Ernie Galusky
Charleston, WV
If there is one thing that was made clear in the 2008 West Virginia High School state baseball tournament, it is that the Nitro Wildcats are the best baseball team in the state.
For the second time in as many days, Nitro won couresty of the ten run mercy rule. This time it was for the AAA state championship. The Wildcats defeated the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears 10-0 in five innings.
For the tourmanent the Wildcats scored twenty runs in only nine innings and their pitching put up donut holes in each of their ten innings. That is right, Nitro won it first ever state baseball title by the combined score of 20-0.
A lineup filled with power hitters and a pitching staff top heavy with professional prospects was just too much for Martinsburg and Fairmont Senior this week.
Nitro sophmore J.R. Bradley took the hill in the title match and didn't disappoint. The righthander chucked five innings, struck out five, scattered four hits and surrendered zero runs.
Offensively, another sophmore Andrew Pickering stole the show by hitting not one but two home runs. The first came in the fourth, a two run blast. The second was a solo shot in the fifth. Pickering finishes the 2008 tourney with three home runs as he also homered in the semi final against Martinsburg.
Senior leftfielder Brett McClanahan also showed up on championship Saturday. The sweet swinging lefty was 3-3 with a triple, two doubles and three runs scored.
Fairmont Senior starter Mark Gardner coasted through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the third when his defense committed three errors in the frame. Nitro capatalized and pushed two runs across.
Nitro continued in the fourh by scoring five runs and then three in the fifth to finish the job. Nitro ended the contest with nine hits, six of which that were for extra bases.
Fairmont has to be thinking "always the bridesmaid and never the bride." Saturday's loss handed the Polar Bears their fourth state runner up finish in the last six seasons (2003,2004,2005 and 2008).
Just a prediction, but the Nitro Wildcats have to be the favorites to repeat in 2009, considering they return the bulk of this dominate team.
In their final game as a Class AA high school sports team, the Logan Wildcats claimed their 6th state baseball championship Saturday afternoon with a 13-3 victory over Pt Pleasant; the game was halted after six innings because of the mercy rule.
Logan struck for four runs in the first two innings, added 4 more in the fourth and then three in the bottom of the sixth to claim their fourth state baseball championship this decade.
Senior Josh Motto was credited with the win; Motto fired 6 hit baseball and team with reliever Ronnie Abbott in not allowing a base on ball to the Black Knights. Motto also led the Logan hit parade with three singles and three runs batted in.
The game was Pt Pleasant's first title game appearance in baseball; Logan won their first AA title in 2005.
For the third time in four years Wheeling Central takes home the Class "A" state championship baseball trophy. The Maroon Knights struck for six runs in the second inning and rolled to an 11-4 victory over Buffalo Saturday afternoon.
Wheeling Central is the first small school champ to defend their title since the Knights won back to back championships in 1999 and 2000.
Wheeling Central's senior righthander R.J. Miller fanned sixteen Buffalo batters while scattering five hits. While Miller was baffling Bison hitters, Maroon Knight rightfielder Joey Seabright led a 14-hit attack by collecting three singles. Wheeling's lead off hitter Andrew Henry knocked in four of Wheeling's 11 runs.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The most important coaches in the Mountaineer football program right now are downstairs in the Puskar Center weight room. Strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph and his staff have completed their first full week of work with the team after a two-week discretionary period when players were permitted to come in on their own and workout following the conclusion of the spring semester.
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