Leesburg, Va. — With one out in the top of the second inning, the Loudoun Valley High School softball team loaded the bases. Even with an early 3-run lead, Tuscarora did not hesitate to make a move as junior ace Lindsey Mullen entered the circle to get the Huskies out of the jam. Two batters later, Mullen had eliminated the Vikings’ threat with a pair of strike outs.

Then over her next five innings of work, Mullen continued to carve up the Vikings’ bats. When all was said and done, Mullen struck out 17 of the 19 batters she faced—walking the other two—as the Huskies shut out the Vikings, 5-0, to earn a Dulles District win on March 29 in Leesburg.

“Lindsey came in and just shut them down. Getting out of that jam in the second was huge, but it’s not unexpected of her,” Tuscarora head coach Bridget Kemp said. “I’m happy she got the first out, because we didn’t want Loudoun Valley to get back to the top of their lineup with only one out.”

Mullen took the circle having already helped the Huskies at the plate, delivering a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to plate senior shortstop Katie Scheivert—who went 4-for-4—and junior starting pitcher Lillie Wools to put Tuscarora up, 2-0. Having advanced to third on a throw and an error, Mullen then scored when junior third baseman Olivia Bruns delivered a sac fly to left as the Huskies took an early 3-0 lead.

After Mullen got out of the second-inning jam, she then walked to lead off the third before Bruns crushed a line-drive, 2-run home run to left center for her second and third RBI of the night as the Huskies extended their lead to 5-0.

Tuscarora threatened again in the fourth, but Loudoun Valley sophomore starter Madison Greene worked around back-to-back walks to start the inning to keep the Vikings in the ball game. However, despite blanking the Huskies in the final three innings, the Vikings themselves couldn’t get their bats going.

Mullen worked around leadoff walks in the fifth and sixth, but the velocity on her fastball plus the sneakiness of a knee-buckling changeup kept the Vikings off balance as Mullen struck out the side in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

“Our two pitchers did exactly what we asked of them, which put us in a position to win,” Kemp said. “Being able to use Lillie [Wools] a little more this year has allowed Lindsey to save her arm which has been a big help.”

Tuscarora (1-0, 4-0) is the early favorite to win the Dulles District, and the convincing win over Loudoun Valley (1-1, 4-1) only reinforces their position atop the district standings. The Huskies are confident their pitching will keep them in games and are hopeful their offense can keep up.

“We came out hitting tonight, but our offensive consistency is going to make or break games,” Kemp said. “We have to keep up the intensity so we can pull through in the close games throughout the season.”

Derrick Jerry captured 125+ photos at the game!

Tuscarora Batting

Loudoun Valley Batting

Tuscarora Pitching

Loudoun Valley Pitching