Senior captain Lauren Wilson hammered two balls deep over the wall as the Yorktown Patriots rolled the Rebels, 10-4, Tuesday night at Fairfax. Wilson nearly hit a third on a ball that fell just a foot short and into a Rebel glove.
“I try to be,” said Wilson about being a home run hitter, as she finished the day going 2-for-3 with two walks while driving in four runs.
“She’s a game-breaker, she’s the real deal, she can catch for us, a great utility player anywhere we need her, a good head’s up base runner and has a tremendous focus. She’s a fantastic ball player, she really is,” said Yorktown head coach Al Richardson of Wilson who has a full scholarship to play softball at George Washington University next year.
“Home runs happen … you can’t prevent home runs, you can prevent errors and routine plays from not happening. They’re a much better team than the [way] they’re playing right now,” said Fairfax head coach Linda Young-Davis whose squad fell to 2-2 on the young season.
Trailing 7-0, the Rebels struck back in the bottom of the third inning, Junior shortstop Lisa Charney ripped a double to centerfield, driving in two runs and cutting the Yorktown lead, 7-2.
Wilson, who also hit two homeruns in a scrimmage earlier this year, ensured that the Rebel hope was short lived though as she led of the top of the fourth inning with her second home run of the game, a no-doubt shot over the centerfield wall, making the score 10-2.
Despite taking the loss and surrendering the home runs, Fairfax sophomore pitcher Ashley Rollins pitched a solid complete game.
Rollins recorded eight strikeouts over the seven cold and rainy innings and also drove in the last run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning, making the final score 10-4.
“She’s coming off a little injury, a shoulder injury,” said Young-Davis of Rollins. “She’s usually a little sharper than that but she has it no doubt about that.”
The 10-4 victory was the first one ever for the Patriots over the Rebels. The two non-district opponents have played each other sporadically over the years, and Fairfax holds the advantage with a 9-1 record versus Yorktown.