Weir High’s Angus makes history
Junior ace tosses no-hitter against Fairmont Senior
WEIRTON -- Madison Angus pitched her way into the Weir High record book.
Angus pitched well from start to finish, as she held Fairmont Senior without a hit during her team's 8-0 victory in four-and-a-half innings Tuesday evening at home.
"I am very pleased," Weir (14-7) head coach John Leary said. "Every time we get Madison out there, she gets a little bit better. She is starting to gain confidence in herself and in her pitches. When she does get in trouble and does get behind the count, she throws the fastball with a little more pop. That is what you want your pitchers to do.
"She is starting to mature. She went from a freshman pitcher to a junior pitcher. This is her first full year of being someone we really count on. I looked at the stats, and I don't think she pitched 20 innings her freshman year. She was not a mainstay. She came on in relief, or when we were in jams because she throws hard. In fast pitch softball, she was more like a closer instead of a starter."
Leary said he was not sure who was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter for the Red Riders.
Angus struck out seven and walked one, en route to the win. Two Polar Bears reached base on errors, and another reached on a fielder's choice.
Liz Murphy took the loss for Fairmont Senior. She allowed six runs on four hits, while walking three in 1 1/3 innings of work inside the circle. Jessica Jenkins replaced her with one out in the bottom of the second after Murphy issued three straight free passes.
After getting shut out, 5-0, Saturday at home to Steubenville, Weir has now scored 23 runs in its last two games.
"I was worried Saturday about us missing our leadoff hitter (Isabella Aperfine) and one of our key players," Leary said. "I didn't know how we were going to respond. It was our first game after Bella got hurt (arm injury). It did not help that we were going against one of the best pitchers (Jules King) in the valley. (Monday), we were able to score 15 runs. We put the bat on the ball (Tuesday). We hit some gaps which was nice to see.
"I think we are getting back to where we were. You take away that lull from Saturday. You don't want to make excuses for when your players do not play well. I think we were a little bit hungover after Bella got hurt, and that was the first game afterward. Our dugout was very, very quiet Saturday, and it is not usually like that."
The Red Riders recorded eight hits, half of which went for extra bases. Reagan Hoover recorded a single and a three-run triple, while Rylee Donaldson tallied a run-scoring three-bagger. Mea Kaufman collected an RBI double. Angus added two singles and an RBI to help her own cause, Liv Baker belted a triple, and Sophia Aperfine finished with an RBI single. Mallory Rosnick contributed an RBI.
The Red Riders produced two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. Angus and Sophia Aperfine each brought home a run with base hits to give Weir a 2-0 lead.
The hosts tacked on four more runs in the second. After three straight walks loaded the bases, Hoover ripped a triple, scoring Donaldson, Kaufman and Alexis Adams. Then, Rosnick plated Hoover with a groundout to increase their lead to 6-0.
Weir pushed across a pair of runs in the third. Baker led off the inning with a triple, and she scored on a three-bagger by Donaldson to increase Weir's advantage to 7-0. Kaufman doubled home Donaldson for the final run.
"I talked to coaches I know across the state about them," Leary said. "One of my assistants, Jenna Wilson, does a good job getting info and doing research on the internet. She did a good job gathering information on them. Until you see them live, it is a bit of an unknown. You find out things for yourselves."
Fairmont Senior is the latest team in Weir's sectional to fall victim to the Red Riders.
"This win really helps," Leary said. "We have now beaten two of the other four teams in our sectional. Saturday we play them again, along with East Fairmont. It will be our first time playing East Fairmont, and it would be nice to get a win, so we would have a win against all three of the teams from Marion County. Obviously, if Oak Glen remains undefeated, it would be hard for them not to be the No. 1 seed."
UP NEXT
Weir High: Tentatively travels to Linsly today with a 5:30 p.m. start.
Weir 8, Fairmont Senior 0
Fairmont 0-0-0 0-0 -- 0 0 3
Weir 2-4-2 0-x -- 8 8 2
FAIRMONT SENIOR (7-11): Murphy (LP, 1 1/3IP, 6R, 4H, 0K, 3BB), Jenkins (2 2/3IP, 2R, 4H, 1K, 0BB) and Hose.
WEIR (14-7): Angus (WP, CG, 0R, 0H, 7K, 1BB) and S. Aperfine. Hoover S, T, 3RBIs; Rosnick RBI; Angus 2S, RBI; S. Aperfine S, RBI; Baker T; Donaldson T, RBI; Kaufman D, RBI.