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Perkey, Goudy are diamond royalty

By Staff | Jul 1, 2009

DIAMOND KING — Zach Perkey signs on to play baseball at Marietta College. He is joined by Principal Kent Yoho, Vice Principal Krista DeVaughn, and his parents John and Sherry Perkey.

A couple of Tyler Consolidated alumni have recently collected more honors for their athletic excellence on the baseball and softball diamond.

Zach Perkey and Kaitlyn Goudy both were named to the First Team All-State list in their respected sports.

So far, the two Silver Knights have continued to play baseball and softball in the summer. Perkey is keeping busy full-time as a member of Moundsville’s Post 3 team which plays a full schedule of over 50 games, while Goudy was selected to play in a couple of all-star games.

Perkey is only the second player ever in the history of Tyler Consolidated baseball to be selected to the first team. Courtney Evans was the first after an incredible season in 1995 that saw the Silver Knights win their only sectional championship.

Along with this accolade, he was selected to three other first team lists. The OVAC and LKC both gave him the honor while the LKC named him infielder of the year. The Wheeling Intelligencer also placed him on the All-Valley team.

DIAMOND QUEEN — Kaitlyn Goudy is awarded for being selected to the Class AA All-State first team.

His stats for his senior year were also impressive. His batting average was .509, good for third highest in the valley. His slugging percentage (total bases divided by at bats) was a staggering 1.036 with an on base percentage of .606. Defensively he was just as strong with a .983 fielding percentage.

He had eight home runs for the Silver Knights this year, tying a single season record. He would have had the record if it wasn’t for a cancellation of a game because of rain.

He led the time in batting percentage, runs scored, walks, on base percentage, RBIs, home runs, fielding percentage, and slugging percentage.

Perkey will go on to play baseball at the next level after American Legion ball is finished.

He recently signed with the Marietta Pioneers, a team that won the Division III national championship in 2006 and have advanced to the D3 college world series a record 20 times.

“It is a privilege to have the ability an honor to play at Marietta College and I hope to make the citizens and school of Tyler Consolidate proud,” said Perkey.

He’ll continue to finish playing the season with Moundsville’s Post 3, something he says is beneficial for his future stint at Marietta, where he’ll play first base, outfield, and designated hitter.

“In American Legion baseball, we play a 52-game schedule in two and a half months, so it’s pretty much everyday,” said Perkey.”It teaches you what you need to work on and shows you what you’re going to see at the college level.”

When playing in a tournament in North Carolina earlier this summer, he played against a pitcher that signed with North Carolina, a College World Series finalist for Division I.

Getting to where he is at now wasn’t an easy road. Perkey faced the challenge of adjusting to different coaching styles playing under three different head coaches in four year.

“Playing at Tyler Consolidated High School was challenging but rewarding at the same time. It’s nice to have coaches that actually care about academics than they do just wins,” he said.

“It was really tough, but you just need to have a goal in mind, know what it takes to reach it, and realize that you are the person that needs to set your goals do whatever it takes to reach them.”

Goudy finished her senior season with a 12-8 record and one save for the Lady Knights. She had 181 strikeouts on the year and giving up just 25 bases on balls for an incredible ratio of 7.24 to 1.

Her earned run average was a stellar 1.191 with 141 innings pitched.

She had two shut outs this season with one being a no-hitter. Add to that five one-hit games, and it’s easy to see why she was one of the best in the state.

On the offensive end, she lead the Lady Silver Knights in RBIs and had a batting average of .290 while stealing 12 bases.

In 2008 she was named to the LKC second team as a pitcher and was an honorable mention for All-Valley and Class AA all-state. In 2007 she was an honorable mention utility player in the LKC.

On Thursday, June 25, Goudy competed in the North-South all-star softball game. She aided the North Bears after a bunt and errors allowed her to reach third base.