Blackout in North Stafford

By Dave Utnik

Published: May 28, 2008

GARRISONVILLE — Brittany Black held destiny in the palm of her right hand Wednesday night. There was a significant piece of school history cradled in there too.
So Battlefield’s junior ace tried not to squeeze the softball too tightly.
“I was nervous on every pitch,” she said.
Entrusted with leading the Bobcats on a journey they have never experienced before, Black occasionally fidgeted with the buttons on her jersey and relied on catcher Courtney Liddle to help her relax.
She accomplished everything else during Battlefield’s 4-0 victory at North Stafford on sheer will and overwhelming talent.
On a night when the Bobcats confirmed their arrival as a rising state power, Black also solidified her place as one of the area’s best players of all time by hitting a pair of home runs and throwing a complete-game four-hit shutout in the semifinals of the Northwest Region Tournament.
“We worked so hard to get where we are and it shows,” Black said, following a 10-strikeout performance that accomplished two goals — securing a spot in Friday’s region final against Loudoun Valley and clinching the first Group AAA state tournament berth in the program’s four-year history.
“We’re out there to prove ourselves this year,” she said. “We made our first goal. Now we just want to go all the way.”
The Bobcats’ quest for state supremacy began in earnest three seasons ago when Black arrived as a freshman. Liddle joined the team that year too. So did right fielder Kelsey Sayres and second baseman Jessica Anglin.
But it was Black who instantly transformed Battlefield from a promising young team into a contender. Armed with a 65-mph fastball, along with a rise and a drop-curve, she retired 10 of the first 11 Wolverines she faced on Wednesday and worked out of her only serious jam by retiring Caitlin Stauffer with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning.
“I could call any pitch I wanted and not have to worry about her missing a spot,” Liddle said.
The Bobcats (22-3) didn’t have to worry when Black stepped into the batter’s box either. As good as she is in the pitcher’s circle, she is even more dangerous with a bat in her hand.
The Wolverines may not have been aware of that prior to Wednesday, but they are now.
“There’s no pitcher that can throw it by her,” Liddle said.
Here’s the proof to back that up: After freshman Bailey Liddle doubled to start a third-inning rally, North Stafford pitcher Nicky Black intentionally walked Courtney Liddle with two outs and first base open.
Against many teams, that strategy might have prevented a big inning. With Brittany Black standing on deck, it turned out to be a huge mistake.
“As soon as they walked me I was surprised, actually, because Brittany and I are such a powerhouse in the lineup,” Courtney Liddle said. “It’s hard for any team to get by us. Stonewall has walked both of us sometimes, so to walk me to get to Brittany, who actually has a higher batting average and a higher slugging, I was kind of surprised.”
No one who has seen the Bobcats play was surprised by what happened next as Brittany Black connected on a drop pitch and sent it sailing over the scoreboard in center field.
“They shouldn’t have pitched around Courtney to pitch to me,” Black said. “But we wouldn’t have scored three runs if Bailey and Courtney hadn’t gotten on base first.”
Three innings later, when she came to the plate to start the sixth, Black got another pitch to hit. This time it was a rise ball — an offering she’d been told not to swing at.
“Since when do we lay off rise balls?” she said. “We can’t help it.”
Black doesn’t lay off rise balls because they are her favorite pitch and she smashed this one over the fence in right-center field for a solo home run.
That was too much for the Wolverines to overcome, even with five college scholarship players in their starting lineup.
After loading the bases and failing to score in the sixth, North Stafford tried one final time to mount a comeback. But Leighanne Harper’s one-out single was all they could muster against Black, who retired Courtney Crews on a popup to Anglin at second for the final out.
“It’s such an honor. I can’t even describe what this means,” Black said. “I just want to be a part of the team that 10 years from now everybody’s, like, ‘They went to states and we want to do that again.’”