Weir tops Madonna 5-1 to keep title of city champions
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WEIRTON -- City bragging rights once again belong to the Weir softball team.
Weir scored five runs in the first three innings on its way to a 5-1 victory against city-rival Madonna Tuesday evening up at the Roberta "Birdie" DeFrancis Softball Field.
"It is always nice to win the city championship," Weir (19-4) head coach John Leary said. "The girls are know each other. They have been playing against each other since they were little. We have bragging rights.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Madonna. They played us really tough. After the third inning, we did not score. They played us really tough. I think they are going to go a long way in Single-A in West Virginia. I will be surprised if they are not at the state tournament."
The Blue Dons battled the Red Riders for seven innings, but the visitors were unable to rally for the victory.
"We battled. We never gave up," Madonna (15-2) head coach Jason Backel said. "Eliza is a great pitcher. We put the bat on the ball for the most part.
"I am disappointed with the loss. If you are a good loser, I will show you a loser.
"I am very proud of the girls. Weir is a very good team. We battled against them. In the end, we were not able to come away with the win. We will get back to work tomorrow. Defensively, I am pretty happy with how we played."
Eliza Utt picked up the win for Weir. Utt struck out nine and walked one, while limiting Madonna to four hits on the day. During the game, Utt surpassed the 400 strikeout mark for her career. The junior now had 407 Ks in her career.
"Coach Wilson said the two strikeouts she had in the first inning gave her 400 for her career," Leary said. "I think she is up to 407 now. She pitched really well. She only had one walk, and she only gave up a couple of hits. She has been a model of consistency. She throws strikes. She's always around the plate, and that is good for our defense. It keeps our defense on their toes. She did a really nice job."
Peyton Conley took the loss for Madonna. Conley struck out three and walked two. She kept Weir off the scoreboard in the final three innings of the game.
"She settled down," Backel said. "She's a freshman. We had a couple miscues. We battled back from our miscues. Our miscues didn't hurt us too bad. I am happy with how we played defense. I just wish we were able to get more hits.
"We had four hits, but we couldn't get any timely hits. We had runners on second and third in that one inning, and we couldn't get a base hit. If we get a hit, it's a 5-3 ballgame or 5-2 anyhow. That is our lowest output of the season.
"Eliza is a really tough pitcher. I have watched her the last three years. She's fantastic. She pitches every day. Sometimes, she's lights out, and she was lights out today. She hit her spots. We didn't have too many hits off her.
"We will be OK. I'm disappointed with the loss. I like the way we battled against a really good team."
The Red Riders recorded nine hits in the game – two of which were doubles.
Individually, Utt tallied a single, a double and an RBI, Loganne Barton contributed two singles and an RBI and Brynn Artman collected a single and a double. Also, Brayley Lash singled and had an RBI, Jaidyn Kelly and Gigi Paladina each produced a single and Zoey Spencer recorded an RBI.
One of Madonna's four hits in the game was a home run.
Rylee Birkhimer belted a home run for the Blue Dons, while Chloe Orecchio, Madi Owens and Kayla Sczerbinski all tallied a single.
Utt struck out the final two Madonna batters of the first inning to give her 400 for her career, and the junior led off the home half of the first with a base hit. Rayna Hoover followed with a walk to put two runners on base, and Barton singled home Utt to give the girls in white an early a 1-0 lead. Lash then hit a sacrifice fly to score Hoover enabling Weir to increase its advantage to 2-0.
Artman led off the second with a double, and she scored when Kelly reached on a double. Paladina followed with a base hit, and Utt followed with a base hit to score Paladina to extend the Red Riders advantage to 4-0. Kelly was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a steal, and Paladina ended up at third base on the play.
Barton singled and Lash walked to put two runners on base for Weir in the third. The two runners moved up on a groundout, and a groundout by Spencer brought home the fifth run for the victors. Conley retired the next batter to get out of the inning.
Both teams had runners on second and third with one out in the fourth, however, neither team was able to score. Utt collected two strikeouts to get out of the top of the inning, while a lineout to center resulted in a double play in the bottom of the inning enabled Conley to escape the inning unscathed.
"We hit the ball really well in Tennessee in our last two or three games," Leary said. "We had a day off, but you have to give credit to their pitcher. We didn't get a lot of hits. She located her pitches. We hit the ball at them. You have to give credit to their pitcher.
"She held us to five runs. I think the fewest runs we scored in Tennessee was seven runs. You have to give credit to their pitcher. She pitched a good game."
Birkhimer spoiled Utt's bid for a shutout when she launched a two-out home run over the fence in the seventh inning. Utt struck out the next batter to end the game.
The loss snapped Madonna's 15 game winning streak. The Blue Dons are looking to start a new winning streak today.
"It starts now with St. Clairsville tomorrow," Backel said. "Then, we have our Senior Day Saturday. We have the OVAC Tournament, and we are going to make the tournament. We also play Wheeling Central. We play Oak Glen, Weir and Wheeling Central. Those games will get us ready for sectionals and regionals. We don't dodge anybody.
"We will be fine. I am not worried. We have a resilient group. We want to start a new streak tomorrow. We will be ready for the playoffs."
The Red Riders have been busy as Weir has now played 10 games since last Monday. Weir played doubleheaders Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The last six of those games coming down at Tennessee.
"We played eight games in five days," Leary said. "We had a day off yesterday. We had doubleheaders every day in Tennessee, and Eliza pitched every inning but five. In the one game, we got off to a big lead, and she didn't pitch the final five innings. Loganne caught every inning of the doubleheaders. She did a good job. Our backup pitcher is our backup catcher.
"I am proud of both of them. Loganne is a sophomore, and Eliza is a junior. They are a big part of everything they do. They have done a nice job."
Madonna is scheduled to play St. Clairsville at 5 p.m. today on the road. The Blue Dons defeated the Red Devils, 12-3, April 12 at home at Starvaggi Park.
Weir is slated to play Linsly today at 5:30 p.m. at home on Senior Day. The Red Riders defeated the Cadets, 10-2, March 28 on the road.
Weir 5, Madonna 1
Madonna 000 000 1 – 1 4 1
Weir 221 000 X – 5 9 0
MADONNA (15-2): Conley LP (3K, 2BB) and Orecchio. Orecchio S; Owens S; Birkhimer HR, RBI; Szczerbinski S.
WEIR (19-4): Utt WP (9K, 1BB) and Barton. Utt S, D, RBI; Barton 2S, RBI; Lash S, RBI; Spencer RBI; Artman S, D; Kelly S; Paladina S.