Charleston – No one has to explain to Hurricane the heartbreak of watching another team celebrate on championship Saturday at the state baseball tournament.
The Redskins have been in the championship game every year the tournament has been played since 2017.
Only in 2018 was Hurricane part of the celebratory dog-pile when the final out was recorded.
Saturday at Appalachian Power Park, the Redskins wiped out the frustration of two straight championship losses with an 11-0 win over rival George Washington in five innings.
“Last year the team won 31 or 32 games in a row and got to the championship, but didn’t play well and they lost to a really good team. To get back here and have the opportunity again, it’s nice to see them get what they want,” Hurricane head coach Brian Sutphin said.
Sutphin admitted that he was concerned about his team after so much emotion was spent in a grueling semifinal battle with seven-time defending state champion Bridgeport that ended just before midnight Friday.
That worry was put to rest quickly.
The Redskins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but narrowly missed a big inning had it not been for a solid defensive play on Luke Moore’s deep drive with two aboard.
All of the frustration of past championship games seemed to flow out of the Hurricane bats in the third when the Redskins broke the game open.
Sending 12 batters to the plate, Hurricane scored eight runs on four hits, aided by two walks and two hits batsman.
Evan Spolarich provided the power with a double and triple in the inning. Friday’s hero Damien Witty drove in a run and scored a run.
While the Hurricane bats were on fire, Spolarich was handcuffing the Patriots, allowing just one hit over five innings of work.
For the game, seven different Redskins had an RBI and 10 players recorded a hit.
“With them it’s team first and then the individual stuff second,” Sutphin said. “We have nine seniors and a lot of those guys have been through so much. Not only in baseball, but in life. To see them grow and become great friends has been special.”
The Class AAA All-tournament team included Brogan Brown, Quarrier Phillips, Caden Johnson, Owen Gress, Ethan Spolarich and Damien Witty from Hurricane, Ben McDougal from Bridgeport, as well as Bryson Hoff and Isaac McCallister from George Washington.
