<b>Lange Wins Boxing Title</b>
Northern Virginia boxer and Bishop O’Connell alum Jimmy Lange (30-3-2, 21 KOs) thrilled a crowd of 4,132 at the Patriot Center on Saturday night by defeating Frank Houghtaling (19-16-6, 4 KOs) via TKO for the vacant 154-lb. WBC USNBC Championship. Lange punished Houghtaling throughout the bout, but the Albany, N.Y. fighter persevered, demanding the best of Lange before retiring in his corner after the fifth round. The fight also marked the end of Houghtaling’s in-ring career, as he announced in a post-fight news conference his retirement and plans to become a preacher.
<b>Yorktown Baseball Wins Again</b>
Senior Jordan LaBella pitched a one-hit shutout and seniors Ben Reifsnyder and Tom Brady blasted home runs as the Yorktown Patriots celebrated Senior Night May 1 with a 11-0 spanking of Falls Church. Yorktown is now 15-3 on the season, including 9-1 in the National District with two district games remaining against Stuart.
LaBella pitched a complete game for his second win of the season. He struck out 11 and walked four. The only ball hit out of the infield was a third inning grounder up the middle for a single. He worked himself out of a bases loaded, no outs jam in the fourth.
Centerfielder Brady hit the first homer of his career, a three-run blast to right center in the bottom of the first. Brady has been a steady performer for the Patriots all year and has raised his average to .347, fourth on the team. Catcher Reifsnyder connected on his first homer of the year in the third inning, a towering shot to left center.
Yorktown had only three other base knocks in the game. The hits were by the Patriots top three hitters — LaBella (.444 average, 26 RBIs), senior second baseman Kyle Toulouse (.415, 30 runs scored, 18 stolen bases) and shortstop Zach Madison (.365, 16 RBIs). Each of those three had a pair of RBIs against Falls Church.
<b>Lacrosse Update</b>
Both the Yorktown and Washington-Lee boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams advanced past the first round of the National District playoffs last Friday. As a result all four teams qualify for the Northern Region tournament, which begins play next week.
The Yorktown boys’ team travels to Mount Vernon, while W-L faces off at Falls Church in the semifinal round, with games scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday night, after the Connection’s deadline.
The W-L girls’ will face the Yorktown girls in the semifinals, also on Tuesday night after the Connection’s deadline. Both championship games will take place Friday at Yorktown.
*Update: Yorktown defeated Washington-Lee in girls' lacrosse Tuesday night to advance to the final against Falls Church Friday night. The Yorktown boys' lost to Mount Vernon, 9-8, and the W-L boys' lost, 21-17, to Falls Church. Both still advance to next week's regional tournament.