THE GREAT BLUE HOPE

FORT DEFIANCE

Max Hill let out a sigh. It was time to do what he had to do.

“Let’s just say,” he said, holding an industrial extension cord and an electric hair clipper, “this is for finishing undefeated in the district.”

But shearing a graying goatee off a coach is a lot easier than erasing the memories of their last four regional trips, and the Indians hope that this season they’ll earn their first trip back to states since 2007. The other three years, they’ve tumbled off the regional razor’s edge.

Heading into today’s Southern Valley semifinal game with Waynesboro, Fort Defiance already has a Region III bid locked up. But that hasn’t been enough cause for celebration. They want more, much more.

“We want to keep it going until they tell us we can’t go anymore,” said catcher Cinnamon Snyder.

Last week the Indians picked up two one-run wins over possible Region III opponents. First, they beat perennial power and former assistant coach Laura Bowman and her Turner Ashby Knights 2-1, then they beat Spotswood by the same score thanks to a Brooke Sigrist walk-off homer in the bottom of the eighth.

After a district schedule filled to the brim with scores that would make a football coach blush, those back-to-back close wins were just what Hill wanted.

“We needed those games,” he said. “When you have blowout games, it’s not helping you out at all.”

Hill said those two late-season wins have also been a confidence boost to his club. Confidence that had them joking around and smiling after practice Monday as they prepared for their impromptu barber session.

The last time the Indians hit the state trail — a long trip to New Kent in June 2007 — they lost a close game with the Trojans 2-0. The bats weren’t working that game,

Snyder said, and it led to heartbreak for the then-sophomore.

“That was crazy,” she said. “It was just an awkward situation. We didn’t come out on top and it stunk.”

Heading into this year’s postseason, however, seniors Tiffany Lockridge and Jessica Clifton are confident the bats will remain solid for the Indians. Coupled with surprising defensive skills from the underclassmen and the arm of freshman ace Payton Hill, the pair said a return trip to Group AA is a possibility.

“You have your on and off days,” Lockridge said. “As long as our hitting is on that game, yeah, we should go to states.”

Hill, rubbing his newly bald face, agreed — if the Indians are to make a return trip then the bats are going to have stay alive. Well, that and a few other things.

“[Two years] ago, things happened,” he said. “It takes a little bit of luck to get somewhere. Last year, in the first game [of regionals] we didn’t hit.” That was against Liberty-Bedford at home, a Region III game the Indians lost 1-0.

“Hopefully,” he said, “the sticks come through this time.”

He’s not the only one who’s hoping.

“I’m going to try to keep it going really long,” Snyder said. “I’d like to go all the way. It’s a great possibility if we keep our heads in it, stay together and cheer ourselves on.”

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