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MULTIPLE PRINCE WILLIAM TEAMS ADVANCE TO STATES
A slew of Prince William County teams advanced to state tournaments with regional semifinal victories on Tuesday. Among the squads advancing: Brentsville baseball, softball and girls soccer; Osbourn Park softball; Colgan baseball and girls lacrosse, and Battlefield boys and girls lacrosse.
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Prince William Times | June 1, 2023
BORRAYO-LED YELLOW JACKETS STING WOODBRIDGE, 3-2, TO CLINCH STATE BERTH Hirschy’s RBI single in fifth sends Osbourn Park to Thursday’s region softball final By Matthew Proctor Times Staff Writer
It felt like a duel of grand masters in chess. Osbourn Park ace Samantha Borrayo and Woodbridge counterpart Jericho Tate went back and forth in Tuesday’s Class 6 Region B semifinal in a match so tight it felt one slip up would be a devastating blow. With a berth in the Class 6 state tournament on the line and the loser going home, the host Yellow Jackets broke a 2-2 tie on Cordia Hirschy’s clutch fifth inning single to win 3-2. “I’m super proud of their effort, they played as a team tonight,” said Osbourn Park coach Patrick DeRosa. “They didn’t let a blunder in the middle of the game get into their heads. They finished the game strong. And that’s been the biggest thing, finish games, win as a team, make the heads up plays.” Although Borrayo was dominant, striking out 10, her throwing error helped the Vikings score twice to tie the game in the fourth. But she recovered to close out a mostly flawless complete game two-hit outing. “I just wanted to get ahead on each batter and just finish the pitch. If I got ahead, I wanted to keep it going and just stay strong,” said Borrayo, who is a junior like Tate. Osbourn Park (19-3) advanced to Thursday’s region final (6 p.m.) where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s Colgan vs. John
Yellow Jacket sophomore Ella Onstott celebrates at the end of an inning.
PHOTOS BY DOUG STROUD
Osbourn Park catcher Cordia Hirschy (above) had the winning hit in Tuesday’s tense 3-2 win over Woodbridge in the Class 6 Region B semifinals. With the win, OP (19-3) moved on to Thursday’s region championship game and secured a berth in the Class 6 quarterfinals on June 6. Champe semifinal. Reigning region champ Woodbridge (17-6) saw its season and bid to go back to states end with a tough loss. “We don’t set our sights on, ‘Let’s just have a good regular season and go from there,’” said DeRosa. “Our goal is win the conference, make it to the regional final, win the regional final and try to advance to states. It’s some-
thing where we built a good program.” While the loss stings, Woodbridge returns almost their entire lineup next season as their young roster featured just two seniors. Coach Nicole Belk can’t wait to see what’s in store. “This season was a lot more of trying to mold the team together,” Belk said. “We’re a very heavy junior class. I’m only losing two players,
one starter. So, our whole team is returning next year. It’s a matter of we took this year to mold and hopefully by next year we’ll be a good fit.” OP is also young with just one senior. After winning the region in 2021, the Yellow Jackets have reloaded and look primed to contend for years with four freshman and two sophomores in the starting lineup. With both squads likely to be in the mix atop the region in the future, it would be no surprise to see a rematch next season. “We got a bunch of new girls to the team this year and I’m excited that they’re a part of the success. Hopefully it carries on,” said DeRosa. Foreshadowing what was to come for Woodbridge, Borrayo quickly disposed of the Vikings’ hitters in the top of the first. On a groundout and a pair of strikeouts, Borrayo pitched the first of six 1-2-3 innings. Woodbridge’s starter Tate countered Borrayo’s inning in the bottom of the first with three quick outs of her own. The second inning went the same way as both aces retired the side in order. See SOFTBALL, page 10
From left to right are Woodbridge junior Trinity Roth, OP junior pitcher Samantha Borrayo and Yellow Jacket freshman Mia Gamble.
