WELLSBURG -- The Weir softball team's bats heated up on a cold evening.
Entering the top of the fourth inning, Weir and Brooke were deadlocked at 2, however, the Red Riders recorded four runs in the inning and pulled away for a 7-3 victory Tuesday evening on the road.
"The nice thing is, sometimes when teams square a game, in softball you can win the game with two runs, we were able to come back and answer," Weir (1-0) head coach John Leary said. "You don't know what is going to happen at that point, but we were able to answer back, and we were able to put a four-spot up.
"The nice thing was we had people in the lineup that were new to the positions they were in in the batting order. We lost three big bats – Phia, Reagan and Rylee Donaldson – from last year. Those were three of our nine.
"The kids that replaced them stepped up and did a very good job.
"We had a scrimmage last week, and we hit the ball well. We were able to come back in that. The kids are hitting well. That's encouraging. We have the potential to hit one through nine in the lineup. We have hit well early, early in the season.
"If we do that, and we play a clean game defensively -- I think we only had one error -- and we don't give up any free runs and we don't give up any free bases, we make them earn it, if we are able to do that, I think we can have a very solid season."
After scoring four runs in the fourth, the Red Riders prevented the Bruins from scoring in the bottom half of the inning keeping the momentum on the side of the visitors from Hancock County.
"It is tough to come back from an inning like that," Brooke (0-2) head coach Tommy Diserio said. "The girls were in it. They were invested the whole time.
"Weir is a great defensive team. We made good contact with the ball. We hit the ball hard, but it always seemed to find a glove."
Kylie Dean led off the fourth or Weir with a single, and she moved up to second on a wild pitch. Then, Bella Weber doubled home Dean enabling the Red Riders to regain the lead at 3-2. Elle Mayley followed with a double scoring Weber to make the score 4-2. Gigi Paladina drew a walk before Loganne Barton brought both base runners with another double to extend Weir's advantage to 6-2.
The Red Riders tacked on another run in the fifth to increase their advantage to 7-2. The Bruins plated a run in the sixth to make it 7-3.
Weir outhit Brooke, 9-6, in the game, however, a few nice plays in the field by the victors prevented Brooke for doing more damage.
"I just told the girls it would been a different game if some of those balls dropped in for hits," Diserio said. "We had a lot of hard hit balls. I don't know if any other team would have made those plays. We had some hard hits. We had some line drives. If that one falls in, we score two more runs."
Eliza Utt picked up the win for the visitors. Utt struck out six and walked one.
Alexa Foresha took the loss for the hosts. She also struck out six and walked one.
"This was a big win for OVAC points," Leary said. "They are a 5A school. It is always nice to come back to where you were. Tommy played for me 30 years ago. He played JV baseball. Ricky Hayman played for me. They are great guys. They have always been good guys. Tommy is doing a good job with his team.
"They played a solid game. They hit the ball. They hit some shots that we made some nice plays on. Our outfield made some nice plays. If we don't make those plays, the outcome could have been different."
Weir had an opportunity to score in the first, however, Utt was thrown out at the plate as part of a double play to end the inning.
The Red Riders got on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the second.
Dean delivered a double to start the inning, and she scored on a fielders' choice off the bat of Weber to give Weir a 1-0 lead. Barton plated Weber with a two-out single to make the score 2-0.
Brooke collected two runs in the third to knot the score.
Madison Brown led off the inning by reaching on an error, and she scored on a base hit by Wyntar McQuistion to pull the Bruins to within 2-1. Foresha followed with her second single of the game, and McQuistion ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Emilee McKinney to tie the score at 2-all.
Mayley tallied three hits and two RBI on the day for Weir, while Brayley Lash recorded a double.
Marianna DiPaolo produced two singles for the girls from Brooke County, and Maia Diserio delivered an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Weir is scheduled to play Wheeling Park at 5 p.m. today at home.
"We split with them last year," Leary said. "We beat them early in the season. At the end of the year, the second time we played them, they beat us. I know they replaced a lot too. I think they lost eight seniors.
"It's Wheeling Park. They reload instead of rebuild. We are going to have our hands full. It is another big game for OVAC points. They are 5A."
Brooke is slated to play Wheeling Central at 5:30 p.m. today at home.
"We play Wheeling Central, Oak Glen Thursday and Toronto Saturday," Coach Diserio said. "The girls aren't going to get a lot of rest this week. We had a late practice yesterday. We are looking to build off this game."
Weir 7, Brooke 3
Weir 020 410 0 – 7 9 2
Brooke 002 001 0 – 3 6 4
WEIR (1-0): Utt WP (6K, 1BB) and Barton. Lash D; Dean S, D; Weber D, RBI; Mayley 2S, D, 2RBI; Barton S, D, 3RBI.
BROOKE (0-2): Foresha LP (6K, 1BB) and Brown. McQuistion S, RBI; Foresha 2S; McKinney D, RBI; DiPaolo 2S; Mai. Diserio RBI.