MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Winfield’s Class AA state title defense began with 19 consecutive wins to open up the year. After dropping three of four games in late-April, the Generals regained their form to win nine of their last ten games.
Winfield went unbeaten in three sectional games. In the regional round, they posted a pair of run-rule victories at home sandwiched around a road loss at Scott.
WHS is 5-0 against state tournament qualifiers, with two wins against Buffalo and victories over Cabell Midland, Charleston Catholic and George Washington.
The Generals average 6.8 runs per game while yielding just 2.2. Winfield has been the top-ranked team in the MetroNews rankings throughout the regular season.
Winfield is seeking the school’s fifth state championship and first back-to-back titles since 2002. The Winfield softball team just finished off back-to-back championships last week.
The Generals will face No. 4 seed Independence in the first Class AA semifinal. The Patriots have qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2021.
Independence was 7-7 at the midway point of the regular season but they posted a pair of six-game winning streaks in April and May. The Patriots are undefeated in five postseason games, where they outscored their opponents 34-12.
IHS averages 9.4 runs per game and they have scored in double-digits 14 times.
In the second semifinal, Frankfort will face Herbert Hoover. The Falcons are competing at the state level for the first time since 2019, when they advanced to the championship game.
After a 9-6 start, Frankfort has won 11 of their last 14 games. The Falcons went unbeaten in the sectional round with a pair of wins over defending regional champion Keyser. They later defended home turf twice in the regional against Fairmont Senior.
Cameron Lynch is the leading hitter for the Falcons with a .451 average. Uriah Cutter has driven in 40 runs. Lanson Orndorf has posted a 9-3 record with a 1.72 earned run average.
Herbert Hoover went 11-9 in their first 20 games but they have since gone 9-3 to secure their first state tournament appearance in three years.
Like the Falcons, Hoover won all three sectional games and their two home games in the regional round.
Sophomore Tristan Harless lead an offense that averages 6.8 runs per game. Harless owns a .359 batting average while Colin Lindsay leads with 33 runs batted in.
Harless and Riley Johnson have combined for 11 of the team’s 20 wins.