Although the game was to be at Oakton, Mother Nature had other plans; and the first playoff game was moved to drier grounds at Centreville.  The ladies were fired up with Cougar pride and took the field for their first game of the district tournament.  Freshman Allison Davis made her first appearance in the circle since her injury, and gave an outstanding performance going seven innings to shut out the Wildcats, 9-0.

The Cougars had some great offensive plays on the field.  Lead-off batter Emily Corridon started the night off with a single, and was advanced by Emily Krisanda’s bunt.  Davis sent one along the right field line for a double, which plated Corridon.  Mandy Krage reached on a walk, and courtesy runner Michelle Doran came in.  Becky Cerva then plated Davis, which brought the score to 2-0. 

In the second inning, the rally continued.  Abby Mills started off smashing a double, followed by Angie Noviello’s line drive double to score Mills.  Corridon bunted, and then Krisanda shot one to the fence to double, which scored Noviello and Corridon.  With the score 5-0 at the bottom of the second, the Cougars took the field with the confidence of champions.

Kelsea Sinnett singled in the third, but could not score.  In the fourth, Corridon singled, and Davis slammed one up and over the fence for a homerun to plate Corridon and herself (7-0). 

The fifth inning brought no runs.  In the sixth and final inning, Noviello reached with a walk, and stole a few bases to put herself on third.  With Krisanda’s line drive to center, Noviello scored.  Then Davis hit a line drive double to left field which plated Krisanda to bring the score to 9-0.

Defensively the Cougars gelled and each play showed the talent of the athletes and the fruits of their labor this season.  The only Wildcat to reach in the first was picked off.  With a runner on 1^st and 3^rd in the second, Davis struck out the next batter to end the inning.  The batter who singled in the third was picked off trying to take second by Krage to Krisanda, with Krisanda flying in the air to catch the ball and tag the runner as she tried to slide under her.  Davis retired nine in a row over the next three innings.  In the seventh, a Wildcat reached on a walk, and tried to steal second.  Using the successful acrobats of the third inning, Krisanda snagged the throw by Krage, and tagged the runner on her way down.  Other defensive highlights included flies caught by Cerva, Sinnett, and Corridon.

Davis saw 23 batters in 7 innings.  She struck out 10 in the shut-out game, her first win in the district tournament. 

The Lady Cougars face Westfield in the district semi-finals Friday at 4:30 at Westfield.  We hope you come to cheer for the Lady Cougars!