Rising Sun's softball team heeded the advice of Spanish philosopher George Santayana. Santayana once famously said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The Tigers made certain the past was prologue. A year after squandering a two-run seventh inning lead in the region title game, Rising Sun blanked host Queen Anne's 4-0 Monday, May 21, behind a complete game shutout by Molly Dill. "That was kind of our driving force this year," Rising Sun coach Rusty Moore said. "We knew we let that one get away and we felt that it was all us. It was kind of a redemption type of year for us, proving that we can really do this and win that, and take that next step."
It is the 10th region title in program history and first since 2012. Rising Sun has won a county-best six state titles. The Tigers face La Plata in the state semifinals Tuesday (May 22) at 4 p.m. at Bachman Park (field 3). "I'm just overly excited," an emotional Ally Bradford said. "After what happened last year, we had the lead and we lost it last year. Coming in here this year, we were definitely thinking about the game last year. I know at least I was. And coming out with this win is huge for us. We were really looking forward to this." The bad memories of last year came flooding back in the bottom of the seventh when the Lions put their first two batters on base. "That's the first thing I thought of," Dill said. "Last year with us winning and them having people on base. But I wasn't worried. I think we were in a much better mindset this year. We were more together. We are more of a team. So I wasn't too worried about it." "[Last season] definitely crossed my mind," said shortstop Ally Bradford. "I was really thinking about how the same thing happened last year when we played North Caroline, but we beared down and we came out with the win." Dill retired the next three batters to seal the deal. Moore and his players remained cool under the pressure. "I played a lot of ball myself and I have been in those situations a lot," he said. "If I'm not calm, there's no chance they're going to be calm. And at that point I have to put aside whatever I'm feeling. I knew we could do it. And those two runs didn't matter, truthfully. And once we got that first out, then they relaxed a little bit. And then they were able to go ahead and say, 'Ok, this is what we weren't able to do before'. That was kind of my thought process." Queen Anne's had rallied late to win its previous playoff game over North Caroline. "There in the seventh inning we knew they weren't going to give up," said Moore. "They were going to give us their best shot and throw everything they had at us. They did and we were able to weather the storm and that's the thing we weren't able to do last year." The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the third. Mia Sexton reached on an error and Ally Bradford had an infield hit off the pitcher's glove. After an out, Alyssa Paulette singled to left-center to load the bases. Alexa Hull blooped an RBI single to right and Bella Barbato plated a run on a groundout. Looking to counter quickly. Queen Anne's loaded the bases with one out in the home half before Dill fanned the next two hitters. The Tigers tacked on two more in the fifth. Dill singled to right to get things started. Queen Anne's committed three errors in the frame with both runs scoring on a throwing miscue on a grounder hit by Bradford. It is the second region title for Dill, who was a member of North East's region championship team two years ago. "This year is a little bit different because when I was at North East I didn't start the game as a pitcher,"she said. "I started in the outfield. So to be able to take all control, it makes me feel lot better. It makes me want to work a lot harder, because, this team, they count on me a lot and it shows. I love them. And they're good and they have my back." Dill, still battling the effects of a left foot/ankle injury suffered while stepping on home plate a few weeks ago, recorded 10 strikeouts. "Softball is mental so you just have to think that it's fine and work a little bit harder and it is what it is," Dill said. Said Moore: "She's just a tough kid. You can't raise them like that. They're just born that way. And that girl's tough. She wants it ... She told the girls, 'I've been here twice with you and I want to win it here. Let's do this.' It's great to have someone like that who's willing to fight through no matter what." Moore views the region title as a reward his stellar senior class deserves. "It's everything," the coach. "We came in together, essentially. They've been working hard for four years, just like I have. It's kind of one of those things where we built this and let's take it the whole way. We've come this far. Why not? Why not us?" Comments are closed.
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