No. 2 St. Albans, No. 3 Wheeling Park set for AAA semifinal clash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — St. Albans vs. Wheeling Park will serve as the nightcap to Thursday’s Class AAA baseball semifinals from Appalachian Power Park in Charleston.

The two-seed St. Albans (28-10) will be looking for its second straight state championship, while No. 3 Wheeling Park (20-6) is in its fourth state tournament appearance in the last five years – but looking for its first title game appearance in that stretch.

“Last year we lost (in regional play) with sophomores and juniors and I really felt our senior leadership coming back was going to lead us and guide us — and they have all year,” said Wheeling Park coach Mike McLeod. “You have to take things at this point in time. You can’t sit back. You have to be aggressive.

“You can’t just sit back on your heels and just think something good is going to happen, you have to go make it happen,” he continued. “Hopefully this year we can get off the snide. But it’s tough – when you get to the Final Four in anything it’s so competitive and it’s usually a small thing that gets you over the hump.”

St. Albans found that formula a year ago, beating Washington and then Hurricane in state tournament play for the school’s first ever baseball championship.

Chayce Matheny is part of a St. Albans pitching staff that has a combined 1.98 team ERA.

After some highs and lows early this season, the Red Dragons have found themselves again playing their best in the postseason.

“The adage ‘it’s hard to get to the top and even harder to stay there’ is definitely true,” said St. Albans coach Rick Whitman. “Our guys still kind of have a chip on their shoulder as far as having something to prove. But a few times more this year than last year we’ve had to get their attention. They’re the defending state champs, but that doesn’t have a lot to do with this season.”

St. Albans had just two seniors on its roster a season ago, returning a majority of its title team, centered around WVU commit and junior Jake Carr.

Carr, though, missed all of March with a medical issue and battled through April with a pulled muscle in his back.

In the postseason, though, he’s been back to full health and enters the week hitting .411 with 30 RBIs and 27 runs scored. On the mound, Carr is 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA and 54 strikeouts in just 30.1 innings.

St. Albans overall has a bevy of arms with its team ERA standing at 1.98 on the season. Nick Loftis (4-2, 1.04 ERA), Chayce Matheny (6-2, 2.39 ERA), Ayden Hodges (6-3, 1.45 ERA), Connor Fizer (4-1, 1.93 ERA) are a few of those names who will be available on the mound as well.

Noah Cummings (.455 average, 45 RBIs and 28 runs scored), Matheny (.339, 24 RBIs and 36 runs scored), Loftis (.336, 39 RBIs and 25 runs scored) and Fizer (.328, 27 RBIs and 30 runs scored) have all had big years at the plate, among others.

After falling early in sectional play to South Charleston, 1-0, the Red Dragons rallied to beat George Washington in an elimination game 7-6 and have been riding that momentum since.

“We were down 4-0 in the first inning and trailed 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh,” Whitman said. “We had a runner on second with two outs and were down to the last out of our season. Noah Cummings got a base hit to tie the game and we went into extra innings.

“GW scored a run in the top of the ninth and we scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to win that game,” he continued. “But when we got down 4-0, I saw a glimpse of the guys we had last year in terms of their attitude, refusing to lose and their energy. Since then, that’s who we’ve been.”

Zach Hickman entered the week with a 4-0 record, 2.53 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 38 and two-thirds innings pitched.

Wheeling Park, meanwhile, enters the week with six players hitting .350 or above in Trevor Thomas (.419 with 22 RBIs and 21 runs scored), Zack Kahle (.400), Brett Donahew (.370), Ben Taylor (.362), Jarrod Jones (.361, 22 RBIs) and Ryan Hummel (.354).

Zach Hickman has put in the most innings for the Patriots overall, going 4-0 with a 2.53 ERA, striking out 37 in 38 and two-third innings. Thomas has a 2-1 record with a 1.93 ERA on the mound, while Ben Taylor has worked through an injury and is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA.

“I’m not sure which order we’re going to go in, but I really believe we have about four guys we may run out there and just try to get two innings out of each,” McLeod said. “There is no Saturday without winning Thursday. You have to do everything you can to win that first one and then figure out what you can do on Saturday.”

Thursday, May 31 (Class AAA semifinals)

4:30 p.m. — No. 1 Hurricane (31-4) vs. No. 4 Martinsburg (24-11)

50 minutes after game one — No. 2 St. Albans (28-10) vs. No. 3 Wheeling Park (20-6)

Saturday, June 2 (Championship Saturday)

10 a.m. — Class AAA state championship

45 minutes after awards presentation — Class AA state championship

45 minutes after awards presentation — Class A state championship





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