CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Jefferson enters the Class AAA baseball state tournament seeking an 11th championship under coach John Lowery but making their first trip to the tournament since 2011.
Nitro, Wheeling Park and Greenbrier East round out the Class AAA bracket that gets underway on Thursday from Appalachian Power Park.
THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Wheeling Park (17-10) vs. Nitro (24-10), 4:30 p.m.
Nitro is making its seventh trip in nine years (winning championships in 2008 and 2010). Wheeling Park, meanwhile, is the only returning team from last year’s Class AAA field (that was the Patriots’ first trip since 1989).
Wheeling Park lost six seniors from its 2014 tournament team which fell to Riverside in the semifinals, but returned a core piece in senior pitcher, and WVU signee, Michael Grove.
“Our seniors really led us last year, besides Michael,” said head coach Mike McLeod. “We didn’t really have a whole lot of guys with a lot of experience this year, but we have some great athletes. And when they started figuring things out and putting things together, that athleticism really showed up.”
McLeod eluding to just three wins in his team’s first 10 games to start off the year. But now that the chemistry has come together, the Patriots enter Thursday’s game having won nine straight.
It’s Grove who leads Wheeling Park in both batting (.528 avg, 19 RBIs) and on the mound (5-2, 1.11 ERA in 44 innings).
More: Complete state tournament schedule
“We’re going to go as Michael goes,” McLeod said. “He’s a great athlete who could be getting drafted. He pulls us and we push – that’s kind of how our team goes. He’s really developed his off-speed pitches and his endurance this year. His innings and pitch count are up a little bit.”
Daniel Baciak is also hitting .317 for Wheeling Park, along with 16 RBIs. The Patriots advanced to Charleston with a 13-2 regional semifinal win over Parkersburg South and regional final victory over Morgantown 4-2.
Nitro, meanwhile, had to climb out of a hole in sectional play, falling to Logan in the first game. In regional action, the Wildcats beat Point Pleasant 9-6 and eliminated defending state champion, and rival, Hurricane 5-1.
“Beating your rival and having them to finish their season, especially after they did that to us last year, is rewarding,” said Nitro coach Steve Pritchard. “We really just try to focus on handling the baseball better than the other team, more so than who we are playing.”
As for the matchup against Grove on the mound for Wheeling Park?
“He’s the real deal,” Pritchard said. “We really have our work cut out against him. They’ll be a handful and have a couple of other nice hitters. Our program has more of a tradition of being in the state tournament, but they actually have more kids who have experienced it. It’s the first trip for all of my kids but one, I think it will be a very good baseball game.”
Junior outfielder Matt Harrison has been the leader for Nitro at the plate from the top of the order, posting a .422 average with 43 RBIs 10 home runs and scoring 33 runs. Junior Andrew Stone will be hitting out of the third spot in the lineup, bringing with him a .327 batting average, 31 runs scored and 20 RBIs on the season.
On the mound, Nitro’s lone senior Kipp Brewer (5-3, 1.51 ERA) and Jacob Bradley (8-1, 1.94 ERA) have led the way, while freshman phenom (and LSU commit) Levi Kelly and Eddie Flores have also had productive outings on the mound.
“When you come out of that region, you know you’re one of the teams to beat,” McLeod said of Nitro. “We’ll have our hands full. We’re going to come out and play hard, try to stay in the moment and give it our best shot – we’ll see what happens.”
Jefferson (35-2) vs. Greenbrier East (18-7), 30 minutes after previous game
Greenbrier East is making its second state tournament trip since 1974 (2011 was the last appearance). The Spartans made a splash statewide by knocking off Region 3 favorite Ripley 10-8 in the regional final.
Jefferson and Greenbrier East did meet earlier in the year, back in April — it was a 12-1 win for the Cougars.
“We did have the opportunity to play Greenbrier East early,” said Jefferson’s Lowery. “They
have a familiarity with us and we have a certain familiarity with them. A lot of times those mid-season games, depending on what conference you’re in and what the importance of games surrounding it are, they can be misleading.”
Greenbrier East is led by Tyler Canterbury’s .421 batting average, while Frank Ford and Colby Johnson are both hitting near .400. Ethan Boone and Jonathan Carr have led the Spartans on the mound.
Jefferson, meanwhile, is led by Paul Whitt (.455, 34 RBIs) and Charlie Barnholt (.422, 49 RBIs) offesnively. Andy Disque (8-0, 0.66 ERA) and Bradley Davis (7-0, 0.73 ERA) have had tremendous seasons on the mound.
The Cougars have a team ERA of just 1.16 on the season.
“Our fielding percentage for the season is .963, which is pretty good at this level,” Lowery said. “Our pitchers have minimized walks. When you combine those two things, there’s not a lot of free bases involved.”
It will be Lowery’s 23rd trip to the state tournament as he continues to add on to his over 1,200 career wins.
“We played Wheeling Park earlier in the year as well (a 5-0 win),” Lowery said. “The Grove kid has been outstanding for Wheeling Park and everyone knows what Nitro brings to the table—they bring it year-in and year-out. It’s going to be an interesting Class AAA tournament and will come down to whomever plays the best on that day. We’re looking forward to it. We’re excited.”
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