HURRICANE, W.Va. — After a state runner-up finish to St. Albans last year, Hurricane again finds itself as one of the early season baseball title favorites in Class AAA.
The Redskins boast 10 seniors this year and entered Thursday with a 7-0 record and No. 1 ranking in the latest MetroNews baseball poll.
“All of our guys are really hungry,” said senior shortstop Chandler Kelley. “We have a really good group of guys who work hard and we’re all really close. We’re like brothers.
“St. Albans was a really good team last year and we’ll have to (go through) them again this year, I’m sure – they’re really good,” Kelley continued. “We should have another really good shot at it, though.”
Kelley last year hit .305 for the Redskins and earlier this winter announced his commitment to Marshall.
“I’m really excited for it,” Kelley said. “Marshall really goes way back for me, it’s real personal. My whole family went to Marshall, my sister played softball at Marshall, I grew up going to all of the football, basketball and baseball games.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for my hometown and play for something,” he continued. “I’m just really excited for the opportunity.”
Hurricane also received a nice boost to its pitching depth this season as former George Washington standout Jonathan Blackwell, a junior, is now with the Redskins.
“It’s like he’s been here for four years,” Kelley said. “We just all have a really good chemistry together.”
Blackwell last year finished with 56 strikeouts in just under 49 innings, posting a 5-4 record and 2.01 ERA with the Patriots.
“Hopefully we’re starting a quest towards the state tournament,” Blackwell said. “All of the players on this team know baseball — they know what to do in specific situations, where to hit it on each side of the field, what play to run when the ball is hit to them. They’re ready for everything.”
Blackwell is a D-I recruit himself, committing to Coastal Carolina in the fall of 2016 as the Chanticleers are just two years removed from a national championship.
“When I went down there, at first it was just to showcase my abilities, but after I threw a little bit, they had me look around the campus and showed me their strength and conditioning,” Blackwell said. “Once I saw all of that, I knew that was the place that I wanted to go. I’ve just been trying to keep my command with all three of my pitches that I throw.”
Blackwell and Kelley are just a couple of college prospects for Hurricane — a list that includes senior Noah Short who will play at Morehead State in the D-I college ranks as well.
“We have some really good arms and that certainly makes my job a lot easier at shortstop,” Kelley said. “But we still have to pick it good in the field.”
Blackwell is 1-0 on the young season, totaling an impressive 27 strikeouts in just 11 innings, surrendering no runs.
Senior Liam Bailey (2-0, 1.27 ERA), senior Bo Adkins (3-0, 1.56 ERA) and sophomore Tyler Cox (1-0, 3.50 ERA) have picked up the other six wins so far on the season. Short has thrown just four innings, but has seven strikeouts.
Kelley and Short both lead Hurricane at the plate, hitting .417 early on, while Adkins (.409), Nate Dunham (.385) and Jake Allen (.333) are all above .330 on the year as well. Cox leads the team with nine RBIs.
Austin Dearing (.294) and Logan McClure (.294) are a couple of the other key pieces for Hurricane.
The path back to the state tournament undoubtedly will be difficult once again for the Redskins in an always loaded and competitive section that includes No. 7 Cabell Midland, No. 9 Huntington and a Spring Valley team with D-I talent itself.
The opposing section in Region 4 features Parkersburg, Parkersburg South and Ripley.
“If Ripley beats us by 10 or we beat Cabell Midland by five runs in the regular season, it’s a whole different ball game in sectionals and regional play,” Kelley said. “Everyone is hungry, wants to win and will be playing better. We’ll all be used to each other.
“Midland has good pitching, Spring Valley has some really good arms and Huntington does as well,” he continued. “Ripley is always tough. It’s going to be a tough one, but I think our chemistry is better than a lot of teams out there. I think we have a good shot to make it to Charleston again, hopefully.”
| HURRICANE 2018 Baseball Schedule |
||||||||
| 1 | 03/16/18 | 5:30PM | H – | RIVERSIDE | 4 | – | 1 | W |
| 2 | 03/17/18 | 12:00PM | H – | RIPLEY | 9 | – | 1 | W |
| 3 | 03/20/18 | 5:00PM | H – | HUNTINGTON | 4 | – | 3 | W |
| 4 | 03/22/18 | 5:00PM | H – | SPRING VALLEY | 6 | – | 4 | W |
| 5 | 03/23/18 | 5:00PM | A – | ELKINS | 8 | – | 4 | W |
| 6 | 03/26/18 | 5:30PM | A – | BOYD CO., KY H.S. | 12 | – | 2 | W |
| 7 | 03/27/18 | 7:00PM | H – | GEORGE WASHINGTON | 9 | – | 5 | W |
| 8 | Postponed | 5:30PM | A – | SOUTH CHARLESTON | – | |||
| 9 | 03/29/18 | 7:00PM | A – | HUNTINGTON | – | |||
| 10 | 03/30/18 | 6:00PM | A – | PARKERSBURG | – | |||
| 11 | 04/02/18 | PM | A – | CHARLOTTE, N.C. | – | |||
| 12 | 04/06/18 | 6:00PM | H – | PARKERSBURG SOUTH | – | |||
| 13 | Cancelled | 1:00PM | H – | CABELL MIDLAND | – | |||
| 14 | 04/10/18 | 7:00PM | A – | CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 15 | 04/11/18 | 6:30PM | H – | GREENUP COUNTY, KY | – | |||
| 16 | 04/12/18 | 7:00PM | A – | GEORGE WASHINGTON | – | |||
| 17 | 04/13/18 | 6:00PM | H – | MYRTLE BEACH HIGH | – | |||
| 18 | 04/14/18 | 12:00PM | A – | WOODROW WILSON | – | |||
| 19 | 04/17/18 | 7:00PM | A – | RIPLEY | – | |||
| 20 | 04/18/18 | 7:00PM | A – | CABELL MIDLAND | – | |||
| 21 | 04/19/18 | 6:00PM | A – | POINT PLEASANT SENIOR/MIDDLE SCHOOL | – | |||
| 22 | 04/21/18 | 12:00PM | A – | PARKERSBURG | – | |||
| 23 | 04/24/18 | 7:00PM | H – | CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 24 | 04/25/18 | 7:00PM | A – | SPRING VALLEY | – | |||
| 25 | 04/27/18 | 7:00PM | A – | ST. ALBANS HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 26 | 04/30/18 | 6:30PM | H – | MSAC TOURNAMENT | – | |||
| 27 | 05/03/18 | 6:00PM | H – | BOYD CO., KY H.S. | – | |||
| 28 | 05/04/18 | 6:00PM | A – | RIVERSIDE | – | |||
| wins: 7 lost: 0 ties: 0 | ||||||||