As the summer sun set July 25 on Freedom Park in Leesburg, it was also setting on Loudoun South Little League’s postseason run.

The boys from South Riding had waltzed through the District 16 tournament, then blasted to an unblemished mark in the pool stage of the Virginia Little League State Championship. But a 10-0 loss to SYA East Little League of Centreville in the quarterfinals, halted after four innings by run-rule, was the local kids’ undoing.

Manager Steve Skinner was quick to note that this summer produced the best showing ever for the seven-year-old organization in the county’s southern reaches.

“I’ll tell ya, these guys…” he began, slowed by emotion in the immediate aftermath of the season’s conclusion, “...are the best Little League team in our league’s history. First one to win the district, first one to go to states. Three-and-oh in the pool. They outworked everybody, believed in themselves and played hard.”

Skinner noted the barrages of runs his team had been putting up. Loudoun South outscored opponents 53-19 in their three pool-play games.

“We just ran into a better team today,” the manager said.

In the first elimination-round contest, Loudoun South’s right-handed ace Jacob Hand battled in maximizing his pitch count, going three and two-thirds innings while surrendering the 10 runs.

He was helped by fine defensive plays turned in by second baseman Michael Zubovich and center fielder Holden Malinchock.

In the third, Zubovich robbed SYA East of a lead-off hit when he dove to snag a sizzling liner back-handed, a webgem of a play that earned applause from both sets of partisans.

Malinchock made a fine running grab of a slicing liner in left-center field to take away extra bases in the fourth.

No one could have fielded the pair of moonshots launched off the bat of SYA East’s Ryan Brusick, whose fluid lefty stroke produced an RBI double to go with the two impressive homers.

SYA East’s soft-tossing righty Ronnie Orie wound up with a seven-strikeout no-hitter, enticing Loudoun South batters to flail at breaking pitches outside the strike zone.

Loudoun South reached base three times via error and once on a walk. But they couldn’t manage more than two baserunners at a time and didn’t get a man past second.

Observing that his hitters were making better contact the second time through the order, Skinner said the contest may have ended differently had it been allowed to go past four innings.

“If we play six innings, we’re never out of it,” he said. “These guys never ever ever quit.”

Note: The championship game of the 2011 Virginia Little League Baseball State Championship is set for July 27, 7:30 p.m. at Freedom Park. SYA East will face Reston National for the title.

-All photos by Greg Nash.