The Fuqua School softball team finished its 2012 campaign with a strong finish that ended in the semifinals of the Virginia Independent Schools Softball Association's Division III softball tournament on Thursday with a 1-0 loss to Broadwater Academy.

The Falcons, who entered the field as the No. 6 team, traveled to Westover Christian and easily won 12-2 last Tuesday.

Fuqua scored three runs in the first inning, three more in the fifth and four in the sixth, that included a two-run home run by Tadum Davis. Fuqua's Jordan Pepper rounded out the Lady Falcons' scoring on the day with a two-run shot of her own in the seventh.

Fuqua pitching held Westover Christian to just four hits on the afternoon. The Falcons faced the minimum in five of the seven innings.

Thursday's semifinal game against Broadwater was a defensive struggle into the seventh. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Fuqua appeared to be working their way out of a jam after Macie Ware fielded a grounder and fired it to third base to record the second out. However, in an attempt to convert the inning-ending double play, the ball was fired over first base, which allowed the runner to advance to second.

That was enough to allow Broadwater to score the only run of the afternoon, which ended the game and Fuqua's hopes for its third fastpitch state title.

Both teams were held to just three hits apiece in the well-defensed contest. Ware was 2-2 at the plate with a walk.

“It was a game of defense,” said Fuqua head coach Robert Schmidt. “We had several outstanding catches in the outfield by Lindsey Davis and Kari Davis. Our defense has really improved over the year. We just never came through on offense. We left five runners stranded, and three of those were stranded on second.

“It was great to get this far in the tournament. Last year, we didn't make it past the first round, so we're getting a little deeper in the field each year. We're losing just two seniors this year, so we have a good base to continue to build upon.”