Oakton Softball Makes Strong Showing at Regionals
Cougars reach semifinals before falling to Westfield.
A mixture of youthful inexperience and congestion wasn't enough to keep freshman Allison Davis from leading the Oakton softball team into the Northern Region semifinals.
Davis pitched a complete game against West Potomac in the quarterfinals on May 30 and hit a game-tying RBI single during a 5-3 victory at Falls Church High School.
The right-hander allowed three earned runs and seven hits in seven innings while walking two and striking out eight. Davis labored through the second and third innings, allowing three runs and four hits, but minimized the damage with a pair of bases-loaded strikeouts in the third.
"She's a little under the weather today so she didn't have her best stuff," Oakton head coach Ray Gordon said, "but she really battled."
Trailing 3-2 in the fifth inning, Davis delivered a two-out RBI single to tie the score. She finished 2 for 4 with a double.
"It was the first pitch" of the at bat, Davis said of her game-tying single. West Potomac pitcher Morgan Maniglia "was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and I think our whole team understood that we needed to jump on her on the first pitch."
Junior outfielder Angie Noviello had two hits and two RBIs for Oakton. Third baseman Kelsea Sinnett had a double and Emily Krisanda and Jory Yates each had a single. Abby Mills drove in the game-winning run with a groundout in the sixth.
Oakton, the No. 4 seed from the Concorde District, went on to lose to Westfield in the semifinals on June 1 at Robinson Secondary School. Westfield ultimately went on to capture the region crown with a finals win over McLean.
Despite being a four seed, Gordon said facing a Concorde schedule had the Cougars prepared for postseason play.
"We play in a great district," he said. "We have tough games every single day. ... Since I've been coaching here, I've seen it: a four seed out of our district can make noise."
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