Former Cave Spring pitcher Cassi Parulis, now pitching at the college level for NYU in the Big Apple and pursuing a degree in theater production, was on hand Tuesday afternoon to watch the current Knights softball edition that includes her sister, Gabbi.
She must have felt right at home. Cave Spring starting pitcher Abby Weaver was bringing it right down Broadway.
Dominating in the circle from the outset, Weaver shut out visiting Turner Ashby 4-0 in the Class 3 state quarterfinal at Fuzzy Minnix Field to send Cave Spring to Friday’s noon state semifinal at the Moyer Complex in Salem against Liberty.
“Abby was dialed in today, absolutely dialed in,” Cave Spring head coach Nick Sharp noted after the win. “She threw what… 90 pitches, and all but about 3 were exactly what we asked for. Turner Ashby is a very good team.”
“I had a good game,” Weaver said after the gem while getting her arm iced down in preparation for Friday. “We don’t take anyone for granted at this point in the season. They had never seen me before, and I was mixing it up. My curve was my best pitch today, and I was throwing fastballs and changeups for strikes. I really felt confident when we got the last 2 runs to go up 4-0. It makes it so much easier.”
Turner Ashby, which had lost in a regional final shootout to Liberty last week, was certainly no slouch, as starter Makayla Cyzick kept TA in the game, holding Cave Spring to six hits.
While Weaver was perfect through three innings, the Cave Spring bats were chipping away. The Knights scored in the first after leadoff batter Sierra Cox reached on a misplayed fly to shallow center and junior Taylor Loving sent a drive into right field for a double. Weaver helped her own cause with a chopper to second that plated Cox, but Turner Ashby escaped further damage when third baseman Carley Davis turned a suicide squeeze bunt into a rare double play by tagging out the runner heading home and throwing to first to get batter Haley Ingle.
Cave added a second run in the third after Cox reached on an infield error and Loving doubled with a rocket down the left field chalk, scoring Cox.
“I knew she (Cyzick) threw outside a lot and I was waiting for it the first time,” Loving noted. “The second time it was inside and I pulled it. When I saw it heading toward the line, I thought ‘eew’, it was going to be close.”
Turner Ashby got its first hit and baserunner in the fourth when Davis doubled, their only hit until Kaylin Howard singled with one out in the seventh.
The Knights gave Weaver breathing room in the fifth, starting the rally with two out. Weaver walked, Ingle singled to center and Kailey Shell walked to load the bases. Mikayla Ray followed with a double down the left field line, plating two for the final margin.
Weaver, a UVA recruit, struck out seven, including all three batters in the TA fifth. Cave Spring reached the state semis for the first time since 2013 when the Knights were crowned state champions at Radford University.
Bill Turner