CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For players, coaches and fans, coming to Charleston’s Appalachian Power Park for the state baseball tournament is the culmination of a season’s hard work.
“We started off a little slow, about halfway through the season we picked it up, got better at-bats, pitching, defense; gotten better,” said Man High coach Larry Vance, whose team plays Wahama in Friday’s Single A semi. “We started playing our best ball at the right time during the tournament.”
Emily Backus was one of many fans at Power Park Thursday night, watching her brother Seth pitch for Braxton County.
“The last time they were in was 2011 I think. It’s great to see this group of guys who played together since they were five finally make it this far,” she said.
Braxton County was shut out by Bridgeport 10-0, which meant Nanzio Bonamico, whose son Dante was playing for the Indians, went home happy.
“Dante’s getting ready to go to WVU and play football, but we’re excited about this year right here,” Bonamico said.
Bridgeport will play PikeView in the Class AA final after the Panthers shut out Wayne High School Thursday night.
“Just to have the opportunity to come back to redeem ourselves from the performance we put on the field last year,” said PikeView coach Josh Wyatt. “Coming into the year we had a goal to get here. We put ourselves in a position to make a run at it.”
Man 3rd baseman John Keffer said the experience of playing under the bright lights of Power Park is an unforgettable one.
“I was telling one of the guys who’s never been here; I said playing here is like you’re a minor league player,” Keffer said. “You get up to bat, you see your picture on the big screen; 4 or 5 thousand people here to watch. It’s a different experience and it’s something everybody needs to get a chance to do.”
A full day of action continues Friday at the state tournament with the Class A semifinals beginning at 10 a.m. with Wheeling Central vs Pendleton County, followed by Man vs. Wahama at 1 p.m.
Class AAA semifinals will begin at 5 p.m. with Jefferson vs. Wheeling Park and Ripley vs. Nitro at 8 p.m.