By Ryan Pritt, the Charleston Gazette-Mail
Nitro coach Caiti Mathes knows a little bit about great prep softball players.
Just three years removed from a state player of the year award at Hurricane, Mathes – the state’s career (57) and single-season (22) home run record holder – found herself on the other side of things this season. And even after playing on four state-championship teams in high school, Mathes said Nitro pitcher Lena Elkins was different altogether.
The numbers certainly back that up as Elkins tossed all but 11/3 of her team’s innings, logging 1822/3 frames while going 21-5 with a 0.84 ERA and 337 strikeouts. Those contributions to a Wildcat team that earned the top seed in a rugged Class AA Region 4 Section 1 field helped earn her the state’s Pitcher of the Year Award as voted on by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Elkins edged out Shady Spring’s Paige Maynard and Wahama’s Mikie Lieving for the inaugural honor as the state player of the year award split into separate accolades for a pitcher and a hitter.
The Wildcats’ journey came up a big short of a state title as they bowed out in a winner-take-all sectional tilt against Winfield, but to Mathes, that didn’t devalue anything Elkins was able to do along the way.
“Lena played like I’ve never seen anyone play before,” Mathes said. “She was a beast in the circle. She was there for us all season long.
“She’s one of the best players to ever come through the state of West Virginia. She isn’t your typical athlete, she is something special that very few get the honor to be around or coach. She’s an amazing athlete but an even better person and I was thankful to play a little part in her career.”
That career will go down as one of the best in the history of Nitro High School, especially factoring in a second-team, All-State soccer nod (West Virginia coaches association team) and a girls basketball state championship in 2021.
The Charlotte-signee picked up her third first-team, All-State softball selection this year in as many seasons (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and though Elkins was a factor from the start, never before was she asked to shoulder so much of the load. With Bella Savilla having graduated in 2021, Elkins knew the burden would be great this year and began her preparation in the offseason.
“I did a lot more work in the offseason than I did last year,” Elkins said. “I worked on hitting spots, moving pitches – just throwing my curveball one ball off the plate, two balls off the plate, hitting spots like that. I also worked on my changeup, I needed to hide it better. Just more preparation.”
Flashing four pitches – changeup, curveball, riseball and fastball with the ability to put drop on the latter – Elkins piled up 12 shutouts including two over Winfield and Independence in the regular season and one each against the likes of Sissonville and Hurricane. Mixed in as well was a 5-2 victory over eventual-state champion Herbert Hoover.
Most of the time, it was dominant. Elkins registered 10 or more strikeouts in 22 of 27 games this year and she seemingly saved her best for clutch situations. Nitro was 3-0 in extra-inning games, picking up a 2-1 win over Poca in 10 innings and matching 1-0 decisions over Hurricane and Independence in nine and 13 frames respectively. In those contests, Elkins punched out a combined 65 batters while walking eight and allowing 11 hits.
“She knew she was going to have to pitch ever game and she came in with the right mindset knowing she had to have the team’s back,” Mathes said. “I’d talk to her and say, ‘Lena, do you need a break?’ And she’s always say, ‘No.’ She’s full force. We had faith in Lena all year long, no matter what.”
While the numbers piled up, Elkins stayed focused on wins and losses.
“I didn’t try to look at anything,” Elkins said. “My dad would let me know – he’s proud of me, so he would just tell me. Someone told me during the first Poca game that I’d broken the school record [for strikeouts]. I had no idea.”
And more often than not over the course of her four years in athletics, Nitro did win. More than strikeout-to-walk ratio or WHIP, it’s those wins that Elkins said she hopes people remember her and her fellow seniors by.
“I just hope people see we left it better than we found it,” Elkins said. “Our whole class, we changed sports at Nitro High School.”
