Charleston – Winfield shocked many around the state when it knocked off two-time defending state champion Logan in the regional tournament.
Saturday afternoon at Go-Mart Park, the Generals proved the win was no fluke.
One day removed from knocking out Lewis County in the semifinals of the state baseball tournament, the Generals shutout Keyser, 3-0, to win the Class AA state title.
“To win a state championship, there has to be a little luck,” Winfield head coach Will Isaacs said. “We had a little bit in those first two innings, but we will sure take it.”
Ironically enough, the very path that the Golden Tornado traveled to get to the state championship game, was the path that tripped them up Saturday.
In the semifinal win Friday over Shady Spring, Keyser escaped two big jams to keep the Tigers off of the board.
Saturday afternoon, it was the Golden Tornado that was left frustrated by runners stranded in scoring position.
In the top of the first inning, Keyser advanced runners to second and third with one out, only to see a pop out to the first baseman in foul ground and a strikeout looking keep them off the scoreboard.
The second inning was even tougher to swallow for the Golden Tornado.
A double from Josh Shoemaker opened the at-bat before Chase Davis worked a walk. A single from Hunter Harr moved the runners up a base and loaded the sacks with no outs.
The promising inning grinded to a halt with two strikeouts looking and a one-out liner to center where the runner did not tag up.
“I am not going to deny that we were very fortunate in those first two innings because they could have broke the game open,” Isaacs said. “We have a rule that we just go from pitch to pitch to pitch. The last pitch you throw, you learn from it and move on.”
After dodging potential disaster in the first two frames, Winfield starting pitcher Dylan Kuhl was as cool as a cucumber the rest of the way.
Kuhl set the Golden Tornado down in order over the next three innings, while his teammates went to work at the plate.
Karson Frye hit a one-out triple in the bottom of the third inning and scored on a squeeze bunt from Quincy Miller. When Keyser made an errant throw to get Frye at the plate, Miller moved to second and later scored on a single from Preston Keiffer.
The lead went to 3-0 when Maddox Shaffer hit a one-out single and scored on a triple from Brett Bumgarner.
“He is a leader for us from a physical standpoint, a mental standpoint and a vocal standpoint,” Isaacs said about Kuhl who never broke under the pressure.
The final hope for Keyser came when Caden Youngblood tripled to open the sixth inning.
Youngblood was stranded thanks to a ground ball back to Kuhl for an out and two liners that were snagged on the infield.
The win for the Generals capped their first state title campaign since 2002 and also completed the baseball-softball sweep on the diamond this year.
