10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Prep baseball notebook: West Virginia represented in Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Many West Virginia teams took the road during spring break to catch some of the southern weather and competitive baseball. 18 of the total 70 teams in the Mingo Bay Classic Baseball Tournament came from the Mountain State.

Overall, the state totaled a 26-37 record in games against out-of-state opponents.

Some notable instate teams who won their bracket in Mingo Bay included Notre Dame, Nitro, Washington, Musselman and PikeView.

South Charleston gaining experience

The Black Eagles went 1-3 in the Mingo tournament, but coach Ken Samms believed his team grabbed some key learning experiences.

“One thing they grabbed is that they need to be a little bit more consistent with their play. I know they’re young, but there’s a time where they need to grow up a little bit, and you can’t let little things bother you,” he said.

All three of South Charleston’s losses in Myrtle beach came by two runs or less.

“As for the 2-1 or the 3-1 losses, I don’t like moral victories, but you know when you have 10th-graders playing, it’s a plus,” he said. “We had bases loaded and we had our No. 3 hitter up, and we didn’t get any runs out of it. That could have been a big big high, but it ended up being a big big low for us.”

Entering the week, South Charleston held a 7-7 record after winning six games in a row prior.

Hedgesville goes 1-3 in Myrtle

Class AAA defending state champion Hedgesville lost three of four in the Mingo Bay Classic, coming back to the Mountain State with a 10-6 record.

“It put us in front of some stiff competition,” coach Dirk Webb said. “It’s not just playing some West Virginia schools, some Virginia and Maryland schools, we played some South Carolina schools that were very good. We ended playing Notre Dame from West Virginia, so that’s not necessarily disappointing, but it’s a team we wouldn’t normally play.

“It really opens their eyes that there’s a lot more that they need to be doing and bettering themselves to the point where they can compete with these more talented schools down south,” he said.

The Eagles have a senior-heavy squad with veteran leadership spread throughout the dugout. Hedgesville has four players with batting averages over .380, but the bats weren’t cracking in Mingo Bay.

“I think some of it contributed to the fact that we played some very good competition… But we decided not to hit the ball,” Webb said. “We ran into a cold spell and that’s something we as a coaching staff need to correct.”

Hedgesville this week has a key eastern panhandle matchup looming against Musselman (12-6).The Eagles won the first meeting between the two teams 2-1 earlier this month.

Bridgeport and Morgantown beat Hurricane, Indians take title

Bridgeport picked up a key win on Friday, edging Class AAA Hurricane 6-4 at the Huntington Wooden Bat Tournament. Senior first baseman Tyler Skidmore went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while senior outfielder Anthony Bonamico went 1-for-3 with an RBI as well.

Morgantown also picked up a win over Hurricane, edging the Redskins 4-1. Huntington, meanwhile, had defeated Morgantown on Friday 5-1. Bridgeport went on to beat Huntington in the championship game 4-3.





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