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Opposites do not attract
Like most local baseball teams, the Chantilly Chargers have had their share of ups and downs this season. They've had the common thread of quality pitching stitched throughout each of one of their 26 games, and a lingering question that coach Kevin Ford knew his team would have to answer revolved around how the Chargers (18-8) would hit.And that's what made Chantilly's final two games so perplexing. Two losses by a total of five runs. One that included three home runs and another that involved yet another quality pitching performance from the team's left-handed ace.
Playing on the campus of Old Dominion University, Chantilly dropped a 4-2 decision to Eastern Region champion Bethel Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the team's first-ever state tournament. Four days prior, the Chargers suffered a 9-6 loss to Lake Braddock in the Northern Region final, which was held at Yorktown High School.
East Carolina-bound lefty Pat Somers (7 IP, 12 hits, 5 strikeouts) took the mound against Bethel, providing an immediate sense of hope. Though Somers surrendered four straight hits to start the game, a successful pickoff attempt had Chantilly out of a serious jam while only allowing one run to cross the plate.
Chantilly later tied the score at one, but found itself trailing, 3-1, after five innings of play. Senior Max Langford (Dartmouth) hit a solo home run and finished with two hits, but as a team, the Chargers weren't able to muster up a whole lot of offense.
“We just didn't make any adjustments,” Ford said. “We were way out in front [at the plate]. Their pitcher had a big curveball and we kept swinging and missing. We were way out front and we were chasing it.”
The Chargers scored one run in the sixth, but Bethel sealed it with a two-run rally in the bottom part of the frame. In all, two basic statistics told the story of Chantilly's night at the plate: seven hits, 10 strikeouts.
Chantilly didn't struggle with its offensive approach against Lake Braddock. The Chargers pounded out 10 hits in the region title game -- three of which were home runs.
To begin the fourth inning, senior Patrick Moore (Shenandoah) belted a first-pitch fastball to straightaway center field, and junior Brian King followed a walk to senior Chris Yates (William & Mary) by driving a full-count fastball to left that put Chantilly ahead, 4-2, and chased Lake Braddock starter Shane Halley from the game.
“All game they kept coming back,” said Ford, describing his team's resilient performance against Lake Braddock. “We don't hit home runs. [Friday] we had three home runs, and it's just a matter of guys being focused and having good at-bats ... not giving up and not caring who they're playing.”
Senior catcher Keith Morrisroe (Concord), who -- along with Somers -- was tabbed as an All-Region selection prior to Friday's game, hit a two-run homer to the opposite field in right and finished 3-for-4 with three RBS and two runs scored.
“The kid knows the game in and out,” said Ford of his catcher. “When [Lake Braddock] scored a bunch of their runs, he was the first one yelling at everybody to get their heads back in the game and get back on it.”
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