VIENNA, W.Va. — Mallory Chapman saved her first home run of the season for the Class AA championship game, which turned out to be perfect timing for the Herbert Hoover softball team.
“I was so emotional as soon as I touched home plate,” said the shortstop after her three-run shot started the Huskies toward an 8-1 victory over defending champion Chapmanville Regional on Thursday.
“It’s just crazy. It’s indescribable.’”
An eighth-grader watching from the bleachers the last time Hoover won the title in 2014, Chapman had the big blow in a five-run third-inning uprising. The Huskies (27-6) strung together five straight hits to build a 6-1 lead and freshman pitcher Delani Buckner struck out 10 to make it stand up.
Kelsey Naylor and Madison Bowles had two hits and an RBI each, while Hoover’s other senior, Della Fix also singled in a run. That trio were the only holdovers from the last championship and the backbone of this year’s club, Coach Missy Smith said.
“To start and end your career with a state championship is pretty amazing. Those seniors were the first two-timers in our history,” Smith said.
“They were leaders from the beginning, starting in the offseason. They found a way to lead people who wanted to be led. I’m so proud of them.”
Chapmanville (26-5) was trying to replicate its three wins on Championship Thursday last year, but completed only two-thirds of the mission this time. After crushing Oak Glen 11-0 in a morning elimination game, the Tigers surged from five runs down to edge Hoover 11-9 in Game 1 of the final.
“Our girls played their hearts out, so what more could you ask?” said Chapmanville coach Ronnie Ooten. “I think our pitchers just ran out of gas a little.”
With Hoover’s high school campus wrecked by last June’s deadly flooding and now scheduled for demolition, the championship season carried special sentiment.
“I’m very fortunate to coach at a program where the state tournament is a goal every year that’s achievable,” Smith said. “But this one’s a little sweeter after all the things we had to go through to get there.”
Class AA state softball
Wednesday results
Oak Glen def. Wyoming East 3-2
Hoover def. Chapmanville 2-0
Chapmanville def. Wyoming East 6-3 (Wyoming East eliminated)
Hoover def. Oak Glen 16-1
Thursday results
Chapmanville def. Oak Glen 11-0 (Oak Glen eliminated)
Chapmanville def. Hoover 11-9
Hoover def. Chapmanville 8-1 (Hoover wins title)