U12 team roll into title game

WINDSOR — The Roanoke Valley U12 all-star team has pulled off a nearly impossible accomplishment the last two days in Windsor. With the temperatures reaching the high 90’s, the Roanoke Valley all-stars have beaten two teams without breaking a sweat — figuratively speaking. The team has picked up two impressive wins and will play for the district title today.

Roanoke Valley U12 Head Coach Sam Conner said last week that his girls should be one of the bigger teams in the division and he felt like other teams would be intimidated by the physical presence of the team. It’s hard to say if Cashie was intimidated by the bigger Roanoke Valley team, but they sure had to be scared of their bats. Roanoke Valley scored two runs to start the game and never looked back, dominating Cashie, 10-0, in five innings Friday night. Saturday afternoon versus Dare County, the Roanoke Valley squad copied the same script from the previous night, blanking Dare County by an identical, 10-0, score.

Roanoke Valley hit the ball early and often versus both Camden and U12 pitcher Sierra Hearp was amazing on the mound, only giving up two hits, as the Roanoke Valley team attempts to make it three consecutive U12 district titles. Right off the bat the team showed they were there to play as Lindsey Pulley blasted the first pitch to deep left field for a double. Emily Conner scored Pulley and the Roanoke Valley team scored an unearned run to take a two-point lead into the second inning.

Roanoke Valley scored one run in the second, third and fourth inning before exploded for five runs to close out Cashie in the fifth. Meredith Stevenson hit an in the park home run to score the only run in the second, Conner drove in a run in the third and Latajah Jones used some nifty base running to score on a passed ball in the fourth to put Roanoke Valley ahead, 5-0, after four complete innings.

Hearp, who struck out six batters in the contest, gave up a single to Cashie in the top of the fifth, but that would be their last highlight of the evening. The Roanoke Valley U12 team poured it on in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early. Jamie Harris and Conner got back to back singles and Kayley Copeland added a double, allowing Roanoke Valley to get runners on base. Roanoke Valley took advantage, scoring three unearned runs to go up, 8-0. Hearp, who was just as good at the plate as she was on the mound, drove in another run with a single and the Roanoke Valley squad clinched the shut out, scoring on a passed ball.

Against Dare County the Roanoke Valley squad started the game off with a bang when lead off batter Lindsey Pulley hit an in the park homer during her first at bat, and from then on the team never looked back. Roanoke Valley went up 2-0 in the first, added six runs in the third and capped the game off with two more in the fourth inning before the game was called. Ryan Hilliard and Hearp both contributed to the shut out on the mound.

The U12 team will play for the title today at 2 p.m.