Counting down the top five sports stories of 2016
In the history books
Behind a strong batting lineup and solid pitching on the rubber from then-senior Alyssa Bilodeau, the La Plata Warriors softball team capped off their spring season last May with the program’s first-ever state cham- pionship after a 9-1 victor y over Catoctin of Frederick County in the Class 2A final at the Uni- versity of Maryland’s Robert E. Taylor Stadium.
The Warriors, who finished the season 17-6, were spear- headed by sophomore Devin Ruble, who crushed a pair of doubles and drove in four runs en route to the state final win.
Ruble drilled an offering from Catoctin starter Jessica Bryant for a two-run double to put the Warriors ahead, 2-0 in the bot- tom of the first and uncorked another two-run double to right in the third frame.
“I was thinking ‘Just get it in play, just get it in play. If you could get it in play, that would be great but if you could go to right field that would be even better,’” said Ruble. “So I just tried to stay back because I have a tendency to pull [pitches] foul for some reason.”
“We worked really hard to get here and I’m really proud of how we played today,” La Plata senior shortstop Andie Kline said after the game. “We played as a team and I couldn’t be any happier.”
“I’m glad the seniors got to do this in their last year and I’m glad I got to experience it with them,” said La Plata freshman infielder Kelsey Hanks, referring to seniors Kline, Erica Cox, Ashlee Roberts and Bilodeau. “I feel really good, and my team is really excited.”
“It’s crazy, it’s just awesome,” La Plata sophomore center fielder Hannah Kraft said. “I don’t know what to say.”
La Plata’s 1-2-3 hitters Hannah Kraft, Cox and Ruble were a combined 5 for 8 with five RBIs, three walks and eight runs scored.
“It’s crazy, it’s just awesome,” Kraft said. “I don’t know what to say.”
The right-hander Bilodeau, now a freshman at Division I’s Jacksonville University who was named SMAC Most Outstanding Player and All-County Athlete of the Year, retired 20 of the 26 bat- ters she faced, including the first eight of the game. She surrendered four hits, three of them singles, walked one and also struck out five.
“We didn’t know much about this team at all, which is a good thing because you don’t want to overthink everything,” Bilodeau said. “I just tried to keep them on their toes and off the plate and definitely not in the middle.”
La Plata won the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division championship with 10-1 mark and knocked off Southern of Anne Arundel County 6-2 in the 2A South Region final for the program’s first region title since 1997. The Warriors advanced to the state final with a 3-2, eight-inning win over Eastern Tech of Baltimore County.