8 || JUNE 2, 2011
EXERCISE
SPORTS || FITNESS
MIDLOTHIANEXCHANGE.COM
SOFTBALL from P7
PHOTO BY JIM MCCONNELL
Cosby's Lauren Denuel lunges for a forehand volley.
TENNIS from P7 magic” on her foot, and while she had a wrap on both her foot and ankle, Abbott looked no worse for wear. “She gets everything back and she can hit the ball pretty much anywhere she wants to,” Denuel said. “If you just try to keep the ball in the court, she’ll out-stroke you every time. You have to go for your shots.” Denuel attacked effectively throughout the first set, taking advantage of Abbott’s looping forehand to move into a strong position at the net. But more often than not, Denuel either misfired on her attempt to end the point or Abbott came up with a well-angled passing shot. Abbott broke Denuel’s serve four times, built a quick 3-0 lead and cruised to a 6-1 victory in the first set. “At first, I was trying to play strategically -- move her around and then come in -- but it wasn’t working. I would get the shot I wanted. I just couldn’t execute,” Denuel said. “In the second set, my attitude was, ‘I have nothing to lose. Let’s just go for it.’” Initially, it didn’t make
much difference. Abbott reeled off four quick games in the second set, but Denuel finally was able to string some points together and broke Abbott’s serve for the second time. “The score doesn’t indicate it, but today was the best I’ve seen Lauren play Christine,” Lee said. “It was the second ball she needed to put away. She did it a few times and it was pretty; now she just needs the consistency to do it every time.” Trailing 4-1, Denuel led 40-30 on her serve but couldn’t hold. She erased one break point when her forehand clipped the tape and just barely crawled over for a winner, but lost the next two points and Abbott served out the match for her first regional championship. “Last year I was really nervous. This time, I was a lot more comfortable because I knew this was what I wanted and what I had worked for,” Abbott said. Both players qualified for the state Group AAA singles tournament June 9 at Jefferson District Park in Fairfax.
Clover Hill didn’t lack for scoring chances against Higbie. The Cavaliers had a hit in four of the first six innings and put two runners on base with one out in the third. But Cosby responded by turning three double plays – each time nailing an aggressive Clover Hill baserunner either trying to score or take an extra base. “Their defense is tough, no doubt,” Clover Hill coach Glenn Corbin said. “In a game like this, the breaks are so few, you have to make the best of them.” With one out in the third inning, Higbie walked Vaughan, who motored all the way to third when Hope Cashion reached on Cosby’s lone error. After Sam Page lofted a fly ball to right field, Vaughan tagged up and headed for the plate, but Karie Burgess threw her out to keep the game scoreless. An inning later, Rachel Cumiskey led off with a single. Allison Brown followed with a sacrifice bunt, but Cumiskey tried to go all the way to third and got gunned down by Ellen Sweat. Vaughan smacked a triple past a diving Jones leading off the sixth. After an infield out, Page drove a fly ball to centerfield that looked easily deep enough to score Vaughan. Jones had other ideas. Her throw was so perfect, Hall merely had to catch the ball and drop her glove on the sliding Vaughan’s leg just before she touched the plate. “We put so much time into our defense every day,” Hall said. “Obviously it shows during games when we make unbelievable plays.” Added Higbie: “My defense makes me look good. It gives me so much confidence, having such a great defense. That’s what makes me a good pitcher.” Clover Hill has a good pitcher, as well. Page, a junior, scattered seven hits and
PHOTO BY JIM MCCONNELL
Cosby's Taylor Hall prevents Clover Hill's Tkeyah Vaughan from reaching the plate.
PHOTO BY JIM MCCONNELL
Cosby's Maddie Lloyd tags Clover Hill's Rachel Cumiskey.
kept Cosby off the scoreboard with the exception of a three-run fourth inning. Burgess sparked the
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Titans’ decisive rally with a one-out triple and scored the game’s first run when Chelsea Whitcomb’s routine
fly ball was dropped for an error. That miscue loomed large because it extended Cosby’s at-bat long enough to eventually bring Hall to the plate; the district player of the year made Clover Hill pay with a two-run double that made it 3-0. “She pitched a good game,” Corbin said of Page. “She only served one up to Taylor Hall. It was a mistake and she knew it the second she threw it.” Clover Hill, which played Cosby tough in each of their three meetings this season, committed only two errors in a district final that featured strong all-around play by both teams. Against Cosby’s stifling defense, that was two too many.