Lauren Vinson had one thing in mind when she let the pitch go to Great Bridge batter Kaitlynn Szczepanski in the semifinals of the Virginia High School League Group AAA softball tournament: get ahead in the count. Vinson’s Prince George team was locked in a scoreless battle in the bottom of the seventh inning. “I didn’t really know what she had done for their season. I didn’t know she was one of their big hitters,“ said Vinson, who had struck out Szczepanski in her previous at-bat. “I wasn’t as cautious as I should have been. I should have pitched away from her. When I saw the bat make contact, I was like ‘that’s outta here.‘“

Prince George softball coach Pat Waguespack will begin focusing on his team’s appearance in the semifinals of the Virginia High School League Group AAA tournament today. The rain that wrecked the original tournament schedule at Westfield High in Chantilly permitted Waguespack to be on hand for a joyous occasion last night: his daughter’s graduation from Prince George.