Jacobs' arm stops Vikings' rally

With her team leading by three runs, Leighann Jacobs could have made a safe toss back to the infield Friday afternoon. But part of the fun of playing right field is occasionally getting to show off her arm.

And the Hylton sophomore has a good one.

There is a reason that the Bulldogs refer to Jacobs as "Muscles" -- a nickname that is growing in popularity with every game -- and she provided another timely example in the bottom of the sixth inning with a throw to third base that helped secure a 3-0 victory at Woodbridge.

As a former youth league catcher, Jacobs has a natural instinct to throw runners out, even from right field. So when Morgan Cooke tried to advance from first to third on a base hit by Jenna Hummel on Friday, Jacobs did what any good catcher turned outfielder would do. She threw a strike to third -- snuffing out a potential two-out rally and leaving one of the Cardinal Dis-trict's best hitters, Amanda Hernandez, stranded in the on-deck circle.

"When the ball was coming to me I saw her rounding second so I was just going to take a chance and throw it," Jacobs said.

It's a drill the Bulldogs work on every day in practice. Only this time, the Vikings had run-ners in motion and a rally in the making. Jacobs stopped it all with a laser beam throw.

All third baseman Tiffany Bingham had to do was catch it as Hylton built a two-game district lead with four regular season games remaining.

The Bulldogs (11-2, 6-0) were virtually flawless behind winning pitcher Kris Braxton, who faced only 24 batters. She allowed four hits, struck out four and was backed by a diving stop from sec-ond baseman Cortney Bingham in the first inning.

"I had a heck of a defense behind me. Cortney was diving and Leighann was throwing people out from right field," Braxton said. "It definitely wasn't just me in the circle."

Braxton still played a significant role -- using her athleticism to turn a bunt into the game's first run. The Bulldogs' No. 2 hitter went 2 for 3, but it was her third-inning at-bat that broke a scoreless tie when she beat out a bunt single and scampered home when Hernandez's throw sailed into right field.

"All I wanted to do was drop a bunt down the third base line and get on base because I knew Shae [Braxton] was coming up and she's having an amazing year," she said. "Leighann's having an amazing year, also. I knew there were other people behind me who were going to hit the ball to move me around."

In this instance, however, Braxton was her own personal rally.

"I wasn't expecting the play to end up like that," she said.

The Bulldogs scored in several unexpected ways thanks mainly to five Woodbridge errors. Vikings pitcher Lindsey Slover allowed only one earned run.

"We have a lot of talent and we're really mentally smart base runners and athletes overall," Braxton said. "When we see mistakes, we jump on them and make them regret them."

The Vikings, who have now lost back-to-back games to fall out of a tie for first place, had their best chance in the sixth.

Only Jacobs flexed her muscles and took care of that with a mighty heave from right field.

"It was a really close game. That's a good thing I guess," Hernandez said. "When we play them again next week we'll have a chance. For our team to know we can play is a good thing for years to come.

"We can play against them. We can play against anyone."