By DAVE MORRISON, FOR THE WVSWA
It took some doing, but Shady Spring junior outfielder Jake Meadows now resides at the head of the Meadows family baseball hierarchy, a distinction assured when he was named captain of the West Virginia Class AA All-State team released on Thursday and selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
None of the other Meadows boys achieved that status, although each of the sons of Shady Spring’s first family of baseball manned center field, batted leadoff, and wore the No. 10.
The oldest is Jordan, Shady’s head coach, a second team All-State selection as a senior in 2014, who had been reluctant previously to surrender his spot in the family pecking order.
“He’s got the up on us,” the coach said. “The best I ever did was second team, and our other brother Jason didn’t do it. And he still has a season left.”
Jake couldn’t resist taking a playful jab at his coach.
“I’m surprised he didn’t say it was harder for him because he was playing in triple-A,” Jake said.
He has long had his eyes fixed on the family triple play – center field, top of the order, and donning No. 10 – something a Meadows has done in eight of the 12 seasons since 2012. Michael Guilliams (2015-2017) and Mason Palmateer (2021) are the only players not named Meadows to play in center field over the last dozen seasons.
“I remember watching (Jordan) at Oak Hill in the sectional championship,” said Jake, an elementary school student in 2014 when Shady won the sectional title for the first time. “I saw him throw somebody out at home, I saw him make a good catch in the bottom of the seventh. It was just cool watching my brother like that, to see him do that.”
He learned the art of hitting from fellow southpaw Jason, like slapping base hits into the six hole, while defense and baserunning came from Jordan. The amalgamation of skills resulted in a season during which Jake hit .426, scored 42 runs, drove in 25, walked 30 times, and stole 23 bases. He had an on-base percentage of .578 for the Tigers, who made a second consecutive trip to the state tournament.
“He found ways to get on base and when he got on base, he made things happen,” Jordan Meadows said. “I told people all season, when Jake goes, we go. He has a high baseball IQ. On offense he is our leadoff hitter, in the outfield he’s our captain, he disrupts things when he gets on base.
“As his brother, I think it’s an awesome thing to see him named captain of the all-state team. As his coach, I think it’s going to help the culture we are building here. Kids can look at Jake and see what they can achieve with hard work.”
“I’m a little surprised,” Jake Meadows said. “There are a lot of great players in the state, and we got to play against a lot of them. To be on first team is a great honor. I like team achievements more but I’m glad to be recognized. I put in the work. I think I deserve it.”
Joining Meadows on first team was teammate Cam Manns, Shady’s ace and a two-time first-team all-state pick. Manns, who signed with Fairmont State University, finished with a 5-3 record after a 7-2 loss to Keyser in the state semifinals. He struck out 95 batters and walked 28 in 58 innings, with a 2.50 earned run average. Opposing batters hit only .157 against Manns, whose first appearance this season came 48 hours after Shady lost to Fairmont Senior in the Class AAA basketball final in March – the third consecutive season the Tigers played in title game. In 2021, Manns split time between basketball and baseball when Shady won the double-AA basketball crown.
“He was a kid who wanted the baseball,” coach Meadows said. “He showed what he was about taking the ball two days after losing in the state championship and I think he threw a two-hitter in the cold at Epling (Epling Stadium in Beckley). I’m glad he played basketball, and football and he was always on the big stage.
“Once he gets to Fairmont, it’s hard to say what he might do once he concentrates on baseball.”
Joining Manns as All-State first team pitchers were seniors Griffin Miller of Scott and Jacob Topping of Chapmanville.
Miller had an earned run average under 2.00 for the Skyhawks. As for Topping, he was 7-1 with 94 strikeouts, 41 walks in 61.1 innings, and a 2.55 earned run average. The opposition hit just .186 against Topping.
First team catchers were Logan senior Jake Ramey – a repeat first team selection – and Keyser junior Logan Rotruck.
Ramey threw out 13 base runners this season for the Wildcats, who were the 2021 and 2022 double-A state champions. He hit .403 with six doubles and 17 RBIs.
Rotruck spearheaded Keyser’s first state tournament berth in 26 seasons and third-ever appearance in the title game. He batted .444 with three home runs and 27 RBIs.
The four first team infielders are seniors and returning first team selections – Dawson Maynard and Garrett Williamson of Logan, Nick George of Robert C. Byrd, and Gunner Riley of Fairmont Senior.
All but Williamson were named at different spots in 2022. Maynard was a first team all-state pitcher a year ago. As a senior, he hit .416 with nine doubles, two triples, five home runs and 25 RBIs. He was 6-3 on the mound with a 1.85 ERA.
George, an outfielder last year, didn’t slow down as an infielder, hitting .466 with 15 doubles, a home run, 26 RBIs, and 18 runs.
Riley, a utility pick in 2022, hit .468 with seven doubles, four triples, four home runs, 43 runs, and 17 stolen bases.
Williamson was a second team all-state infielder in 2022. Despite a knee injury this season, he hit .539 with 10 doubles and 30 RBIs.
Meadows is joined in the outfield by Trey Butcher of Chapmanville. He hit .466 with 10 doubles, scored 31 runs and drove in 26 runs. He had 17 walks.
The four utility spots were filled by seniors Brody Dalton of Chapmanville, Cole Malnick of North Marion, Dylan Kuhl of Winfield, and junior Noah Broadwater of Keyser.
Dalton hit .408 with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 36 RBIs, and 29 runs scored.
Malnick batted .492 with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, 32 RBIs, and 26 runs. As a pitcher, he had a 3-3 record with a 1.59 ERA, 61 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 41 innings.
Kuhl was the catalyst for Winfield’s fourth state title and first since 2002, hitting four home runs with 28 RBIs in 2023. Kuhl, who outdueled Broadwater in a 3-0 state championship game win over Keyser, was 8-2 with an earned run average below 2.00.
Broadwater, who had four hits against Kuhl in the double-A final, hit .493 with five home runs and 34 RBIs this season. He was 7-2 on the mound with 51 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.79.
The captain of the second team was Wyoming East’s Jacob Howard, who was a first team selection in 2022. He hit .450 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, 30 runs, and 20 RBIs. He walked 18 times.
First Team
P – Cam Manns, Shady Spring, Sr.
P – Griffin Miller, Scott, Sr.
P – Jacob Topping, Chapmanville, Sr.
C – Jake Ramey, Logan, Sr.
C – Logan Rotruck, Keyser, Jr.
Inf – Dawson Maynard, Logan, Sr.
Inf – Nick George, Robert C. Byrd, Sr.
Inf – Gunner Riley, Fairmont Senior, Sr.
Inf – Garrett Williamson, Logan, Sr.
Out – Jacob Meadows, Shady Spring, Jr. (captain)
Out – Trey Butcher, Chapmanville, Sr.
Util – Brody Dalton, Chapmanville, Sr.
Util – Noah Broadwater, Keyser, Jr.
Util – Cole Malnick, North Marion, Sr.
Util – Dylan Kuhl, Winfield, Sr.
Second team
P – Conner Tingler, East Fairmont, Sr.
P – Cole Brown, Nicholas County, Jr.
P – Nate Riffe, PikeView, Sr.
C – Grayson Kesterson, Nicholas County, Jr.
C – Alfred Isch, Philip Barbour, Sr.
Inf – Jacob Howard, Wyoming East (captain), Sr.
Inf – Clay Basham, Independence, Sr.
Inf – Seth Healy, Keyser, Sr.
Inf – Trenton Hunt, Lewis County, Jr.
Out – Eli Simonton, Sissonville, Soph.
Out – Maddox Shafer, Winfield, Sr.
Out – Joey Aman, Lewis County, Jr.
Util – Karson Frye, Winfield, Jr.
Util –Bryson Redmond, Bluefield, Jr.
Util – Hunter Harmon, Bluefield, Sr.
Honorable mention
Cameron Biller, Elkins; Brycen Brown, Winfield; Parker Brown, Shady Spring; Brayden Carder, Lewis County; Noah Collins, Clay County; Cole Cunningham, Independence; Andrew Farley, Chapmanville; Landon Hall, Liberty-Raleigh; Caleb Fuller, Bluefield; Lance Hostutler, Lincoln; Hayden Jones, Fairmont Senior; Zakk Jordan, Point Pleasant; Dustin Keener, Grafton; Beau Kelley, Nitro; Hunter Lilly, Point Pleasant; Konner Lowe, Logan; Cam Lynch, Frankfort; Grant Mealey, Lewis County; J.D. Monroe, Independence; Lanson Orndorf, Frankfort; Logan Prater, Wayne; Alex Pritt, Nicholas County; Daniel Raddish, East Fairmont; Tyler Reed, Shady Spring; Adam Richmond, Shady Spring; Ryan Roberts, Logan; Davis Rockness, Bluefield; Zach Rose, PikeView; Aiden Slack, Logan; Colten Tate, Shady Spring; Talan Thompson, Chapmanville; Caleb Vance, Scott.
