Titans thump Trojans in softball showdown

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.

Fourth-ranked Cosby thumped Midlothian 11-2.

Softball was one of four games involving the two schools yesterday and last night.

Baseball was the only one involving unranked teams out of the chase for the regular-season district title that earns automatic entry into the Central Region tournament. Midlothian rallied to win 6-5 and hand the Titans, once ranked No. 4, a sixth consecutive defeat.

That was Midlothian's only victory.

The Trojans' girls soccer team took the field at Cosby newly ensconced as the No. 1 team in the T-D poll, but the fifth-ranked Titans prevailed 3-1. Becca Wann scored all three Cosby goals in the second half.

Second-ranked Cosby received goals from Adam Nelson and Chris Nelson in the second half to beat sixth-ranked Midlothian 2-0 in boys soccer.

In the softball game, Cosby (9-1, 11-2) put two runs on the board in the first.

"We put the ball in play and rattled them early to build momentum," Titans coach Ray Jeter said.

Not for long. The Trojans (9-1, 11-1) knotted the score with two runs in the second.

"They got [the runs] back, which is what I expect from Midlothian. They have a lot of heart," said Jeter, who was Midlothian coach Denise Manuel's assistant until three years ago when Cosby opened.

The Titans used two walks and a hit batter to load the bases in the third with no outs. The Trojans turned a double play, but more confusion occurred as to who was out and who wasn't. When it was sorted through, Sarah Wiltshire still had scored the go-ahead run.

Cosby put the game away with seven runs in the fifth inning. Midlothian pitcher Krista Townsend had a tough day. She walked Morgan Bell-Hill, and a passed ball moved the Titan to second. After an out, Townsend intentionally walked Morgan Reynolds (2 for 3, 2 runs, 3 RBI). Kayla Brady, Kristin Templeton and Amanda Leferman delivered three consecutive RBI singles in the hole between third and shortstop. Suzanne Spencer came on in relief, and Cosby scored three more runs with the help of three errors.

The Titans put the ball in play and make the opponent make a mistake. It's the Midlothian philosophy Jeter took with him to Cosby.

The ease of the victory surprised Reynolds.

"We came out for a tight ball game, but we played our best and got rewarded," Reynolds said. "We lost to them earlier and wanted revenge. We're happy where we are right now, and plan to win out."

Winning out probably means having to beat Midlothian a couple more times.

The Trojans were playing their third game in three days, and they have a fourth today against Dinwiddie. Cosby had a day of rest after beating James River Monday and Tuesday.

"It's done, and there's nothing else we can do," Manuel said. "I still felt like we were in the game when we came back, but we made some mistakes defensively that we don't normally do. We were behind in the count all day. We're going to have to fix it on the fly and give it our best. It's all you can do."

Contact Arthur Utley at (804) 649-6559 or .

Cosby ------------------------- 201 071 0 -- 11 7 0
Midlothian ------------------------- 020 000 0 -- 2 4 4

Higbie and Hall; Townsend, Spencer (3), Townsend (3), Spencer (5) and Edmunds

BASEBALL
Cosby ------------------------- 000 140 0 -- 5 8 2
Midlothian ------------------------- 030 012 x -- 6 10 0

Sisk, M. Birnbaum (5) and G. Birnbaum; Helbig, Barto (6) and Atkinson. W: Barto. L: M. Birnbaum

Highlights: Mitchell Shifflett (C) 2 for 2, triple, RBI, 2 runs; Tim Perry (C) double, 2 RBI, run; Luke Lowery (C) 2 for 4, 2 RBI; Sam LaMere (M) 2 for 3, HR, 2 RBI; Robert Atkinson (M) 2 for 3, 2 runs; John Gunst (M) 1 for 2, run, RBI; Nick Davis (M) 2 for 3, run

Records: Cosby 4-6 Dominion, 6-6; Midlothian 4-5, 8-7

GIRLS SOCCER
Midlothian ------------------------- 1 0 -- 1
Cosby ------------------------- 0 3 -- 3

M: Denck

C: Wann 3

Saves: Vanbargen (M) 8; Bloom (C) 9, Pond (C) 9

Records: Midlothian 9-1-1 Dominion, 10-2-2; Cosby 9-1-1, 10-2-1

BOYS SOCCER
Cosby ------------------------- 0 2 -- 2
Midlothian ------------------------- 0 0 -- 0

Cosby: A. Nelson, C. Nelson

Saves: Stowe (C) 6, Blake (M) 6

Records: Cosby 7-1-1 Dominion, 9-1-1; Midlothian 6-2-1, 8-3-1