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Photos courtesy of Dave Potts

Courtney Cumbee (left) and Lauren Williams celebrate following a win by their team, the Blacksburg Ponytails, during last weekend's Dixie Ponytails softball tournament in Radford. Both Courtney and Lauren also play with the NRV Diamonds, a travel club softball team.

Photos courtesy of Dave Potts

Courtney Cumbee (left) and Lauren Williams celebrate following a win by their team, the Blacksburg Ponytails, during last weekend's Dixie Ponytails softball tournament in Radford. Both Courtney and Lauren also play with the NRV Diamonds, a travel club softball team.

BLACKSBURG -- Interstate 81 beware, Angels and Ponytails are leaving Blacksburg for Botetourt County today. Mythical fears aside, both the Angels and Ponytails divisions of Blacksburg Dixie Softball have advanced to their respective Dixie State tournaments at the Botetourt Sports Complex this weekend.

The Angels division is the 9- and 10-year-old grouping. The division won its district tournament last weekend, but it was not an easy road. Facing elimination early in the tournament against Radford, Blacksburg found itself down 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Blacksburg came back to make it a 5-4 game.

With two runners on base, 10-year-old Ana Frederick came to bat. Frederick knocked both runs in to win the game 6-5. The momentum from the comeback win helped Blacksburg in its remaining games, including a 13-1 rout in the championship.

"We were very close to being out of this tournament early on," said Blacksburg Angels coach Marty Muscatello. "But as we got along, the team played better and better as they played off each other's successes."

Right fielder Hannah Altizer added, "I like that we came back a lot and we had good sportsmanship. We practiced hard and did great."

Prior to tournament play, the Blacksburg Angels division roster had to be narrowed from 44 to 12 players. Muscatello and other coaches from the league determined who should be on the team.

He's happy with the results.

"With all-star teams you only have a couple weeks to get them working together, but in the three weeks we've had, this team has really come together," Muscatello said. "They get excited about each other doing well."

If Muscatello's team hopes to advance to the Dixie Angels World Series, it will rely heavily on pitching in the upcoming state tournament.

Dixie rules allow pitchers only 13 innings per tournament. It's also limited to two innings per game without being ineligible to pitch the next game. Muscatello is fortunate to have numerous pitchers he can rely on.

"Ana Frederick, Katie Muscatello and Genna Porth are three of our four pitchers and each of them can really bring heat," he said. "A hard fastball is often very dominating at this level. The fact that we have four pitchers that can get it across the plate is huge and with the Dixie pitching rules, being able to spread around innings is key for us."

Ponytails survive, too

Blacksburg's 11- and 12-year-old grouping, known as the Dixie Ponytails, also won its district championship at Radford's Veterans Field last weekend. Much like the Angels team, the Blacksburg Ponytails faced a tough road to advance to the state tournament.

In its first game, Blacksburg lost to Montgomery County 9-7. Ponytails coach Dave Potts said it was a game that saw Montgomery County do everything right, while his team committed four crucial errors.

Once in the tournament loser's bracket, Blacksburg beat Radford and Christiansburg to force a rematch with Montgomery County. It beat undefeated Montgomery County 9-1 and 14-2 on Saturday to win the district championship.

Like the Angels, the Blacksburg Ponytails depend on pitching as well.

"We have two very good pitchers in Lauren Williams and Lilly Potts," Dave Potts said. "They both throw strikes and get people out. In Dixie ball you have 12 players on the roster and every player has to bat. What I like about this team is that everyone in the lineup can hit. We haven't made many mistakes on defense, we hit and we pitch well. It's really just a well-rounded team."

The Ponytails are fortunate to have four players who also play for the NRV Diamonds, a travel club softball team. Williams and Lilly Potts have two years of pitching experience in club tournament play with the Diamonds, which will be a definite advantage this weekend. Courtney Cumbee and McKenna Gordon also play for the Diamonds, and Dave Potts expects their experience at the plate to help the Ponytails.

"The tournament experience from the travel team makes those girls cool as cucumbers in these Dixie tournaments," he said. "But actually none of the girls on this team get overly excited, and they're all a good group of kids. When you think about what we put them through, it's amazing to see how well they perform at such a young age."

Selecting the Ponytails' roster was no easy task for Dave Potts and his coaching peers. They tried to cut the numbers down in a meeting, but eventually had to resort to a three-day tryout.

"The tryout was certainly a hard thing to do, but it worked out pretty well," he said. "Two of the players on the team who've done very well likely wouldn't have made the team if we'd picked it by coach's consensus."

Starting catcher Alana Flad is one of the youngest players on the team, but she seems to work well with Lauren and Lilly. She said the district tournament was a success for the team, and her individually.

"I think I learned a lot about composure in the districts because a lot of the umpire's calls didn't go our way in the beginning," Flad said. "Most of them happened with me at home plate, but I had to learn to stay calm."

According to Cumbee, the Ponytails will depend on teamwork as it tries to win the state tournament.

"I think the best part of our team is that we play well together," she said. "We're all team players and none of us are selfish."