Witherite’s surge on mound leads Red Raiders

By Guy Cipriano, gciprian@centredaily.com

BELLEFONTE — Bellefonte junior Justin Witherite didn’t enter this season with grandiose plans.

He figured he would pitch some innings. He figured those innings would be as a reliever.

Well, plans change when schedules become crowded and somebody embraces pitching’s basic philosophies. Witherite works fast and stays within himself.

That’s enough to force Bellefonte coach Denny Leathers to give Witherite the ball more often.

Witherite continued a surprising mid-season surge as he tossed a three-hit shutout to lead the Red Raiders past Williamsport 3-0 Wednesday at Bellefonte High School.

The outing represented Witherite’s second straight solid start and it could earn him a spot in Bellefonte’s rotation. Witherite pitched a six-inning, four-hitter during a 1-0 loss at Hollidaysburg last week.

Allowing one earned run in 13 innings against two quality opponents is impressive, especially considering Witherite didn’t make any junior varsity pitching appearances last season.

“I figured I would throw a couple of innings this season,” he said, “but I didn’t think I would get this much work.”

Witherite picked the perfect time to pitch complete games. The Red Raiders (8-6, 4-4 Central Penn League) are playing five games in six days.

The stretch resembles one many players encounter during the summer. Speaking of summer, Leathers received the idea to use Witherite as a varsity pitcher while watching the Bellefonte Bandits play last year.

“I thought, ‘He knows what he is as a pitcher,’” Leathers said. “If he thinks about being a finesse pitcher and throws strikes, then he can win. As long as he doesn’t forget that, he will continue to have success.”

The template worked perfectly against Williamsport (5-4, 3-2).

Witherite recorded one walk and coaxed 10 groundball outs, including five to shortstop Adam Day. Witherite was aided by a defense that didn’t commit an error. “He did a heck of a job,” senior left fielder J.R. Lucas said. “There’s nothing like playing a game where you get only one ball and you can just sit back for the rest. He was throwing a lot of groundballs.”

The result matched Witherite’s plan. Witherite relied on his ability to command three pitches and change speeds to face just 25 batters in seven innings.

Right fielder Bob Donato was the only Millionaire to have success against Witherite. Donato went 3-for-3 and doubled in the sixth inning.

“I don’t go for speed,” said Witherite, who recorded four strikeouts. “I just try to be accurate with my throws.” Leathers had the best description of his pitcher.

“He is what he is,” Leathers said. “He knows what he is. He throws strikes. He throws fastballs in curveball situations and curveballs in fastball situations.”

One fastball from hard-throwing Williamsport right-hander Jake Fagnano led to the game’s only runs. Bellefonte took the lead when Lucas hit a three-run homer to right field on a 1-0 fastball with two outs in the first inning. Lucas, the lone Red Raider to record two hits off Fagnano, also homered during Monday’s 6-4 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola.

“It must be the ballpark because I haven’t gotten one out anywhere else,” said Lucas, who is tied for second in the county with four homers. “I don’t know what the deal is.”

Fagnano pitched a complete game as he allowed seven hits and struck out five. Bellefonte scored its runs after Williamsport shortstop Dan Fredericks misplayed a ball Matt Fisher hit with one out in the first.