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Chantilly slugs its way to the top
Chantilly junior Brian King is not known for his power at the plate, but when the first baseman hits a home run, it always seems to be in a crucial situation. King's only round-tripper of the regular season was a three-run shot against Oakton on May 5 that helped the Chargers pull a 6-5 upset of the Concorde District's top team.Chantilly once again matched up with the Cougars Monday night in the district championship game, and King again factored heavily in the outcome. With one man on and two out in the top of the sixth inning and the score tied, 3-3, King launched the first pitch he saw – a high fastball – over the right-center field fence to put the Chargers ahead, 5-3.
King's long ball proved to be the difference in the game, as Chantilly won its first district title since 1991.
“I was really frustrated with my first at-bat [a strikeout]. I wanted to hit it hard,” said King (2-for-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs). “It's awesome. Best feeling in the world.”
Said coach Kevin Ford, “He's so big that if he gets his arms extended, the ball really goes for him. What can you say? It was huge. A clutch, clutch hit.”
The Chargers also got great contributions on the mound from starter Jordan Johnson (5 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs) and reliever Chris Yates (2 IP, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts), who picked up the save. Oakton, normally an explosive offensive team, managed just two hits – both by senior Kevin Wager.
“Jordan just did an outstanding job,” Ford said of Johnson, who transferred to Chantilly this year from the Emmanuel Christian School in Manassas. “He's a kid that goes out and battles. He comes right at you. The kid is just fearless. We love him.”
Oakton had gotten the better of Chantilly in recent years, and Ford felt his players started believing they couldn't beat the Cougars. That all changed with the victory on May 5, and Ford saw a different team on the field Monday.
"When we played them over there, it was a huge turning point for us psychologically," he said. "They have pretty much owned us for a long time. To get over that psychological block that we can not only play with them, we can beat them, [is big]."
After winning a district title for the first time in nearly two decades, Chantilly now turns its focus to the Northern Region tournament. Ford knows it will take a total team effort for the Chargers to contend for the region crown.
"We don't really have a stacked lineup," Ford admitted. "Everybody has to do a little bit. We have to execute and that's where we're going to be. We're usually going to get pretty good pitching, we're going to get pretty good defense. It's a matter of our approaches at the plate."
Chantilly will host Mount Vernon Friday night in the first round of the region tournament at 7 p.m.
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