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Newcomers face recent champs in Class AA tournament field

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Class AA baseball state tournament field has a mix of usual contenders along with a couple first-time participants.

Defending champion Bridgeport (35-3) is considered the favorite, although 29-win Chapmanville has its sights on a rematch from last year’s 3-1 semifinal loss to the Indians.

 

FRIDAY’S SEMIFINALS

Oak Glen (17-17) vs. Chapmanville (29-5), 10 a.m.

Oak Glen is making its first state tournament appearance in the 52-year history of the school. The Golden Bears, under 26-year-old coach Mat Deveaney, emerged from Region 1 with a 1-0 win over Roane County and 8-7 victory over usual state tournament participant Fairmont Senior.

“To be at .500 at this point, we didn’t think we would be here,” Deveaney said. “But there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we could get to this point and qualify for the state tournament this year. A lot of games early on we didn’t come ready to play.

“There’s a lot of excitement, but they know there is a state championship on the line as well,” he continued. “That’s a good thing to hear that the players are still ambitious about what the season has to hold.”

Junior left-hander Zac Porter will get the start on the mound for the Golden Bears Friday morning, he has seven wins on the year with 68 strikeouts and a 2.03 ERA. Junior right fielder Zach O’Brien (.385 avg) and shortstop Alex Shuman (.365) lead Oak Glen in batting.

“I know Chapmanville will have a little more experience,” Deveaney said. “They’re going to be pretty hungry to compete and contend and they’ve been very solid all year. They’ll be tough. If we show up and play our best, we can beat anyone.”

More: Complete state tournament schedule

Chapmanville does have that veteran experience on the mound, behind seniors Trey Dalton (10-1, 1.82 ERA, 61.2 innings) and Tristan Thompson (4-1, 1.33 ERA, 42 innings).

The Tigers beat Wayne 2-1 in the regional semifinals and then edged Herbert Hoover 3-2 in the regional final.

“We probably hit, overall, a little bit better last year,” said Chapmanville coach Eric Ellis. “But this team is mentally tougher. That state tournament experience last year really helped our guys stay focused. They really wanted to get back and have a shot to win it this year.”

Ellis has had the task of guarding against his players getting too far ahead, looking to a potential rematch against the Indians in Saturday’s championship if they can get by Oak Glen.

“Oak Glen made it to Charleston, so they’re pretty good,” Ellis said. “You’re not going to get there if you’re not very good. But I think our guys know they are going to be in for a tough game against Oak Glen and they don’t take anything lightly.

“We haven’t seen a lot of left-handed pitchers this year, so we’ve been working on that a lot this week to prepare,” he continued. “Oak Glen swings the bat pretty well up-and-down the order. But we feel that we’ve played a good enough schedule to prepare us for anybody that we’ll see at the tournament.”

Sophomore Chris Bailey leads Chapmanville with a .400 average, 40 RBIs and 10 doubles. Senior Josh Browning is at .395 with 27 RBIs.

 

Bridgeport (35-3) vs. PikeView (24-5), 30 minutes after previous game

Like Oak Glen, Pikeview is also into its first state tournament. The Panthers ousted two-time defending regional champ Independence (last year’s state runner-up) 3-2 in the regional final.

“Our expectations and goals at the beginning of the year were definitely to get to the state tournament. It was a little bit harder than we expected, some teams took us deep into ballgames,” said PikeView alum and fifth year coach Josh Wyatt. “It’s huge for the community for PikeView to be here and finally get that done.”

Shortstop Keian Lee (.394 avg) leads PikeView with 43 hits on the season, while Jon Clark (.451 avg, 33 RBIs) and Austin Cordell (.435 avg, 36 RBIs) bolster the lineup.

Junior Levi Nash has posted a 10-1 record and 1.02 ERA in 75 1/3  innings. Sophomore Jacob Harmon has tallied 61 2/3 innings, putting together an 8-3 record and 2.16 ERA.

Despite those 24 wins, it’s PikeView which will be in an underdog role against the defending champs.

“We’ve known all year that if we got to this level, that’s who we would be facing,” Wyatt said. “I think everyone expects (Bridgeport) to win and they’re the hands-on favorite to win it. They’re as good as advertised, well-coached and they’re not going to make mistakes. We have to play the best we can and try to push them at the end to try and find a way to win it late. They may be the best team in the state all-around.”

To that point, Bridgeport is the only in-state team to have beaten Class AAA Jefferson (35-2) on the year as the Indians rallied late for a 9-7 win over the Cougars back in late April.

It’s a Bridgeport team this year that has used program depth to contend for a second straight title, despite losing eight seniors from last season’s championship team. Bridgeport has seven players hitting .342 or higher, including Elijah Drummond (.532 avg), Joe LaRocca (.447 avg) and Hunter Fain (.437).

Logan Smith (6-2), Jared Cleghorn (7-0) and Hunter Haddix (9-0) lead a loaded pitching staff for the Indians.

“We’re facing a team that’s in the tournament for the first time,” said Bridgeport coach Robert Shields. “But I can tell you one thing, they’re pretty good to get passed Independence and make it to the state tournament.”

The Indians overcame a 4-2 sectional opening loss to Lincoln, bouncing back to beat the Cougars twice and then dominate Liberty (Harrison) 10-0 and Frankfort 16-5 in regional play.

“We just weren’t mentally ready for that first game,” Shields said. “But we came back and the kids did what they were supposed to do. Now, we’re getting ready to try and put to more wins together.”

A championship for Bridgeport would follow up the football team’s back-to-back state championship win from the fall.

“We just have to make sure that we do the little things right and don’t get caught up in the big stage and the crowds,” Shields said. “I think they’re mature enough and they’ve all been there, they understand the surroundings.”

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