MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — A difficult early-season schedule and the loss of six starters from a 2015 state tournament team were contributing factors to a 2-8 start for the Moorefield baseball team this year.
But wins over then-No. 9 Buffalo and top ranked Wahama in mid-April gave the Yellow Jackets momentum and a needed confidence boost as they overall won 9 of 10.
“We came back and felt really good about ourselves,” said Moorefield coach Wade Armentrout. “Our kids were loose and focused on that trip. That was really a turnaround. Our first practice when we came back from that trip, there was a whole different feel. Early on, it was a struggle. But we paid the price then and it’s paying off now.”
Moorefield, which entered Friday with a 13-12 record and No. 8 ranking in the MetroNews baseball poll, has just two seniors, relying on a lot of youth in the lineup to develop.
“At the beginning of the year, we weren’t playing well in any phase because we were so inexperienced,” Armentrout said. “We lost a lot of key contributors from last year. This group has worked tremendously hard and they are a great group of coachable kids. I’ve been really impressed to their desire to improve, even when we weren’t very successful early on.”
Wil Schoonover is one of those two senior leaders for the Yellow Jackets, batting third in the lineup, while junior Westly Martinez has delivered in the four-spot. Junior Sloan Williams spearheads the top of Moorefield’s lineup, with senior Jestin Cosner batting second.
The Yellow Jackets are led on the mound by junior Holden Sions, Schoonover and junior Seth Hoyt. Mooefield’s arms were put to a true test last week as the Yellow Jackets picked up a 4-2 win over No. 3 Pendleton County which lasted 15 innings.
“We felt like we had a good chance to beat them the first time when we played them where we lost 3-2,” Armentrout said. “There were a lot of things that we reflected on before we played them the second time, things we have been doing much better now than we were doing then.”
With sectional play on the horizon for teams around the state, Moorefield’s postseason will begin against rival East Hardy and Paw Paw out of Region 2, Section 4. In all, the region has half of Class A’s current top 10 teams in No. 2 South Harrison, No. 3 Pendleton County, No. 7 East Hardy, No. 8 Moorefield and No. 9 Tygarts Valley. Notre Dame has also spent time in the top 10 as well.
“It’s going to be difficult even getting started in the postseason,” Armentrout said. “It’s going to be a battle. Somebody is going to have a job ahead of them to get out of this region, but they’re going to be very much battle tested by the time they get to the state tournament. If they can make it to the Final Four, they’ve would have been successful to get to that point.”
Last year, it was Moorefield making it to that point, finishing an overall 19-10 year with a state tournament semifinal loss to Man. The recent late-season momentum from this year’s team, meanwhile, has the Yellow Jackets right in the mix for a return trip to Charleston.
“I hope our hitting continues to improve throughout the postseason,” Armentrout said. “I feel really good now about our pitching staff. We’re well rested and our fielding is much improved.
“We’re a ball club that has to play well in all three of those phases – we’re not dominant in any of the three,” he continued. “If we can get some key hits in critical situations, I feel really good. We’re playing with a lot of confidence and I like to see that in our young kids.”