6:00: Morning News

Sissonville’s Landis captain of Class AA baseball all-state

By Greg Carey
Clarksburg Exponent Telegram, WV Sports Writers Association

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. — Sissonville’s Josh Landis proved to be equally as dangerous on the mound as he was in the batter’s box, and that was nothing but trouble for opponents.

After a sensational senior season, Landis was chosen first-team captain of the Class AA all-state team by the W.Va. Sports Writers Association.

The Marietta College signee split time between shortstop and pitcher, while batting .480 with 48 RBIs, 10 doubles and six home runs. As a pitcher, Landis was 7-1 with a 0.81 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 60 1-3 innings of work.

Landis’ accomplishments came under new head coach Chad Carpenter, and Sissonville advanced to a regional final before being ousted.

MORE: Class AA all-state baseball teams

“He not only helped me, but the whole team. He flipped everything around and we worked really hard in the offseason and in the season,” Landis said. “He deserves a lot of credit for that. He taught me a lot about baseball in the one year he’s been here.

“I had guys behind me that would show up and get the job done. I didn’t have to play my best every day for us to win a game, and that took a lot of pressure off me and made me relaxed.”

Although Bridgeport may not have possessed as much star power this season as in recent memory, the Indians had enough firepower to notch a third straight Class AA state championship.

Bridgeport is one of three teams with a pair of first-team selections on the AA first-team all-state, with senior shortstop Dante Bonamico and junior catcher Drew Hefner earning the honors.

Bonamico finished the season going 3-for-3 and reaching base in all eight plate appearances at the state tournament. He hit .385 with 39 runs, 18 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.

“Dante never got out at the state tournament,” Bridgeport coach Robert Shields said. “What an exclamation point to a great career.”

Hefner, meanwhile, made the most of his first year starting at catcher. He finished with the best average (.426) of any Bridgeport player, and added 29 RBIs, seven doubles and one home run. Hefner’s defensive play was even more vital to the Indians than his bat.

“Drew had a phenomenal year and worked hard,” Shields said. “It shows hard work pays off. He learned a lot, and it’s great to have him back next year.”

Runner-up PikeView and semifinalist Wayne are the other two teams with a pair of first-team players. Pitcher Michael Rotneberry and outfielder Keian Lee picked up the honors for the Panthers.

Before suffering the loss in the state title, Rotenberry was 8-0 with a 0.48 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 56 innings. Lee came to Charleston leading the Panthers in hits (42), batting average (.467) and runs (40) to go with his eight doubles.

The Pioneers’ first-team selections are pitcher Dakota McCloud and utility selection Cayden Ross.

McCloud entered the state tournament 8-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 56 innings, while Ross was also effective on the mound, going 5-0 with 49 strikeouts in 41 innings to accompany his .477 average and 34 RBIs.

Grafton pitcher Seth Wright is the other first-team pitcher. Wright was 5-3 with 61 strikeouts in 57 2-3 innings. He allowed only 48 hits and issued 14 walks.

Lincoln’s A.K. Snyder, Braxton County’s Brent McMillion and Ravenswood’s Chase Swain form the remainder of the infield.

Snyder finished with a .500 batting average, seven HRs, five doubles and 36 RBIs. McMillion hit .507 and led the Eagles to a regional title, and Swain had a .407 average with five HRs and 34 RBIs.

Joining Lee as first-team outfielders are Frankfort’s Troy Mumma and Summers County’s Matt Ryan.

Mumma had a .454 average with nine doubles and 40 runs, while Ryan hit .478 with 16 doubles, 32 runs and 32 RBIs.

Philip Barbour’s Sean Curtis and Chapmanville’s Chris Bailey round out the first unit as utility selections.

Curtis had a stellar season for the Colts, finishing with a .608 average, 31 runs, 29 RBIs, 13 doubles and three homers. In 45 innings pitched, Curtis picked up five wins and recorded 63 strikeouts.

Bailey was 5-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 45 innings, while he contributed a .378 batting average with seven doubles, four HRs and 27 runs driven in.

Clay County catcher Cooper Osborne is the second-team captain. Osborne finished the season batting .511.

Bridgeport, Wayne and Independence have two second-team selections. For the Indians, pitcher Tanner Furbee and first baseman Elijah Drummond were selected.

Utility pick Cody Noe and outfielder Brad Sharp earned second-team honors for the Pioneers.

Infielder Michael Hill and outfielder Chris Mills are the Patriots’ second-team selections.

Ryan Valentine of Fairmont Senior and Alex Berry of Chapmanville are the other second-team pitchers, and Poca’s Bubba Hill and Petersburg’s Nick Dolly are second-team infielders.

Ritchie County’s Cory Farley earned an outfield spot, while PikeView’s Levi Nash, Weir’s Michael Mills and East Fairmont’s Jacob Bolander are each second-team utility selections.





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