VIDEO: Whittaker, Cerasi talk about ending years of Steinert’s MCT frustration

You can’t make this stuff up.

You can, however, mix it up in a large salad bowl.

When Steinert softball won the Mercer County Tournament in 2010, a precocious freshman catcher named Courtney “The Salad Queen” Whittaker won the tournament Most Valuable Player award for her outstanding defensive play. No one knew much about her then, but they found out how good she was over the next three years.

Then there is the case of Kaylee “The Salad Princess” Whittaker. Everyone knows how good she is, but she only had one last chance to win that elusive MCT crown or be forever frustrated within the confines of her own county.

So, to complete a perfect bookend for the sisters and the decade, Whittaker went out and put on an MVP performance tonight in pitching Steinert to a 1-0 victory over Hightstown in the MCT final at Armstrong Park in Ewing. Kaylee was nothing short of awesome, firing a two-hitter with 17 strikeouts. She twice allowed a runner to reach second with one out, but never flinched in getting out of the inning.

Bella Truelove’s 46th RBI of the season was the difference, as she grounded a single into right field in the third inning to score Julia Hannawacker with an unearned run.

When it was over, Whittaker was awarded the same MVP honor Courtney won. But she was more worried about the team trophy.

“Now she can’t hold that over my head anymore,” Kaylee said loud enough for Courtney to hear. Of course, Kaylee has two state titles and a Tournament of Champions crown to her credit.

But not getting that county crown was frustrating.

Now she has it.

And the Salad Legacy lives on. 

To hear what Whittaker and fellow senior Nicole Cerasi feel about ending their MCT drought, click on to the video above.

About The Author


Rich Fisher has been around the Hamilton Township sports scene for so long that he actually got Rich Giallella’s autograph when Giallella was still a player! Proud product of Hamilton YMCA and Lou Gehrig baseball leagues and former teammate of Jim Maher on a very average Barton & Cooney rec basketball team, Fish graduated from Nottingham Junior High and Steinert High school and has covered township sports since 1980. His goal in life is to convince Maria Prato that Jersey tomatoes are at least 100 times better than California tomatoes.