The sixth-seeded Oakton Cougars defeated the third-seeded Herndon Hornets 13-6 in an intense eight-inning contest in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Concorde District tournament, ending Herndon’s season and advancing Oakton to the semifinals against second-seeded Westfield. [Oakton lost to Westfield, which beat Centreville for the tournament title.]

 

Cougar righthander Andy Gross held Herndon scoreless through six frustrating innings in which the Hornets tallied only four hits, left five runners on base and saw four others thrown out running. Gross had also shut out the Hornets for the three innings he pitched in the first Hornet-Cougar match-up in mid-April. In tonight's outing, he threw only one strikeout in his six-plus innings and Herndon hitters consistently made contact, but they found it difficult to punch through the Cougars' defense, racking up seven flyouts and five groundouts. 

 

Meanwhile, Cougar hitters slowly built a 6-0 lead against district first team pitcher Daniel Shill, who gave up two runs in the first inning, a Chad Carroll three-run homer in the third, and a solo home run by Chris Hanson in the top of the sixth. Herndon reliever and district first team outfielder Nick Impellizzeri took over for Shill in the sixth and quickly ended the advance by striking out two consecutive batters. He then held the Cougars scoreless in the top of the seventh, giving the Hornets a shot at a comeback.

 

After struggling through four innings, the Hornets began to show some life against Gross in the fifth and sixth with a Zach Reif single, a triple by Connor McNichol, and several hard hit fly balls that boosted their determination going into the bottom of the seventh. The large, energetic Herndon crowd helped keep them in the game and the running sideline commentary by former Herndon players, just home from college, provided some welcome comic relief.

 

The crowd really came alive in the bottom of the seventh as the Hornets defied the odds and racked up six runs against Gross and two relievers to tie the game and send it into a decisive eighth inning. Alex Clark, Dylan Garten, and JJ McMann led off the seventh with three hard base hits to center field, which sent Gross to the dugout for the night. RJ Garcia stepped in and hit Connor McNichol with his fourth pitch, sending him to first and Clark home for Herndon’s first run of the night. The Hornets battled for five more runs before reliever Chad Carroll was able to get Garten, in his second appearance of the inning, to pop up to short and end the comeback.

 

It was then the Cougars’ turn to defy the odds. After seeing their comfortable lead evaporate, they came out swinging in the top of the eighth and drilled Impellizzeri for seven more runs. Impellizzeri showed a lot of class as he kept his composure and worked through a tough inning in which he gave up two walks and the Cougars added four singles and a triple.

 

The Cougars capped the unlikely turnaround by putting down the Hornets in the bottom of the eighth with a double play and a strikeout. Despite the disappointing outcome, the Hornets had tenaciously battled back and nearly pulled off a stunning comeback. They end with an 11-7 overall record for a season that saw many changes and a more aggressive style of play under new Head Coach Greg Miller. The season lays a strong foundation for the new program and next year’s returning and rising varsity players. (By J. McMann)

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