Ashley Hansen hit a grand slam, and Jennie Finch threw a two-hit shutout as the U.S. advanced to the World Cup of Softball championship game with an 8-0 win against Australia yesterday. Hansen broke open the game in the third inning with her first home run as a member of the national team. Australian starter Aimee Murch (1-2) had already forced in runs by hitting Alissa Haber and then walking Andrea Duran before Hansen pulled a 1-1 pitch from reliever Kaia Parnaby just over the fence in right field for a 7-0 U.S. lead.

The presentation of the high school spring sports players of the year and All-Metro teams begins tomorrow with boys tennis.  Thursday: Girls tennis; Friday: Boys Soccer; Saturday: Girls Soccer; Sunday: Softball.

First team : Pitchers: Jake Mayers, Hanover; Blake Hauser, Manchester. Catcher: Chris Ayers, Manchester. 1B: Austin Erb, Hanover. 2B: Augie Ayers, Manchester. 3B: Joey Cujas, Manchester. SS: Reed Gragnani, Mills Godwin. Outfielders: Austin Kilbourne, Matoaca; Bill Cullen, Thomas Dale; Adam Blankenship, Mills Godwin. Utility: R.C. Orlan, Deep Run. DH: Daniel Harrison, L.C. Bird

It would be easy to say the high school career of Hanover senior softball player Amanda Woolard has taken a downward spiral. The expected path of most players has them starting off on a young, struggling team as a freshman then they win a state championship as an experienced senior. The opposite holds true for Woolard. As a freshman, Woolard was the starting left fielder on the Hawks’ 2006 AAA state championship team. The only path for Woolard to take was a descent from that highlight moment.

Prev. TeamW-Lrank
2. Hanover17-1No. 2 3. Thomas Dale15-3No. 3
4. Matoaca15-4No. 4
5. Mills Godwin14-4No. 5
6. Lee-Davis12-4No. 6
7. Dinwiddie14-5No. 7
8. Steward22-3No. 8
9. Douglas Freeman13-6No. 10
10. St. Christopher’s18-4-
Softball Prev.
TeamW-Lrank
2. Midlothian15-1No. 4 3. Prince George14-3No. 7

Carissa Conroy can no longer dominate on the diamond but will graduate this weekend and is praised by her coach and teammates for her leadership abilities.

HIGH SCHOOLS Nansemond-Suffolk 202
(9 holes, Tuckahoe Creek Course at CCV, par 36)
  C: Mabry 35, Cantor 39, Donohue 39, Sauter 39 NS: Werszner 47, Lewis 47, Brunett 54, Sharett 54 At Thomas Dale
Long jump—Q. Fulgham (TD) 23-1¾; triple jump—Q. Fulgham (TD) 45-10¾; high jump—Tyler (Meadowbrook) 6-2; shot put—Hartman (TD) 49-4¼; discus—Chatman (Mbk) 142-2

Prev. TeamW-Lrank
2. Hanover12-1No. 2 3. Thomas Dale13-3No. 3
4. Matoaca12-3No. 4
5. Mills Godwin11-3No. 7
6. Lee-Davis10-4No. 5
7. Dinwiddie12-4No. 6
8. Steward18-3No. 10
9. Deep Run7-4No. 9
10. Doug. Freeman10-6No. 8
Softball Prev.
TeamW-Lrank
2. Powhatan13-1No. 3 3. Cosby11-2No. 4
4. Midlothian12-1No. 2

Deep Run is searching for a varsity girls basketball coach. Shawna Duda, who started the program when the school opened in 2002, has stepped down to spend more time with her family. “I might get back into coaching sometime,“ Duda said. “My daughter [Savannah] is 15 months old and is a blast to play with.“ She missed a couple of weeks in February 2008 to give birth.

BLACKSBURG Whenever Virginia Tech’s softball team walked onto the field earlier this season, sophomore pitcher Kenzie Roark began an inner dialogue that continued for most of the game. “I’m good,“ she’d tell herself. “I’m here for a reason. I’m gonna strike these people out.“ Looking back, Roark dubbed this strategy “fake it ‘til you make it.“ She had to fake it. She wasn’t as confident as she was in high school, when she led Mount Juliet (Tenn.) to two state championship games. Now she had to confront the pressure of being the No. 1 pitcher on a Division I team.

Call it a seasonal migration. Richmond-area athletes are traveling east on I-64 in noteworthy numbers to spend the school year in general and the softball season in particular at Christopher Newport University.

The Cosby and Midlothian softball teams were ready to play their showdown game for first place in the Dominion District right on time. One of the umpires was not. After he arrived 35 minutes late, he made a close call on the first batter at first base that went Cosby’s way. Little did anyone in attendance on a cool, gray late afternoon at Midlothian know how much things would go wrong for the Trojans, who began the game ranked No. 2 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10 and undefeated in the district.

(Does not include last night’s games)  Prev.
TeamW-Lrank
2. Deep Run6-1No. 8 3. Hanover6-1No. 6
4. Cosby6-0No. 5
5. Matoaca9-2No. 2
6. Lee-Davis6-3No. 4
7. Thomas Dale6-3No. 3
8. Dinwiddie9-2—
9. Mills Godwin7-2No. 10
10. Steward9-1—
Softball Prev.
TeamW-Lrank
2. Lee-Davis6-1No. 1 3. Midlothian6-0No. 3

Wednesday’s results Hermitage————————————- 000 000 0—0 3 2  J.R. Tucker————————————- 200 030 x—5 5 1
Hall, Francisco (4) and Diaz; Rice and Wootton. W: Rice. L: Hall Highlights: Kelly Strickler (H) 1 for 3; Kaitlyn Cheek (JRT) 1 for 1, double; Jordan Wootton (JRT) 1 for 2, double, 2 RBI; Stefannie Asselanis (JRT) 1 for 2, double, RBI

The softball birth certificate for perhaps the area’s team of the future might read: Born: Jan. 11, 2009. Place: Savannah, Ga. That’s where upstart Beach Construction/Fisher Electric, managed by Jimmy Beach, not only took its first breath, but then muscled up to kick sand in everyone’s faces. Fledgling Chesterfield-based Beach/Fisher was last man standing in the 52-team, SSAA Winter Nationals.