By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
In a serious pitchers’ duel on April 27, the Fluco girls did not get their first hit of two until the fourth inning and the Louisa Lions did not get their first hit of three until the fifth inning. The Lions came in with a record of 10-1 and it was easy to see why. Their pitcher had an overpowering fastball that was thrown for strike after strike. The Flucos only managed to work one walk in eight innings. However, the Flucos went with sophomore Amirah Bielke on the mound and she was also impressive. While the Louisa pitcher recorded 12 strikeouts to only three by Bielke, neither pitcher allowed much in the way of hard hit balls.
Fluco senior first baseman Makayla Gentry had the Flucos only hits. She is a strong two sport athlete, who was a kill shot expert on the Fluco volleyball team. In the fourth inning, she hit a soft liner to center field and in the seventh she delivered a swinging bunt that Louisa couldn’t reach in time to throw her out at first. No Fluco made it past first base all game. Louisa had a scoring chance in the fifth. A lead-off double to the fence in left field was followed by a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third with one out. A short fly to center field followed. Fluco center fielder Brooke Napier caught it easily and unleashed a perfect throw to the plate. The Lions’ base runner wisely retreated to third. A ground ball to Fluco third baseman Kayleigh Knight was handled routinely to end the inning.
The seven-inning regulation game ended in a scoreless tie, forcing extra innings. In the top of the eighth, the Lions managed to score the game winner. Their lead-off batter in the inning reached first on a hit by pitch. This was unusual as Bielke’s control had been flawless to that point, allowing no bases on balls. A seven-inning softball game with only one walk is quite unusual. A sacrifice bunt moved the Lions’ runner to second base and a dribbler in front of the plate, acted like a second bunt to move the runner over to third with two outs. A solid single to left followed and the Lions had the only run they needed. In the bottom of the eighth, the Flucos failed to generate any offence, as the bottom three in the line-up were shut down on a strike-out and two ground outs.
The softball season is winding down. On May 2 and 4 the Flucos traveled to Goochland County and Monticello High School. On May 6 and 9 they will host Broadway High School and Orange County. The regular season ends with a trip to Western Albemarle on May 11 and a home game against the Charlottesville Black Knights on May 16. Coach Tre Smith’s Fluco girls are now 3-9 on the season.
