Cougars Canter Past the Chantilly Chargers, 5-3

On a pleasant Spring night in Chantilly, the visiting Oakton Cougars cantered past the Chantilly Chargers by the score of 5-3.  The win improves the Cougars’ overall record to 5 wins, 6 losses, and improves their conference record to 2 and 1.

Chantilly played their usual bunt-heavy game and relied on small-ball play by a large part of their lineup.  Their lead-off batter bunted on half of her plate appearances.  The 5^th, 7^th, and 8^th batters in the Charger lineup each bunted or attempted to bunt on every plate appearance.  The Cougars defended well against all the Chantilly small ball once the Oakton defense had settled down after the second inning. 

The Cougars batted first and began running right out of the starting gate.  Pitcher Natalie Felix reached first on an outfield single, and left fielder Nicole Berube joined her on the bases after being hit by a pitch.  Shortstop Caroline Brogan drove them across the finish line by hitting a double to center field.  But, she was left stranded at second base when the Cougars’ at-bat ended.  The Cougar defense kept the Chargers in their stalls at the start, making the score 2-0 Oakton after one inning.

The Cougars continued to gallop in the second inning.  They added another run when catcher Kelly Dunlap and third baseman Cassie Brazinsky got on with a walk and a single, respectively, and then Felix drove in Dunlap by hitting a line-drive single up the middle.  With Felix on first and Brazinsky on second, Berube came up next, and she hit a sharp grounder towards the charging Chantilly shortstop as Brazinsky broke for third base.  Brazinsky unfortunately collided with the Chantilly shortstop on the play, and she was called for interference and the third out.  In the bottom of the second inning, Chantilly reduced the Oakton lead by two lengths when they put up two unearned runs using small ball aided by two Oakton errors.  The score was Oakton 3, Chantilly 2, at innings’ end.

Oakton cantered back to a three-run lead in the third inning with solid hitting.  Brogan led off with a triple to right-center field, and first baseman Jo Jo Felix plated her with a double to right-center field.  Felix later came home after moving to third base on a sac bunt, and second baseman Katie Edwards hit a double before the Cougar at-bat ended.  The Cougar defense slowed the Chargers to a walk in the bottom of the inning, retiring the Chantilly batters one, two, three, so the score stood at 5-2 after three innings.

The Cougs did not put any runs up in the fourth inning, despite a single by Brogan, but the Chargers were able to put a run on the scoreboard after a lead-off double and more small ball, including a suicide squeeze bunt.

In the home stretch of innings five through seven, the Cougars did not mount any scoring threats.  Right fielder Rachel Lee hit a double over the center fielder's head to lead off the sixth inning, but Chantilly threw her out at third when she tried to stretch it into a triple.  Berube won a pitcher’s/hitter’s duel to lead off the seventh inning, fouling off four pitches with a 2-2 count before ripping a single into the shortstop-third base gap.  But, she was left stranded at innings’ end.

The Oakton defense played tough in the home stretch, defending against bunting and stranding Chantilly runners at third base in the fifth and sixth innings.  In the seventh inning, catcher Kelly Dunlap sent the last Charger scoring threat to the glue factor when she caught a Charger runner trying to steal third base.  She made a nice, on-target throw to third baseman Cassie Brazinsky, who put the tag down as the Charger slid in.

Natalie Felix went the distance in the circle for the Cougs, pitching probably her finest game of the season thus far.  She struck out three, walked one, and allowed only one earned run.