State softball: Hickory begins title bid in semifinals against Deep Run

Schedule changes notwithstanding, the Hickory High School softball team journeys to Chantilly today in pursuit of the biggest victory in program history at the Group AAA state semifinals.

The Hawks (25-1) changed their original plan to spend Thursday night in Chantilly when their semifinal with Central Region champion Deep Run (21-6) was pushed back from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Westfield High School.

The change was to accommodate fellow semifinal participant Battlefield, which has graduation tonight. The Battlefield-Woodside semi was switched from 7 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“The girls weren’t happy about not leaving until Friday, but economics forced the issue,” Hickory coach Ryan Wieck said. “Win or lose, we’ll spend Friday night up there.”

Wieck hopes ace Jennifer Gniadek, a senior righthander, continues her postseason trend of not allowing the first batter in an inning to reach base. In her current 33-inning scoreless streak, Gniadek has retired the first batter 26 times.

“That has been a big key to Jenn’s success,” Wieck said. “She is the embodiment of relentless, and her catcher, Michelle Lighton, is not far behind.”

Deep Run, located in the Glen Allen suburb of Richmond, has been on a success roll since recording a 3-0 victory of previously unbeaten Thomas Dale in a Central Region quarterfinal. The Wildcats edged Loudoun Valley 6-5 in the quarterfinals.

Heather Lewis has moved into the ace role for the Wildcats in the postseason. She has joined catcher Erin Anderson and first baseman Kelly Penny as an offensive threat as well.

Wieck would like to see more hitting from the Hawks but has liked their consistency at capitalizing on one or two scoring opportunities per game.

“We’ve done a good job getting runners home when we’ve gotten them on,” he said.

He lauded the offensive production of the lower third of the batting order in the playoffs, especially Emily Burke.

“She struggled offensively during the regular season but has come through with several big hits recently,” Wieck said. “The bottom of the order has been gritty when it had to be.”

The group also has been instrumental in Hickory’s decisive bunting success in postseason victories over Kellam and Herndon.

Hickory last appeared in the state semifinals in 2006, losing 1-0 to Stone Bridge of Ashburn.