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Battlefield gets by Brentsville

By Dave Utnik

Published: April 17, 2008

Bailey Liddle has talked about becoming a model and a rock star. There have been occasions that driving a racecar seemed pretty cool too.
But the Battlefield High School freshman discovered Thursday she might have a pretty bright future as a pitcher, too.
On a night when her older sister, Courtney, knelt behind the plate, Liddle tossed a complete-game three-hitter in her varsity pitching debut as the Bobcats defeated Brentsville, 5-1.
“Oh my gosh, it was amazing,” Liddle said. “Just the fact that I got to throw to [Courtney] and get a win. I was nervous and excited at the same time because I’m not going to get a chance like this every day, especially with my sister behind the plate.”
Liddle treated the occasion with wide-eyed joy and a confidence that belies her youth. She stayed up half the night discussing strategy with her sister and then used an intimidating rise ball to carry a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning.
“I was just thinking about getting the runners and batters out and getting the win,” she said.
Liddle had some help with that — from her sister and Kaitlyn Sileo, who hit a three-run inside-the-park home run to highlight Battlefield’s five-run third-inning.
“I love being on the field with the girls,” Liddle said. “It’s an amazing team.”
Just about every Bobcat had a hand in snapping a two-game losing streak. Megan Sutphin, given a break from pitching with a Cedar Run District game against Osbourn Park scheduled for tonight, had an RBI double and first baseman Shannon Cleary went 2 for 3 with a run-scoring single.
Leadoff batter Kelsie Scott reached base three times and scored a run and Courtney Liddle also singled and scored as Battlefield improved to 9-3.
The visiting Tigers, who are off to a terrific start in the Group AA Northwestern District, had a tough time zeroing in on Liddle’s rise and lost for the first time in nine games. Becki Tucker drove in Brentsville’s only run with a sixth-inning triple.
“We know they have a pretty strong team,” Bailey Liddle said. “The rise with two strikes was a big thing for me but basically my sister said to just keep it down in the zone and be patient. And it worked.”

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