CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jefferson won a 12th baseball championship on Saturday, handling Nitro 11-2 from Appalachian Power Park in a game that didn’t start until well after 9 p.m.
“It was a good all-around performance by our kids,” said Jefferson coach John Lowery. “It’s a good baseball area in the eastern panhandle. From our perspective, it’s something we take pride in and something the kids take pride in. We get a lot of support and it’s a point of pride for the community.”
Jefferson third baseman Austin Bulman finished with three RBIs, a day after knocking in three runs during a semifinal win over Wheeling Park.
“I was seeing the ball pretty well,” Bulman said. “I put some good swings on the ball, made some productive outs and got a couple of key hits. It was just going my way.”
Austin Cross picked up the win for the Cougars (36-3), going all seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and striking out eight.
“It was a good effort – things got away for me a little bit in the middle of the game, so I had to concentrate and collect myself,” Cross said. “I was trying too hard to blow it by them initially and I needed to let my defense work behind me. They definitely had my back.”
Nitro (24-11) committed an unprecedented seven errors, three each by shortstop Matt Harrison and third baseman Jake Williams. Harrison had just two errors on the year coming in.
Wildcats’ starter Andrew Stone threw all six innings, but only five of the 11 runs given up were earned.
Jefferson got on the board in the second as Bailey Dodson drew a bases-loaded walk. A fielder’s choice and throwing error scored two more runs an put the Cougars up 3-0.
“When we got a couple of runs early, that helped us relax,” Lowery said. “Any time you can score first in a tournament game, it’s really a plus.”
Nitro cut its deficit to 3-1 in the fourth as Andrew Stone doubled to leadoff the inning and scored on a passed ball.
The Cougars broke the game open in the bottom half with five runs, including Josh Colvin’s RBI single and Bulman’s two-run hit.
Saturday’s Class AAA championship game finished around 11:30 p.m. after thunderstorms pushed the schedule back throughout the day.
“It was getting frustrating, but we only had to control what we could control,” Bulman said. “We were sitting at the hotel playing a little Playstation, trying to keep loose.”
The 12th title moved Jefferson into the National Federation of State High School’s top 10, tying Elder High School in Ohio and Nashua High School in New Hampshire.
“It’s a rare opportunity to come back to a state championship and have a chance to repeat,” Bulman said. “The feeling is indescribable when you get that last out – the pit in your stomach drops and it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Jefferson, Bridgeport (AA) and Wahama (A) successfully defended their 2015 titles, the first time all three classes have featured repeat baseball champions.