Saturday, May 23, 2009
Weaver sparks repeat as Salem beats Hidden Valley
Salem downs Hidden Valley for its second straight River Ridge District tourney title.
Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
Salem's Ellen Weaver was the winning pitcher in Friday's River Ridge District title game and also hit a home run.
Hidden Valley's Kelsie Houck (left), Katherine Preseren (center) and Heather Luckay close in on a shallow pop fly during Friday's River Ridge District tournament championship game between the Titans and Salem. The Spartans won the game 5-3.
Salem's Caitlin Carr celebrates on second base after hitting a bases-loaded single that resulted in three runs for the Spartans in the sixth inning of Friday's River Ridge District tourney final.
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CHRISTIANSBURG -- Ellen Weaver has already decided where she will pitch in college.
She already knows what she wants to do for her career.
The only thing still to be determined is how many titles she helps Salem win before she graduates.
Weaver struck out 13 batters and smacked a home run, as the second-seeded Spartans beat Hidden Valley 5-3 on Friday to win the River Ridge District softball tournament for the second straight year.
"The last inning, we were just like, 'We're not going to lose. This is our time. We're going to win this,'" Weaver said.
Weaver, whose fastball was clocked at 66 mph Friday, orally committed in January to 2009 NCAA tournament participant Kentucky.
The junior left-hander said she was offered a full scholarship by the Wildcats. She said she also had offers from Virginia Tech, Virginia, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Mississippi and Wisconsin.
"The SEC is probably the best conference to play in," said Weaver, the district pitcher of the year. "I really want to play against teams like Florida and Tennessee.
"And they have a medical school there, and I really want to become a doctor."
Weaver (17-3), who also stymies batters with her riseball and dropball, allowed three hits and two walks. It was the second time in three days that she both homered and reached double digits in strikeouts.
"Ellen Weaver is an awesome pitcher," said district player of the year Sarah Cutright, who struck out twice but did have an RBI triple for the Titans.
Top-seeded Hidden Valley (14-7) lost in the district final for the fifth straight year. Salem (18-3) also beat the Titans in last year's final.
"Ugh! I still haven't gotten it," said Cutright, a senior who will play for Guilford next spring.
Winning the tournament felt even better this year, said Weaver, because Salem had been swept by the Titans in the regular-season series.
Salem and Hidden Valley had already clinched Region IV tournament berths. The Spartans will host Patrick County in a quarterfinal Tuesday. Hidden Valley will host Monday's Abingdon-Bassett winner in another quarterfinal Tuesday.
Cave Spring (9-12) clinched the district's third Region IV berth by squashing Blacksburg 10-2 in Friday's other game at the Harkrader Sports Complex. The Knights will visit Carroll County in a first-round game Monday.
Last year, Weaver helped Salem reach the Group AA tournament for the first time since 1993. Seven starters are back.
"We're even better" this year, Weaver said.
Salem scored three runs in the top of the sixth to grab a 4-1 lead.
With the bases loaded in the sixth, Salem's Caitlin Carr lined an RBI single to left field. Left fielder Courtney Harmon misplayed the ball, and two more runs scored on her error.
Katherine Preseren belted a two-run homer for the Titans in the bottom of the sixth. Weaver answered with a homer of her own in the seventh.
Cave Spring's Monica Boatwright had three hits, including a two-run homer, in the third-place game.
Blacksburg 100 000 1 -- 2 5 4
Cave Spring 304 003 x -- 10 11 1
Potts and Cohill; Sitze and Ferguson. W-- Sitze (4-0). L-- Potts (5-15). HR-- CS: Boatwright (3).
Salem 100 003 1 -- 5 8 1
Hidden Valley 100 002 0 -- 3 3 1
Weaver and Barnett; Crotty and Cutright. W-- Weaver (17-3). L-- Crotty (10-3). HRs-- S: Weaver (1); HV: Preseren (1).
