HURRICANE, W.Va. — Class AAA No. 1 Hurricane secured a regional baseball championship and trip to the state tournament on Friday night, beating Ripley 9-2 in a deciding game three.
The Redskins (29-7) scored nine unanswered runs after Lane Casto gave Ripley the early 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a two-run home run.
“Ripley has just gotten better and better throughout the year, and it took everything we had,” said Hurricane coach Brian Sutphin. “We’ve gotten mentally tougher and have had better focus, pitch by pitch and I’ve been pleased with that. We’ve got a shot now, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Tyler Cox picked up the complete game win on the mound for Hurricane, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out two. Noah Short finished 3-for-3, including two doubles, with an RBI and two runs scored, while Logan McClure went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the win.
It’s a Hurricane program that has spent the majority of the season as the top ranked team in Class AAA.
“It gives you an opportunity,” Sutphin said. “In baseball, there are no guarantees of anything. You just have to keep trying to get better and give yourself a chance – we’ve done that.
“I don’t know a whole lot (about the rest of the AAA field),” he continued. “But we’re just like everyone else. You go up there and try to play your best baseball. If you play well, hopefully it’s good enough to win.”