The National District may not carry the traditional power of, say the Concorde in baseball or the Patriot in girls soccer. But almost across the board throughout the spring, Yorktown has dominated almost every sport, despite receiving a lack of notoriety in the region. Over the weekend, the Patriots earned district championships in baseball and softball, which was to be expected, along with boys and girls soccer. The girls lacrosse team also won, while the boys lacrosse team was upset by Falls Church in the championship.
<b>HEADING INTO</b> the baseball district final against second-seeded Edison, Yorktown head coach Mike Allen knew no other National District team had finished undefeated in both the regular season and postseason.
Yorktown earned a 4-1 home victory on Saturday evening, to capture its second straight district title. And for Allen, it capped a Northern Region-best 17th straight win.
Junior ace Kyle Toulouse (7-2) threw a two-hit complete game, striking out and walking five. But most importantly, the three-sport star held Edison’s bats in check by not allowing an earned run.
Edison did however, notch the game’s first run in the top of the second, and kept Yorktown within reach throughout. But that might have been the Patriots’ fault; having stranded 12 runners despite 10 Edison walks.
Yorktown countered, taking a one-run lead in the bottom half of the second. From there, the Patriots — like they’d done all season — never looked back.
Seniors Alex Brown and Danny Johnsen both went 2-for-2, with Brown getting two RBI’s — one in the third and another in the fifth. Yorktown had eight hits total, with senior centerfielder Steve Kouril and Jack Bergsman notching the team’s only extra base hits.
Up three in the top of the sixth, Toulouse worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam. With no outs, he got the Eagles to fly to short, and then recorded a strikeout. On the following play, Edison designated hitter Zac Crigler’s line-drive was caught by Patriot senior Brady Rall. Toulouse retired the side in the seventh.
After starting just 1-3, the Patriots closed with 17 straight wins, coinciding with the return of Kouril from a leg injury. Once the four-year varsity starter returned to the lineup, the Patriots went 14-0 throughout the district regular season and won both tournament games by a combined seven runs.
Yorktown became the first-ever National District team to finish undefeated in both the regular season and postseason.
As the No. 1 seed, the Patriots will host Robinson on Friday in the first round of the 16-team region tournament.
Cross-town rival Washington-Lee nearly made the tournament final, losing to Edison, 5-4, in the semifinal. After blasting sixth-seeded Stuart 21-2 in the opening round, the Generals gave up a four-run lead, allowing Edison to tally five runs in the sixth.
Even with the first round win, Washington-Lee made the regionals for the sixth straight year, where it will face Oakton on Friday.
Senior catcher Nate Rogers and ace J.P. Morgan both were named first-team all-district, while sophomore lefthander Tom Edwards, senior second baseman Mike Wall and junior third baseman Will Brower earned second-team honors.
<b>IN SOFTBALL</b>, Yorktown ousted second-seeded Mount Vernon, 9-4, to win a school-record 19th game, and also its 17th straight.
Behind junior ace Hannah Bauman, the National District Pitcher of the Year, the Patriots tallied its third victory over the Majors. The school’s reigning two-year most valuable player, who also pitched brilliantly in an 11-3 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Edison, allowed only two hits. She recorded five strikeouts and didn’t allow a walk.
Offensively, the Patriots built a nine-run lead behind 10 hits.
Baylor signee Bree Hanafin, named the league’s Player of the Year, tallied a game-high three-runs, while fellow first-team all-district selection Stephanie Severn had two hits and RBI’s.
It was only the sixth time this season that that Yorktown failed to score double-digit runs.
Hanafin, an all-region selection last season, has been a pivotal cog of the Yorktown success. In addition to Bauman, Hanafin and Severn, first baseman Lauren Wilson — a George Washington signee — second baseman Katie Sterling, third baseman Kristen Soroka and outfielder Gretchen Schneider earned first-team all-district honors.
In the championship, Mount Vernon briefly threatened, scoring four runs in the top of the seventh when Bauman was taken out. But first-year coach Al Richardson brought his ace back in, and she subsequently closed the game.
Coincidentally, Bauman threw a no-hitter against Mount Vernon in her first career start two years ago. The Patriots handed the Majors its only three losses within the district this season, a 20-5 mercy-rule on April 16 and a 9-2 victory on May 2.
Yorktown will face Westfield on Friday night in a first-round game of the Northern Region tournament at Yorktown.