LCA moves on in VIS playoffs

CHRIS HUMPHREYS

Published: May 13, 2008

It took Liberty Christian Academy until the bottom of the fifth inning in Tuesday’s Virginia Independent School Division III first round state playoff game against St. Catherine’s to come up with a clutch hit, but when Bulldogs finally got that clutch hit LCA went on to pummel the Saints 7-3.

“We always felt as though they were threatening us,” said St. Catherine’s coach Tara Dijia-comi. “The wheels kind of fell off.”

St. Catherine’s finishes its sea-son with an 11-9 record.

Fourth-seeded LCA (17-4) plays top seed Paul the VI on Friday in the semifinals at Dum-barton Sports Complex (at Dum-barton Elementary School) in Richmond at 8 p.m.

“They have two very strong pitchers and it’s going to be a test of our defense and our offense,” Bulldogs coach Maitlin Wade said.

“Last year we got knocked out going up to Bishop Ireton on the same day Dr. (Jerry) Falwell had died and our minds weren’t in the game. This year we plan on up-setting some people come Friday night.”

LCA struggled to get baserun-ners home throught the first four inning. The Bulldogs had stranded runners on second and third with one out in both the second and the third innings.

But, in the fifth inning Chris-tina Barger got things started with a walk and Jamie Graham finally got LCA on the board with a RBI double to centerfield.

Graham went to third on Re-becca Jones’ flyball to right and scored on a wild pitch to put LCA up 2-0.

“(Fort) was throwing to the outside edge very well and we had to change the way we were stepping towards the ball,” Wade said. “We changed our footwork a little bit to get to that (outside) pitch and we started driving the ball to center and right.”

Said Dijiacomi: “Credit Liberty Christian they’ve got some pretty good bats and can get to just about anything.”

The Bulldogs tacked on five more runs in the sixth with a pair of pinch hitters getting things started.

Kristin Cofflin led off with a pinch-hit single and Courtney Wilson followed with a pinch-hit walk.

Saints pitcher Stephanie Fort responded with a pair of strike-outs after LCA pulled off a dou-ble steal, but Fort struggled to get that third out.

Barger drew a walk to load the bases. Graham drove in two runs with a single, Jones followed with a two-run double and Beth-any Good drove in Jones with a single.

That was more than enough run support for Graham, who was masterful on the mound for Bulldogs.

After Fort’s double to lead off the game, Graham didn’t allow a runner to reach second base safely until the seventh inning when LCA, after making some defensive substitutions, allowed three unearned runs to score.

“Jamie is our leader,” Wade said. “She’s a very strong ball player. She just has a very smooth technique on the mound and her off-speed stuff keeps (hitters) on their heels.”

The senior worked all seven innings. She allowed no earned runs, six hits, no walks and struck out six batters.

“It took a little while for us to start hitting the ball but we ended up doing pretty well,” said Graham. “I was really pumped. I really wanted this win today. And, we really want to win (the state tournament) this year.”