A pair of 28 win teams square off Monday in a single-elimination Class AAA Region II final. In a battle for Eastern Panhandle supremacy, Martinsburg (28-4) will host Jefferson (28-7), and once again, it’s a father-son showdown.
It will be the 7th consecutive season that a John Lowery coached Jefferson team will face a John Lowery Jr. coached Martinsburg team for the right to move on in the post season. And the game will be a high point for what is considered to be the toughest baseball region in the state. The Charleston Gazette state baseball rankings have Martinsburg ranked third with Jefferson fifth. On the other side of the bracket, top ranked Bridgeport will face sixth ranked Elkins. The two semi-final winners will then meet Wednesday for birth in the 2011 State Tournament.
Both teams are veteran groups loaded with seniors. Martinsburg has one of the top offensive teams in the state led by Zach Woolcock and Zach Stolipher. Both of those seniors have played every day since their freshman seasons. Woolcock, a Radford recruit, is hitting .554 with 61 runs scored. He set a school record with nine RBI in a single game this season against Millbrook, Virginia. Stolipher, who is headed for Potomac State, has hit seven home runs this year. He has also set a school record with 57 RBI.
Woolcock and Stolipher are also among the top pitchers on the Martinsburg team as they have combined for 14 wins. Brandon Cordell leads the staff with a 8-1 record and a 2.07 ERA.
Jefferson will try and counter that Martinsburg lineup with starting pitcher Logan Johnson. Johnson is 7-1 with a 1.21 ERA on the season. Tanner Everton is an option as well as he ran his record to 9-0 with a sectional championship win over Washington back on May 12.
The Jefferson offense has averaged nearly ten runs per game this season. Johnson leads an offense that has slugged 34 home runs on the season. Johnson is hitting .444. with a school record 55 runs scored. J.P. Jones leads the team with 33 RBI. Everton and Trevor Poe have led the team with six home runs each.
The Jefferson/Martinsburg game will take place Monday, May 23 at P.O. Faulkner Field. The winner will then host the Bridgeport/Elkins winner in the Region II title game.