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By Jon Smythe
Athletic Director
They did it! They beat everyone they had to beat and they refused to lose. The Rappahannock High School Girls’ Varsity Softball Team is the 2001 Single “A” Virginia State Champion.
On Tuesday, June 5 the Region A runner-up, the Lady Trojans from New Kent High School came to town. They had been beaten by the Lancaster High School Lady Red Devils 1 - 0 to finish the Regional Tournament as the runner-up.
They came to Rappahannock County to face the Region “B” Champions in the first-ever, State Quarter-final game hosted at RCHS. Before a home crowd of nearly 300 enthusiastic fans, the Lady Panthers put on quite a show. The speed and bunting of the home team totally unnerved the girls from New Kent.
When it was over, Rachel Sharp had struck out 13 and the Panthers had burned the New Kent nine for six runs. The final score was 6-1 and the Softball Team was on to Salem, Virginia for the State semi-finals.
On Friday night, June 8 the Lady Panthers took the field at 8 p.m., as the home team in the semi-final game of the State Tournament. Their opponent was the Lady Blue Devils from Castlewood High School in Castlewood, Va. The Castlewood Team was the region “D” Champion and entered the game with a 20 and 1 season record.
They weren’t prepared for what they were about to witness. The large contingent of Rappahannock County fans that attended the game that night knew exactly what was in store for the Castlewood side.
Sophomore pitching Ace, Rachel Sharp, set down the Lady Blue Devils one, two, three in the top of the first, with three straight strikeouts! Then the Lady Panthers struck. Junior Gwen Johnson, the first year stellar catcher, led off the bottom of the first with a slashing triple to left field that had the crowd buzzing.
Freshman speedster, Ryisha Cook, followed with the patented, Rapp bunt that scored Johnson and put the high-flying Cook on the base paths. The rest was history.
Although the score was only 3-0 in favor of the Lady Panthers, it
See CHAMPIONS, Page A8
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