arms of senior catcher Victoria Marvin.
There couldn’t have been a more fitting end to the night’s first Northern Region semifinal at Robinson High School.
Ferrick finished just one walk shy of throwing a perfect game, allowing no hits and only one base runner the entire game.
And while Centreville added a couple insurance runs in the sixth inning, it was two solo home runs by Marvin that proved all the offense the Wildcats needed to advance to Friday’s Northern Region championship game and the upcoming Virginia AAA state tournament.
“Those two seniors are stepping up, and they’re putting these other girls on their backs,” Centreville Coach Rich Ferrick said. “They’re saying, ‘Let’s go. We’re going to take you there. Follow us.’ And as a coach, when you’ve got kids who will do that for you … that makes your job a whole lot nicer.
“I’ve got freshmen out on that field and sophomores on that field, and the last couple of years I’ve had situations where young kids have really tightened up in big ball games. But these two seniors are finding a way to get the girls to relax and play ball. And, like I said, as a coach that’s stuff you really can’t teach. I give all the credit to those two.”
Marvin’s first solo shot came in the bottom half of the third inning when she led off the inning with a blast over the center field fence. She led off the bottom of the fifth in similar fashion with a quick-moving shot that took little time to easily clear the left field fence.
“We’ve all been waiting for that,” Rich Ferrick said. “Victoria’s been hitting well, but she’s also been frustrated. We finally got her to relax a little bit — she’s been working with our hitting coach a bunch — and good things have happened.
“The first one tonight I wasn’t sure about … but the second one there was no question. It was out of here in a hurry.”
The Wildcats added two more runs in the sixth when sophomore left fielder Cara Donovan, who reached on a lead-off double, stole home after being caught in a rundown. Freshman right fielder Kara Love then hit an RBI single to shallow left field that scored freshman shortstop Lexi Murdock, who reached on an error.
Robinson junior pitcher Marcy Bowdren was the Rams’ only base runner, reaching on a lead-off walk in the top of the fourth inning. Senior catcher Christine Cunningham moved Bowdren to second and she stole third base, but was stuck there when Ferrick recorded her eighth strikeout to escape the inning unscathed.
“What can I really say?” Rich Ferrick said in his post-game address to the players. “You’re hot when you need to be hot. We talked about playing like champions and how champions finish what they start. And all of those things you guys are starting to come through with. I’m very, very proud of your effort.
“You did the little things tonight which made a huge difference. And, again, truly a great team effort.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
Robinson Rams 0
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Robinson Rams....... 000 000 0 - 0 0 4
Centreville Wildcats 001 012 X - 4 5 0
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Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Marcy Bowdren p.......... 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0
Clare McGowan dp......... 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Meghan Taitano ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Christine Cunningham c... 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 0
Ashley Robinson cf....... 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1
Kathryn Lohr 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Melissa DiDonato 1b...... 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0
Mikole Vasquez ss........ 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
Christa Genovese 2b...... 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0
Sarah Steinberg rf....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Allison Siegel ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alex Zitsch lf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals................... 21 0 0 0 1 12 18 5 1
Centreville Wildcats 4 (20-5)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Victoria Marvin c........ 3 2 2 2 1 0 12 0 0
Kirsten Sepulveda 3b..... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
Karen Johnson dp......... 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3
Jessica Ferrick p........ 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0
Fiona Watson pr......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cara Donovan lf.......... 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 2
Lexi Murdock ss.......... 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 2
Courtney Burke 2b........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Katie Sokol 1b........... 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Katie Ball ph........... 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Kara Love rf............. 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
Shanna Tutt cf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 26 4 5 3 3 6 21 3 8LOB - Rams 1; Wildcats 8. 2B - Donovan, C.; Burke, C.. HR - Marvin, V. 2.
SH - Johnson, K.. SB - Bowdren, M.; Watson, F.; Donovan, C.; Murdock, L. 2.Robinson Rams IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
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Marcy Bowdren....... 6.0 5 4 4 3 6 26 30 115
Centreville Wildcats IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
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Jessica Ferrick..... 7.0 0 0 0 1 12 21 22 73Win - Ferrick, J. (16-3). Loss - Bowdren, M. Save - None.
Pitches/strikes: Bowdren, M. 115/72; Ferrick, J. 73/56.
Umpires - HP: Don Stander 1B: Richard Ford 2B: Bob Angelia 3B: Ron Rakin
Start: 5:06 PM Time: 1:32 Attendance: 226
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