William Monroe ladies defeated by Louisa Lions, 2-0

Just over halfway through the season, rain is still causing havoc on the spring schedule for the William Monroe Dragons softball and baseball teams. The softball team was scheduled to play the Louisa Lions on Tuesday, April 21.
The game was pushed back to Wednesday the 22nd because of rain and then was finally played on Thursday the 23rd. That forced Dragons to have to play back-to-back nights of district games on Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday night, a lack of hitting proved to be the major factor against the Lions. After a quick inning of Monroe hitting, Louisa grabbed an early lead, pushing across the first run of the game in the bottom of the first.
Two walks issued by pitcher Taylor Collier proved costly as Louisa got a one-out base hit to take the lead 1-0. Designated hitter Megan Carey got the first Dragon hit in the top of the second inning, but was stranded as the next two batters struck out leaving her on base.
The next Monroe threat came in the top of the third as Samantha Lawson and Kacey Thomas each got a hit, putting the Dragons in business. Just as before, the next two batters got out, leaving the runners stranded.
"We could not get the big hits with base runners on," said coach Chad Roach.
The Lions struck again in the bottom of the fourth. A two-out triple followed by an RBI single gave Louisa a 2-0 lead.
The Dragons looked as if they were going to finally get over the hump and score a run in the top of the fifth. A one-out walk followed by a fielder's choice in which both runners were safe had Monroe looking good.
But, once again, the next two batters couldn't get the big hit and the runners were stranded on base.
The sixth inning went by without any harm for either team. In came the last chance for the Dragons to get anything done. It looked as if they were done -- until Katelyn Roach hit a two-out triple.
But the previous pattern continued, and a groundout ended the game leaving yet another runner in scoring position. The final score: 2-0, a Louisa win.
A bright spot in the game was the pitching of Taylor Collier. She held Louisa to just two runs off five hits.
"Taylor pitched a very good game," said coach Roach. "We just didn't give her the help she needed to get the win."
The Dragons were held to zero runs off just four hits. Carey, Roach, Lawson and Thomas each had one of the four hits for Monroe. With the loss, the Dragons fell to 3-3 in the district with just six games remaining in the regular season.
On Friday, William Monroe played in an away game against Charlottesville and won by a whopping 17-0!
“It was a good win because everybody got to play and everybody got to contribute and enjoy the success of it,” said coach Roach in an interview on Monday evening, April 27.
“It was a total team effort with all 13 girls contributing in a positive way.”
Roach also said the team was busy preparing for its last five games of the regular season.
“They are all must win games,” he added.