Published: July 19, 2008 12:40 am         

Beavers voted Player of Year

Fort Hill junior repeats as top award winner

Shari Beavers, whose dominating play on the mound and at the plate led to the first state championship for a girls sports team at Fort Hill in more than 50 years, was voted the Cumberland Times-News high school softball Player of the Year by area head coaches.

Beavers, a junior, joins Cari Reed of Fort Hill (2004-2005) and Jennifer Bosley (1999-2002) of Southern Garrett as the only players to win the top award more than once. Beavers was co-player of the year with Allegany’s Kelsey Smith in 2007.

Beavers, the leader on a Fort Hill team that had no seniors, led the Sentinels to a convincing 9-4 victory over Col. Richardson in the Class 1A state championship game. It was the first state title in school history in softball, and the first for any Sentinels girls sports team since the volleyball team won the state crown in 1954.

Beavers did it all that sunny day against Col. Richardson at the University of Maryland. She went 3-for-3, scored three runs and knocked in another at the plate, and scattered seven hits, walked only one and struck out eight as the winning pitcher.

It was all in a regular day’s work, according to Fort Hill coach Mike Bittner.

“Shari had a fantastic season for us, and she did everything. On the mound, at the plate, and defensively in the field ... she always seemed to be in the middle of everything.”

The ending to the regional playoff game against Boonsboro made everything that followed anti-climactic.

Trailing 8-5 and just one out from losing in the first round of the regional playoffs, the Sentinels rallied for three runs to tie it. And before they could begin to think about their chances in extra innings, Beavers belted a game-winning grand slam over the left field fence to give the Sentinels a 12-8 victory.

“That game carried us to the state championship. As soon as she hit it, we all knew it was gone,’’ said Bittner. “That game will stick in my mind forever.”

A few games later, in the region final against Mountain Ridge, Bittner said Beavers made a diving catch of a bunt in the first inning that he labeled one of the best defensive plays he saw all year.

Beavers led Fort Hill in just about every statistical category, including hits (35), doubles (8), triples (5), home runs (5), RBIs (28), runs scored (33), stolen bases (10), batting average (.493), on-base percentage (.588) and slugging percentage (.957) on offense, fewest errors on defense (1), and wins (14), innings pitched (103 2/3), strikeouts (161) and ERA (1.42) as a pitcher.

“She picked up some more velocity as a pitcher since last year,’’ said Bittner, who estimated Beavers’ fastball to be in the high 50s to low 60s mph range. She also throws a riser, curve and change up. “Her command was tremendous and she could hit her spots anytime she wanted to.

“Her riser is a real nice pitch and her change up is devastating. I wouldn’t want to try to swing at it and hit it.”

But many hitters did, and most of them failed, against all of her pitches. In 103 2-3 innings she gave up only 69 hits. She faced 417 batters, and only 20 reached on either walks or hit batters. So, of the remaining 397 batters faced only 69, or 17 percent, got hits.

Beavers struck out 161, an average of 10.8 per game.

“Shari is a very strong girl, and a switch-hitter, too,’’ Bittner said. “She can hit with power, or she can slap and bunt. Next year, we may have her do a little more switch-hitting, I don’t know.

“I do know having her on the field was like having a coach out there. And during the spring she would stay after practice and help the jayvee players with their hitting or pitching, or anything they needed help with. It was sometimes hard to get her out of the gym.

“Shari has a great softball mind, is a very likable girl and a player I really enjoyed coaching,’’ Bittner added. “She was an exceptional leader for us, on and off the field. She really put it all together.”

Beavers was one of two players to receive player of the year votes, and received eight of the nine cast.

Mike Mathews is a Cumberland Times-News sports writer. Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.