Lady Dragons fall to Fluvanna

By Jeremy Knight Special Correspondent
Published: May 15, 2008

On Tuesday night, May 6, the William Monroe Varsity softball team traveled to Fluvanna for a Jefferson District match up.
Offense was hard to come by as Fluvanna’s pitcher and Monroe’s pitcher Samantha Lawson kept their teams in a close battle.
Monroe got things started in the top of the first inning by scoring the first run of the game. Taylor Collier reached on a Fluvanna error and was later brought home off a rbi triple by Bethany Leake.
The Flucos didn’t threaten until the bottom of the second inning when a walk followed by a single had runners at first and second with just one out. But Lawson would get a ground ball out, followed by a pick off throw to first base from Melanie Lamb, that ended the threat. 
Both teams were unable to get anything going in the third inning but would turn things around in the fourth. Monroe got a one out double by Katelyn Roach but was unable to get her home.
In the Fluvanna half of the fourth, the Flucos would get runners at first and second with just one out off a walk and a single. But, once again, Lawson pitched her way out of trouble by getting the next batter to pop out, and a strike out ended the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Monroe got two runners on with a single-to-left by Brittnee Conley, followed by another Fluvanna error that allowed Collier to reach with just one out. Just when things were looking good for Monroe, they would end up running themselves out of a scoring opportunity as Conley got a little too far off second when a pop out to second would double her up.
This ended a good scoring chance for the Dragons.
However, the fifth inning was not the only inning that base running errors cost the Dragons a possible scoring chance.
Even with the base running mistakes, Monroe still held on to a 1-0 lead through the first five innings. It wouldn’t be until the bottom of the sixth inning when Fluvanna would finally get on the board.
With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Lawson walked the second batter to put a runner on first. The next at bat would prove to be a game changing one—the Fluvanna hitter hit a home run to deep center field giving them the lead 2-1.
The Fluco’s would get another single in the inning but was unable to score any more runs.
In the top of the seventh, Monroe went down without any base runners and came up one run short in a very close game, losing 2-1.
Along with runs being at a minimum, hits were also very hard to come by for both teams. Fluvanna had just 5 hits, and Monroe had only 4.
Getting the hits for Monroe was Brittnee Conley, Lauren Thompson, Bethany Leake --who also had the only rbi—and Katelyn Roach. The Dragons were also helped out by 4 Fluvanna errors, but they were unable to capitalize on them.
When asked about the loss, Coach Salita Sullivan said, “You have to give them credit; they did just enough to win. They got the bit hit when they needed it.”
She also said, “Sam pitched well for us and we played solid defense, but base running mistakes would cost us.”
On Wednesday, May 7, the team went on to beat the Louisa Lions in Louisa by a solid score of 7-3.
“The girls played a great game,” said Coach Sullivan. “Our offense and defense was very strong against Louisa. I was very proud of their performance.”
At press time, on Tuesday, May 13, the Lady Dragons—coming up on the end of the regular season—were preparing for the Monticello Mustangs, the final game before the Jefferson District tournament