Times West Virginian
WELLSBURG
May 16, 2008 01:25 am
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You could almost hear the happiness, the pride, in Chuck Fluharty’s voice.
And you couldn’t miss East Fairmont’s softball team carrying on in the background during the bus ride home from Thursday’s Class AAA Region I title game.
“The kids are real excited. They’re having a blast right now,” Fluharty, the team’s longtime coach, said.
And for good reason — the Bees are back in the state playoffs.
Behind a complete-game shutout from Nikki Nuzum and some steady defense, East edged Wheeling Park, 1-0, at Brooke High School.
The Bees, who improved to 24-7-1, have reached the state tournament in six of the past seven seasons. They will play the South Charleston-Nicholas County winner in the first round of the double-elimination tournament Wednesday morning at Vienna’s Jackson Memorial Park.
For Fluharty, this version of East softball — a team with just one senior, standout first baseman/pitcher Alli Mayle — has seemingly hit its stride at the perfect time.
“It sure feels that way. Things are really coming together,” Fluharty said of his team, which has won 12 of its past 14. “The girls aren’t playing like young kids anymore; they’re playing loose, like veterans. But right now we’re still trying to take things one game at a time.”
Thursday, the Bees failed to get much offense in game that quickly became a pitcher’s duel. But, as fate would have it, they needed only one run and got it in the fifth inning.
First, Mayle ripped a double. Bri Walker was called on to pinch run for Mayle and eventually scored on Madonna Gribble’s line-drive RBI single to right field, her slide beating the throw at home plate by a step.
“There were two outs and I was planning on attempting to score if we got a base hit,” Fluharty said.
Mayle finished 3-for-3 to lead the East attack. Gribble and Marissa Wamsley each added singles.
More than anything, pitching and defense — always Fluharty’s recipe for postseason success — carried the Bees to victory.
Gribble, the team’s starting catcher, gunned down a baserunner at third base. In addition, East threw out a Wheeling Park (19-9) player at second on a throw from the outfield. Fluharty also lauded the defensive play of freshman shortstop Kalee Murphey.
“I could probably talk about the defense all night,” Fluharty said. “They played great and made some big plays when they had to.”
Nuzum, too, came through when the Bees needed her most. The sophomore right-hander scattered six hits with two strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
“That’s the thing about fast-pitch softball; you don’t have to strike everybody out to be successful,” Fluharty said. “Nikki just hit her spots, changed speeds and the defense played great behind her.”
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