Leesburg, Va. — Tuscarora High School junior ace Lindsey Mullen took matters into her own hands, securing the Huskies the Dulles District title on the back of her complete game shutout, 4-0, over Loudoun Valley on May 26 in Leesburg.
Mullen stole the show, earning the win while pitching a 1-hit shutout while striking out 11.
“[I was] just staying in the zone, really communicating with my catcher what’s working and what’s not, what they’re swinging at,” Mullen said.
[adrotate banner=”58″]The Louisville-commit cruised threw the first three innings before Loudoun Valley senior center fielder Natalie Elias led off the fourth inning with a bunt single. After that, Mullen once again settled in, facing just one more than the minimum in her complete game win.
“I mean, she’s lights-out right? When she steps up, and gets fire in her belly, she’s hard to catch up with,” Tuscarora head coach Bridget Kemp said. “It’s hard to prepare for that, you don’t face it very often, so it’s something where teams are going to have the same outcome that they had tonight; it’s gonna be hard to catch up.”
In addition to pitching a gem, Mullen also launched a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the Huskies’ lead to 4-0.
The Huskies first two runs came on a two-out, bases-loaded double by senior right fielder Lisa Zorb in the bottom of the second inning. Tuscarora added to its lead on a one-out, RBI single by sophomore first baseman Maddy Hackman in the bottom of the fourth inning, and their fourth and final run of the night made its way around via Mullen’s solo homer in the sixth.
The Huskies will need their offense to stay hot as they prepare for a VHSL Region 4C semifinal where they’ll host Northwestern District runner up James Wood on May 31 in Leesburg. The Vikings will travel to Northwestern District champion Fauquier on the same night.
“We really need to just keep relaxing, working on our mental preparation going into the region tournament,” Mullen said. “It’s a big tournament, but I think we’re ready for it.”