MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When Jefferson, Bridgeport and Wahama all repeated as baseball state champions a year ago in June, it was the first time the state saw repeat winners in all three classes.
Heading into the beginning of this year’s postseason, which gets underway Monday around the state with sectional play, the paths back to the state tournament for all three defending champions will have some early hurdles.
Two-time defending Class AAA state champion Jefferson entered Friday 24-5 overall with its only in-state losses coming to Frankfort (10-9) and Greenbrier East (4-3).
The No. 2 Cougars are the top seed in sectional play and could be challenged by No. 8 Washington (19-5). Jefferson does have two early regular season wins over the Patriots, though, 9-0 and 11-0. But Washington also enters the postseason with momentum, having won 11 of 13.
Three-time Class AA defending champion Bridgeport will be tasked with emerging from one of the state’s most difficult sections, matched up with No. 3 Elkins, No. 5 Lincoln, Liberty (H) and Robert C. Byrd.
The No. 1 Indians (21-6) lost to Elkins in the regular season 1-0 (Bridgeport’s only in-state Class AA regular season loss) and trailed 1-0 in a second game against the Tigers before rain wiped it out in the fourth.
Bridgeport has two wins over Lincoln (10-6 and 9-1), but the Cougars (22-5) own an 11-6 win over Elkins. Liberty (Harrison), meanwhile, has been around .500 all year, but has shown the ability to beat and play with top teams, posting wins over both Lincoln and Elkins in the regular season.
The Indians are the top seed in sectional play, with Elkins the two-seed and Lincoln the three.
In Class A, two-time defending state champion Wahama perhaps has an even steeper climb. The No. 9 White Falcons (15-9) are the three-seed in sectional play, behind No. 2 Ravenswood and No. 3 Williamstown.
Wahama lost five starters from its most recent championship team, but still has Marshall signee Philip Hoffman as its ace on the mound, while junior Dalton Kearns has emerged as a solid No. 2.
Regular season matchups with Ravenswood and Williamstown were rained out, while the Red Devils and Yellowjackets split a pair of games.
RANKED TEAMS BY SECTION
There’s still one more regular season MetroNews baseball poll to be released on Sunday night. But a look below at this past week’s rankings (including receiving votes) shows several potential early postseason matchups between ranked teams.
AAA Region 1, Section 1
No. 10 Wheeling Park
AAA Region 1, Section 2
No. 6 Morgantown
RV: University
AAA Region 2, Section 1
None
AAA Region 2, Section 2
No. 2 Jefferson
No. 8 Washington
AAA Region 3, Section 1
No. 4 St. Albans
No. 5 George Washington
AAA Region 3, Section 2
RV: Greenbrier East
AAA Region 4, Section 1
No. 7 Parkersburg South
No. 9 Ripley
AAA Region 4, Section 2
No. 1 Hurricane
No. 3 Cabell Midland
RV: Spring Valley
RV: Huntington
AA Region 1, Section 1
No. 8 Frankfort
AA Region 1, Section 2
No. 9 Oak Glen
RV: Weir
AA Region 2, Section 1
No. 1 Bridgeport
No. 3 Elkins
No. 5 Lincoln
AA Region 2, Section 2
No. 6 Braxton County
RV: Herbert Hoover
AA Region 3, Section 1
RV: Independence
AA Region 3, Section 2
RV: PikeView
AA Region 4, Section 1
No. 2 Wayne
RV: Sissonville
RV: Nitro
RV: Winfield
AA Region 4, Section 2
No. 4 Logan
No. 7 Chapmanville Regional
No. 10 Scott
A Region 1, Section 1
No. 1 Wheeling Central
No. 8 Bishop Donahue
A Region 1, Section 2
No. 6 Tyler Consolidated
A Region 2, Section 1
RV: Tygarts Valley
RV: Notre Dame
RV: Gilmer County
A Region 2, Section 2
No. 7 Pendleton County
No. 10 Moorefield
RV: East Hardy
A Region 3, Section 1
No. 4 Charleston Catholic
A Region 3, Section 2
No. 5 Greater Beckley Christian
A Region 4, Section 1
No. 2 Ravenswood
No. 3 Williamstown
No. 9 Wahama
A Region 4, Section 2
RV: Buffalo
RV: St. Joseph Central