Diamond Edge

Dan Clendaniel For the News & Messenger
Published: March 27, 2008

Kaitlyn Sileo's secret is out. The Battlefield senior third baseman likes to go after the first pitch when she stands at the plate.

"I love that first pitch," said Sileo. "A lot of pitchers want to get ahead of you so they will throw a strike."

Sileo stepped to the plate for the first time in the second inning and immediately lashed the first offering from Osbourn pitcher Ashleigh Williams into right field for a single.

The hit scored teammate Shannon Cleary with what turned out to be the only run of the game. Cleary had reached base on a dropped fly ball in the outfield.

Battlefield, last year's Cedar Run District Tournament champion beat Osbourn, last year's Northwest Region champion, 1-0, in a rare early season match-up between the county powers.

Bobcats coach Joe Schelzo was not only pleased with Sileo's aggressiveness, but that she took the outside pitch the opposite way to right field.

"We've stressed that (going the opposite way) a lot," said Schelzo. "With our hitters, we know teams are going to try to pitch us away."

The game featured a pitching duel between the Bobcats' Brittany Black and the Eagles combo of Williams and Ashley Boteler.

Black gave up four hits and struck out nine. Williams and Boteler combined to yield just three hits and one unearned run.

Remarkably, for such a well-played game, Battlefield was making just its second appearance of the season. This clash was their first game since they defeated Centreville (2-0) exactly two weeks earlier.

"We have a talented group of players," said Schelzo. "Osbourn is well-coached and is the defending district champion. It's hard to simulate game conditions with just four weeks of practice."

Black allowed Osbourn base runners in four innings but pitched her way out of each jam without allowing a run. Her most challenging inning may have been the sixth when the Eagles' Nikki Peros and Brittany Barlow reached base with one-out singles.

But Black, who threw 115 pitches, got Williams to fly out and then Boteler grounded out to end Osbourn's last threat.

"We like her to be in the 80-90 pitch range," said Schelzo. "But she had two weeks off and, again, having her throw 80 pitches in practice is not the same as live action. She threw some good pitches and gutted it out."

Osbourn coach Renee Leake was anything but disappointed after the game, refusing to let her players hang their heads.

"I told them I've never been prouder of a group of girls," said Leake, whose team dropped to 4-3. "The team is dealing with a lot of things right now."

Leake said several players are under suspension for breaking team rules, including two starters.

"We're playing with a lot of emotion," Leake added. "Both of my pitchers did a great job. This was an early-season game and we will battle with them again down the road. Every time we play them, it will be close."