ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Lord Botetourt pitcher Jessica Thompson got the feeling just in time to give the Cavaliers the Blue Ridge District softball title Tuesday.
Fighting a fingernail injury on her pitching hand, Thompson struggled for three hitters. Then the feeling returned to her right hand and she threw a three-hitter as the Cavaliers beat Salem 1-0 at Moyer Complex to take the regular-season championship.
Lord Botetourt (16-2 overall, 8-2 district) qualified for the Region III tournament in two weeks and will be the top seed for next week's Blue Ridge District tournament.
Thompson fell behind the first hitter of the game before getting Salem's Jessica Beamer on a hard grounder to first. Crystal Fant slapped a single to center and Caroline Spencer drew a walk for the Spartans' most serious threat. Thompson (9-1) then struck out the next two hitters and allowed only one runner past second the rest of the game. She retired the final six Salem hitters in a row.
``I had to get used to pitching,'' Thompson said. ``My fingers hurt. I got in a fight with my younger brother Jake and pulled my nail loose. I had to clip the nail down.
``He's only 13 and 13-year-olds can be brats. I never felt I couldn't pitch, and I wasn't going to blame it on him if we lost.''
The Cavaliers' victory climaxed quite a comeback. Lord Botetourt had lost to William Byrd and Alleghany. In the past two weeks, Botetourt started winning close games, including a 3-1 decision over Byrd just after Thompson's tussle with her brother. That snapped a three-way tie for first place.
``This team has come back,'' said Andy Ward, Botetourt coach. ``After Alleghany, we had a team meeting and decided the only thing to do was to play well and not make mistakes. I'd like to have had seven or eight runs today, but it didn't matter. After the first inning, Jessica settled down and threw strikes.''
Offensively, the Cavaliers didn't solve Salem pitcher Nikki Long, who scattered seven hits. Botetourt scored in the second when Lizzy Keister got a one-out single to center. Thompson drew a walk and Keister scored an unearned run on a throwing error by Salem third baseman Brooke Spencer.
``That's been the story of our season - errors,'' said Salem coach Jim ``Shorty'' Wright, whose team slipped to 6-13 overall and 3-7 in the district. ``When we hit the ball, we always seem to hit it at somebody. Nikki and Erica Lokey have both pitched well all year.''
The Cavaliers' defense was a factor with catcher Teresa Snodgrass keeping runners close with her constant throws, second baseman Sara Moore scooping up everything close to her and first baseman Jessie Davisson making the play of the day when she stabbed a line drive in foul territory and doubled a runner at first.
``I'm so grateful for the fielders,'' said Thompson, who struck out six.
Ward said the recent close games have helped the Cavaliers late in the season.
``They're good for us when tournament time rolls around. You have to win the close games and in the last two weeks, we've had a lot of them,'' he said.
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