HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A four-run third inning and a sterling pitching performance from Landon Meadows have allowed the Ripley Vikings to play on Championship Saturday at the state baseball tournament for a second consecutive season. The defending state champion Vikings defeated No. 1 Bridgeport, 5-1 in Friday’s opening Class AAA semifinal.
Meadows pitched into the seventh inning. He scattered six hits and struck out a pair of batters.
“He is just a strike-throwing machine,” said Ripley head coach Shane Casto. “That’s what he has done for us for four years. We knew Bridgeport was going to put the ball in play. Usually when he is on the mound, that kind of puts our best defense on the field.”
Just as he did in Ripley’s quarterfinal win over Spring Valley, WVU commit Bryson Casto came on in relief. He recorded the final three outs in succession and in relief of Meadows in the seventh inning.
“Let’s hope he’s got some left because we’ve got one more to go. Our guys don’t tend to overpower people a whole lot. Occasionally, we will ring it up in the mid-80’s. But we like to pitch to soft contact, let our guys play defense and get in the dugout quick to start hitting.”
With the game scoreless in the top of the third inning, Ripley’s first two batters reached base. A sacrifice bunt by Casto was successful. The throw to first base went down the right field line, allowing John Cummings and Eli Phalen to score. Ripley added two more runs in the inning with a sacrifice fly from Parker Keller and an RBI double from Meadows.
“The [Blake] Butcher kid really pitched a great game for them. We really didn’t square the ball up a whole lot on him. We got a couple of bunts down. They made a couple of miscues that we capitalized on and we had the right guys on the bases that run really well. They are very aggressive and we took advantage of that. That was really the difference today.”
Bridgeport (31-5) pulled within three runs in the sixth on an RBI groundout from Owen Sondericker. However, Ripley answered back in the seventh when Casto scored on a wild pitch.
Cummings went 3-for-3 for the Vikings. Luke Rohrig had two of Bridgeport’s six hits.
Ripley (26-10) will face the Shady Spring/St. Albans winner in Saturday’s Class AAA state championship game, which will begin at 5:30 p.m.
“It is just special. It is great for the community. They support the kids. It is just an awesome feeling.”
Bridgeport’s Blake Butcher pitched 6.1 innings before reaching the 110-pitch limit. He allowed six hits, walked four and struck out five.
MetroNews broadcast interview from Fred Persinger with Ripley’s Shane Casto after RHS’ 5-1 win over Bridgeport in the Class AAA semifinals: #wvprepbase @MetroNewsSports pic.twitter.com/DFkAoNuilW
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) June 12, 2026