CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hurricane is the top seed in Class AAA and has been the favorite for much of the season, while St. Albans, Washington and Morgantown will try to take the spotlight.
Friday, June 2, 10 a.m. – No. 1 Hurricane (29-7) vs. No. 4 Morgantown (21-9)
Hurricane took over the No. 1 spot in the MetroNews baseball rankings on April 13, jumping two-time defending champion Jefferson. The Redskins rode that No. 1 ranking all the way to the state tournament, while Jefferson was upended in sectional play to Washington.
“We have a chance and that’s all you can ask for,” said Hurricane coach Brian Sutphin. “There are four teams left and we all have a chance. This is a resilient group that has gotten tougher throughout the year. They’ve faced some adversity and they have been enjoyable to coach, that’s for sure.”
It’s a Hurricane team that has overcome the loss of arguably the state’s best player in Kentucky signee Aaron Perry. Perry was 3-1 on the year with a 0.33 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. He was also batting .628 on the year in 14 games played, prior to suffering a stress fracture in his pitching elbow that ended his season.
With Perry out, the Redskins have still powered through as Garrett Gress has taken over the ace role on the pitching staff, posting a 10-0 record, 0.83 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 67 and 1/3 innings.
Freshman Tyler Cox has also emerged in pressure moments on the mound for Hurricane, picking up wins in the MSAC title game against Cabell Midland and in game three of regional play over Ripley. Cox is 3-0 on the year with a 1.19 ERA.
“Anytime you lose any player, it’s tough,” Sutphin said. “Aaron (Perry) is a special player and has been garnering a lot of attention from professional scouts. We all feel bad for him that he misses out, but he’s handled it like a champ.
“As far as our team goes, they’ve rallied around that,” he continued. “We have a lot of capable arms. Garrett (Gress) is a real winner and a great kid, he’s intelligent on the field and off of the field. He loves to compete. In one word, he’s just a winner. Tyler (Cox) also has really stepped up for us and has been lights out.”
At the plate, Nate Dunham (.405) and Noah Short (.400) have led the way, while Austin Dearing (.311), Bo Adkins (.388), Chandler Kelley (.304), Evan Dearing (.376), Jake Allen (.354), Logan McClure (.382) and Noah Birthisel (.361) are part of a slew of players hitting over .300.
Hurricane has baseball championships from 2014 and 2002.
Morgantown, meanwhile, is making its first baseball state tournament appearance since 1976 after coming up just short multiple times over the last decade.
“When you look at a lot of the talent that we’ve had over the years, it’s kind of amazing that we haven’t slipped in there at some point,” said veteran Morgantown coach Mark McCarty. “We compete against the best teams in the state year-in and year-out.
“We’ve always been eight or nine games over .500 during my 18-year tenure,” he continued. “And four times during that period, we have beaten the eventual state champion that season. Thinking of those kinds of things, it is kind of mind-boggling.”
But now, Morgantown does have that chance. The Mohigans have been led on the mound all season by senior ace Sam Britton.
At the plate, senior Jordan Page has led the way — he has started all but one game for the Mohigans since his freshman year. Seniors Connor Kelly, Andrew Berry, Michael DeFelice and Zane Gallagher provide more experience through the six-hole in the lineup.
It’s a veteran Morgantown team that features 13 seniors overall.
“This team, physically, I’m not sure is the best we’ve ever had,” McCarty said. “But they definitely are the most determined and have the best attitude of any team we’ve had.
“Hurricane is a good team and a quality program that has won championships,” he continued. “I don’t think this group of Morgantown High kids is going to be intimidated or overwhelmed by anyone. We know we’re going to be playing a good team and we’ve played some good teams this year. If we play the way we are capable of, we’re going to be competing with just about anyone.”
(50 minutes after first game) – No. 2 St. Albans (30-9) vs. No. 3 Washington (24-6)
St. Albans started out the season 10-0, riding a plethora of young talent to a top five ranking.
Now, 39 games in, the Red Dragons have matured, battling through elimination postseason games after an early sectional loss to George Washington and first-game regional loss to Greenbrier East.
“This is my 20th year and the longer you coach, the more you appreciate how hard it is to get to the state tournament,” said St. Albans coach Rick Whitman. “I don’t like to say that we’re young anymore when we’ve played 39 games. The guys who are sophomores should be playing like juniors now, and so on.
“These kids have won all the way up through and they expect to win,” he continued. “They didn’t like it last year when they didn’t win. So they went out and did what they had to do to get better.”
Nick Loftis and Jake Carr have been main two workhorses on the mound for St. Albans. Loftis is 9-1 on the year with a 1.66 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 67 and 2/3 innings pitched. Carr, meanwhile, is 6-2 with a 1.93 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 54 and 1/3 innings.
Noah Cummings has led St. Albans at the plate, posting a .381 average with a team-best 38 RBIs.
“We don’t strikeout a lot – we put the ball in play and find a way to put pressure on defenses,” Whitman said. “We have some team speed and can play small ball if we need to. Our pitching and defense has been pretty good, so if we can get to four runs offensively, we feel good. If we can get to anything above four runs, we really feel good.”
It’s St. Albans’ first trip to the state tournament since 2004 as the Red Dragons are looking for their first baseball title.
Washington enters state tournament play as one of the hottest teams in the state, winning 16 of its last 19 games going back to April 12, with all of those three losses coming out of state.
The Patriots turned some heads in sectional play, eliminating two-time defending state champion and then-No. 2 Jefferson.
“When you’re in the same section as Jefferson, with all of the history that goes with that program, we have three sectional championships since 2012 and two regional titles in the last four years – we’re pretty proud of what we’ve done here and proud of our kids,” said Washington coach Mark Hash. “Anytime you get a chance to be in the final four, that’s a great opportunity. You can win it unless you’re there.”
Washington is still relatively young overall in terms of returning talent – the Patriots start just one senior and eight juniors.
That one senior, though, is the ace on the mound — Jack Dubyak. He enters state tournament play with an 8-1 record and 1.80 ERA, and will get the start on Friday against St. Albans.
“He’s going to compete like nobody else competes,” Hash said. “He gives you a great chance to win. He can spot his fastball, has a nice breaking ball and has a nice little change-up. He’s been a great kid for our program and he’s going to give us a great chance to put us in that championship game.”
Nathan Kerr has been the No. 2 starter for Washington, posting a 4-1 record and 2.85 ERA. Cameron Pine has led the Patriots at the plate, posting a .482 batting average with 35 RBIs. Trey Virts (.356), Spencer Delawder (.370) and Dalton Jackson (.387) have also been above the .350 mark on the year.
It’s the second state tournament trip in four seasons for Washington after the Patriots made an appearance in 2014.