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Monticello takes Region II title

The situation was eerily similar. Victoria Scott was on second base, the game was deadlocked and Lydia Neuroth was at the plate with outs to work with.

Monticello was in the exact same situation during the regional semifinals, but this time, instead of Neuroth hitting a gamewinning RBI, a bit of opportunistic baserunning gave the Mustangs the 2-1 win over Briar Woods and the school’s first ever Region II softball championship.

“This is huge for us,” said Monticello coach Beth Humphrey. “This senior class has been with me since eighth grade, and they have worked hard every year. We’ve seen them come up short every time we got into regionals. To pull out the win is huge for us and huge for the program.”

The win gives the Mustangs a home game in the state quarterfinals, which they’ll host next week against Poquoson.

After Scott advanced to third on one-out hit Neuroth’s hit in the bottom of the sixth, Briar Woods’ catcher tried to pick off Scott during Paige Lipscomb’s ensuing at bat, but she overthrew the bag and the ball bounded into right field. That allowed Scott to score, pushing Monticello ahead for the first time in the game.

“I definitely felt confident (after she reached third), we only had one out at the time and you can do a lot with one out,” Scott said.

Monticello managed to settle in against Briar Woods’ standout sophomore lefthander Macy Jones, adjusting to the talented hurler’s rise ball well enough to rack up eight hits. Amber Dillow had the Mustangs’ lone RBI on a single in the bottom of the fifth inning while Lynley Price and Lydia Neuroth each went 2 for 3 on the night. Scott had the sixth inning double, her third double of the week after hitting a pair of the in the Region II semifinals.

“(Jones) had a really good rise ball and we haven’t faced many pitchers that have actual movement with the rise ball,” Scott said. “But once we started laying off that we made her bring it down.”

Scott put together a typical performance in the circle, striking out 13 and surrendering just a single walk and four hits. Briar Woods’ run, scored in the top of the third, came on a throwing error. On the whole though, Monticello’s defense was strong with several key plays — two by left fielder Rachael Eplee — preventing the Falcons from extending their one-run lead. That also allowed Scott to push the envelope a little more in the late innings.

“At first I was trying to pitch around them a little too much and then they started to see that and they stopped swinging,” Scott said. “After a certain point you just have to start going after them.”

Scott did just that, striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh to end the game and secure the win for the Mustangs.

And she’ll need to do that again if the Mustangs are going to keep advancing. A gauntlet of opponents await in the state tournament starting with Poquoson next week.

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