Softball

For those watching Jackie Rolfes take infield practice with the varsity baseball team at Southern-Harwood last week, a tightly wrapped ponytail dangling from the back of her cap was the only sign she is a girl.Here was the first girl to ever make a county or Baltimore metro area varsity baseball team because she adequately plays the infield, loves and knows the game, and is widely accepted by her teammates.You could say she's not a great hitter, but really, how many boys are?Any boy with the same attributes would have made the Southern varsity.

Major League Lacrosse Loyola U. alum Sawyer named Rookie of Week after debut Former Loyola University standout Mike Sawyer scored a goal and assisted on two more in his professional debut for his hometown Charlotte Hounds on Friday at the Hamilton Nationals, earning Major League Lacrosse Rookie of the Week honors. His first assist came just over eight minutes into the second quarter as he fed Jovan Miller for the fifth goal in a 6-0 Charlotte run. He then scored his first professional goal 44 seconds into the fourth quarter, with the feed coming out of a familiar stick, that of fellow Loyola alumnus Eric Lusby (Severna Park)

.935 Fielding percentage by Seton Keough second baseman Bridget O'Malley 4 Area teams that advanced to, but fell short in, state title games last season: Chesapeake-Anne Arundel (4A), Howard (3A), Lansdowne (2A) and Loch Raven (1A) 7 State championships for Chesapeake-Anne Arundel 50 Hits by Century's Alyssa Dixon in 2010, one shy of tying the state record. Dixon will look to bounce back from injuries that kept her out of the 2011 season

D-III college softball Gravdahl's homer helps Salisbury stay alive in Series Salisbury senior catcher Michelle Gravdahl (Long Reach) hit her 11th home run of the season in an elimination game in the NCAA Division III softball championship against Anderson (Ind.) University to eliminate the Ravens and stay alive in the World Series with a 2-0 win in Eau Claire, Wis. Gravdahl's homer to left with one out in the bottom of the first inning put Salisbury ahead, and the Sea Gulls added a run in the fifth.

Megan Hyson Chesapeake-AA, sr., pitcher Hyson is regarded as one of the most dominant pitchers ever in Maryland high school softball. "She showed that she is a team player and has the desire to compete and play at the highest level," Chesapeake coach Don Ellenberger said. Hyson went 22-1 this season and was one pitch away from a perfect game in the Class 4A state semifinal. She led the team in batting average, runs scored and hits, and she tied for the lead in doubles.

A few years ago, when the Elkridge Youth Organization took a brief hiatus from sponsoring a travel softball team, a determined group of young ladies decided to stick together in a sport they love and joined the neighboring Catonsville Chaos softball organization. Under the coaching team of Elkridge resident Bob Bahrijczuk and Catonsville resident Chris Rubeling , this team is making history! Six of the team members are from Elkridge and all started playing together in the EYO. They are: Jamie Bahrijczuk, Isa Carunungan, Jordan Ciraolo, Rachel Oliver, Katelyn Penix and Stephanie Yarrish.

Colleges McDaniel, Salisbury survive in softball Caroline Brehm pitched 10 scoreless innings and catcher Tracy Davis homered with two outs in the 10th to keep McDaniel's softball season going with a 1-0 win over Messiah (35-10) in the first elimination game of the NCAA Division III regional in Newport News, Va. The Green Terror (28-13) will play the loser of the Ferrum-Christopher Newport game at 3 p.m today. Also in Newport News, Salisbury (36-6), ranked 18th in Division III, scored a combined 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to earn an 11-0 victory over Farmingdale State College (26-15)

The senior All-Metro shortstop led the No. 2 Gladiators (13-0) to three victories over ranked Howard County teams last week, going 6-for-10 with an inside-the-park home run. In a 5-4 win over then-No. 6 Hammond on April 15, Allen was 1-for-3 and had a stolen base. She was 3-for-4 with a stolen base in a 3-2 victory over then-No. 15 Mount Hebron last Wednesday. In a 4-1 win over then-No. 12 River Hill last Friday, she went 2-for-3 with a single and an RBI on the inside-the-park home run. Allen, last season's Howard County Player of the Year, leads the Gladiators in batting average (.522)

College baseball Butler's single in 9th sends Towson to win Sophomore Brendan Butler singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as host Towson (25-27, 14-12 Colonial Athletic Association) edged Northeastern, 7-6, in the second game of their three-game weekend series Friday afternoon. The Huskies (27-24, 11-15), who were trying to clinch a berth in the CAA tournament, had overcome a 6-4 deficit in the ninth inning to tie the game. More Division I: Mount St. Mary's (10-35, 5-24 Northeast Conference)

After starting the day 0-for-3 at the plate, River Hill leadoff batter Kat Varga came through when it mattered most. Against Atholton in the Class 3A East softball semifinals Monday, Varga delivered RBI singles in her final two at-bats, including a walk-off hit in the eighth to seal a comeback win, 7-6, for River Hill (14-5). "I was not hitting all game. I kept hitting to the same spot every time, and I was so angry," said Varga, who had two flyouts to left and a strikeout to open her afternoon.

College track and field Coppin's Victorian captures 400 hurdles at IC4A meet Coppin State senior Jibri Victorian won the 400-meter hurdles on the final day of the IC4A Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Princeton. Victorian became the first Coppin State athlete to capture an IC4A outdoor title since Steve Delice won the 400 hurdles and the Eagles 4x400-meter relay team finished first at the 2008 championships. Victorian won the championship by finishing first in a time of 51.30 seconds.

Senior Ashley Lesniewski pitched a four-hit shutout to lead No. 7 Mount de Sales (16-4) to a 6-0 victory over visiting Catholic (11-6) in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference softball semifinals. With the win, the Sailors advanced to the championship game against No. 2 Seton Keough at 6 p.m. Monday at Bachman Park. It will be the Sailors' first trip to the title game since they won the crown in 2004. Seton Keough is the defending champion. "It's exhilarating," said Lesniewski, who struck out six and walked one. "We waited four years for this.

Ali Moos has thrown back-to-back shutouts for the No. 10 Glen Burnie softball team. On Thursday, she threw a four-hitter, and on Friday, she no-hit host North County in a 5-0 victory. The Gophers (11-5) beat Chesapeake-AA, 4-0, on Thursday. On Friday, Moos, who threw 119pitches, struck out 13 but walked two. She went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a double, one of three extra-base hits by Glen Burnie. The Knights dropped to 4-10. No. 9 C. Milton Wright 9, Catonsville 0: Kyralee Comeaux struck out eight in her first varsity win, a one-hit shutout, as the host Mustangs (15-4)

One day after suffering a walk-off loss against Howard, Centennial's softball team got itself back on the winning track. The Eagles pounded out 20 hits and scored 18 times, cruising to an 18-4 victory on the road over Wilde Lake Friday afternoon. Centennial put at least three runs on the board in each of the first three innings to put the heartbreaking defeat from less than 24 hours earlier in the rear-view mirror. “Today was a really big game to win, to come back from yesterday when we were right there and lost it on a home run,” said senior second baseman Donna Coburn.

Colleges Salisbury ranked No. 1 in D-III softball for first time For the first time in program history, Salisbury has been named the top-ranked team in the nation by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll. The Sea Gulls (35-2) claimed the No. 1 ranking after going undefeated in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament last week to win their 18th CAC title, the 17th in a row. The 1-0 victory over Frostburg State extended the team's winning streak to 24 games.

Arundel High School sophomore Chloe Hill entered a screening of the motion picture "42" on Thursday indebted to the film's main character, baseball player Jackie Robinson. The film depicts Robinson's struggles and triumphs in becoming the first African-American to play in the major leagues, breaking the national pastime's color barrier on April 15, 1947. "Thanks to him, I'm able to play," said Hill, who is black and plays for Arundel High's junior varsity softball team. Hill was among 300 junior varsity baseball and softball players from all 12 Anne Arundel County public high schools to attend a screening hosted by OriolesREACH and Major League Baseball at Hoyt's West Nursery Cinemas in Linthicum.