South Charleston – Shady Spring and Midland Trail both have different experiences in South Charleston but both are hoping for the same results.
For the Tigers the long wait is over for a program that was once the standard across the state.
After establishing a softball dynasty in the ’90s, Shady Spring is riding a 17-year title drought, having been absent from the final four for 10 years. When the Tigers take the field against Winfield on Wednesday at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, they’ll be doing so without any experience on the game’s biggest stage.
Still, it’s the same game of softball they’ve played all year long.
“We continue to preach to these girls that they belong,” Shady Spring head coach Donald Barnett said. “We think we may have accomplished a little more than a lot of people thought we would have at the beginning of the season and we continue to do those things. We try not to overstate it or over exaggerate that it is still a game though. We’re still playing double-A high school girls from West Virginia and there’s no reason to get too keyed up or go into anything panicked. We just have to continue to play the type of ball we play and focus on fundamentals and let everything else take care off itself.”
The Tigers can feel comfortable knowing they’ll come into the game with an ace to help calm the waters in Penn State signee Paige Maynard, though she’ll be challenged from the jump. The Generals will throw one of the best lineups in the state, regardless of class, at the hurler, led by Hitter of the Year candidate Kennedy Dean.
Dean came into the postseason sporting a .567 batting average with seven home runs and 44 RBIs while outfielder George Moulder brings a .469 average to the plate with 19 RBIs and 10 doubles. Both bats have been lethal in support of Winfield ace Maci Boggess who sports a 1.66 ERA while accumulating double-digits wins.
“The biggest thing we’ve been able to learn about Winfield is they’re a very well-rounded team and very fundamental in their approaches on offense and defense,” Barnett said. “They have power in the lineup, they have speed in the lineup and they have disciplined pitchers and fundamental players that back the pitcher. We’re going to have to be disciplined at the plate with (Boggess). We can’t just give her easy strikes and we can’t walk into easy outs. Most of those things are things I feel like we’ve improved on especially in the second half of the season. We’ll just have to continue with what we’re doing but we know they will hit the ball hard up and down the lineup.
“They play in a very competitive section and region and we know that they’ve been in a lot of big games against a lot of good teams this year. We know they’re probably going to score here or there. When you get to this level good teams are going to score. It’s about how you respond when they do and we’re going to need to be prepared for that. But we feel good with Paige Maynard in the circle. She’s played in high-level travel ball tournaments against good players all over the country and she’s extremely competitive.”
Shady and Winfield will play at approximately noon in the double elimination format. The winner will play the victor of the preceding game between Herbert Hoover and Oak Glen in the first game of the evening session at 4:45 p.m. while the two winners will play in the night cap for a spot in the Class AA title game.
In Class A Midland Trail is making a return to familiar territory after breaking through to the state tournament last year.
The Patriots’ reward for fighting back is a first-round matchup with defending Class A champion Wahama.
The White Falcons appear to be in peak form again, led by a trio of all-staters in Mike Lieving, Lauren Noble and Amber Wolfe. Noble leads the charge at the plate with a .671 batting average to go along with eight home runs and 50 RBIs. Perhaps the best of the bunch is Lieving who sports a 1.79 ERA in the circle and is just as lethal at the plate where she’s batting .652 with 11 home runs. Wolfe rounds out the trio with a .573 batting average but leads the team with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs.
“We saw them down here last year, ” Trail head coach Candace Young said. “We talked to a few people and they have a really good pitcher. She threw well down here last year so our goal is to come in here and play our kind of ball and put something in play on her.”
To adjust, the Patriots will lean on last year’s experience to shake off the nerves that generally come with state tournament games.
“It takes a little bit of that shell shock away,” Young said. “Playing on turf was new for us last year and just the whole atmosphere and excitement was new. We were actually just talking in the hallway in our hotel and everybody was kind of chill. I guess that’s a good thing that we’re not super anxious and we’ve kind of been there done that and I’m hoping we van bring that mindset onto the field tomorrow and just kind of play with a little more calm presence and not have to worry about a whole new experience.”
Trail will play Wahama at approximately noon with the victor of that contest advancing to play the winner of the preceding game between St. Marys and Petersburg. The losers of both games will meet in the second session at 4:45 p.m. in an elimination game.
Email: Tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
