Following a 1-0 loss to Nicholas County in late March, Independence baseball head coach Scott Cuthbert said, “It is not where we start now, it is where we are when we get into May.”
Similar to the saying, April showers bring May flowers, the Patriots have blossomed into a Class AA state title contender.
After starting the season 6-8 which included a controversial loss to Shady Spring in Coal City, Independence has now won 14 of its last 18 games, including five straight in the post season.
Friday morning at 10 a.m., Independence will play defending Class AA state champion Winfield in the state baseball tournament semifinals at Go-Mart Park in Charleston.
“I would say the turning point for us was the Shady Spring game at home. We lost a tough one there. We went over the next night at Liberty and responded alright,” Cuthbert said. “That Saturday we went to Hurricane and played Greenbrier East and Wheeling Central. I think that is where we made the move in the outfield putting Allen Coalson in center and hitting for him.”
Although the veteran coach still made some adjustments along the way, shoring up the outfield seemed to be the last piece to the puzzle that put the Indy train on the fast-track to success.
“It was a process finding the right combination,” Cuthbert said. “It may not always be the best outfielder or offensive player, but it was the best mix in general.”
Cuthbert knew early on this season was going to be a work in progress. Returning only four players that played for him last year, he would have to mix in a couple of new faces and large group of freshman to succeed.
The two new players were senior Blake Stratton and junior Reid Warden who transferred in from Beckley.
“Both of them fit in well. A lot of times you can have problems. You get too many or they don’t mesh. They came over here with the right attitude I thought,” Cuthbert said. “I don’t know the circumstances of why they came here, but they bought in. It took a little time for them to get used to how we do things. Once they got lined into it, I felt like they did really well for us.”
Along with being a rock behind the dish, Stratton is hitting a team high .457 and is second on the team driving in 33 runs.
Warden has three home runs on the season, but has made a huge impact on the mound. The big right-hander is 6-3 on the year with a 2.85 earned run average.
His postseason work includes a one-hit shutout against Nicholas County in the sectional tournament and a win over PikeView to seal the regional title.
“We knew it would take awhile with all of the kids that we hadn’t seen. We hadn’t seen Blake play at all because he was hurt (last year),” Cuthbert said. “We played (Beckley) once last year, but that was a very small sample size. Reid played with us in summer, but we still had pieces coming and going in the summer.”
The freshman group included the coach’s son Micah Cuthbert who started at second base and Degan Williams who played some outfield, first base and pitched a few innings.
Cuthbert has been a defensive gem at second, while hitting just under .300 with 24 RBI.
Williams has blistered the baseball, especially late in the season, hitting .415 with 31 RBI. He also leads the team in hits with 44 on the season.
“They either don’t know any better or they don’t fear anything,” Cuthbert said. “They just show up and play. We have watched them compete against some of the better teams in the state and hold their own. We knew they would play with a lot of confidence because we watched them play as they grew up.”
Batting clean-up in between Stratton and Williams, teams have not often had the luxury of pitching around junior Cole Cunningham this year.
The 2024 Lootpress Baseball Golden Slugger of the Year has made opposing teams suffer when he steps in the box.
Cunningham is hitting .422 with 43 hits and has team-highs in runs batted in (49) and home runs with seven.
“In the past we always tried to get them ready for sectionals and regionals,” Cuthbert said. “This year we just told them to go play. If we win, we win, if we lose, we lose. It has worked for us.”
Junior Levi Barnett hits out of the lead-off spot and has been a strong table-setter, followed by senior Brayden Kiblinger. Junior Orion Wills gives Indy another threat behind Williams, hitting .326 with 28 RBI.
“My job is pretty important. The lead-off guy has to get on to start the inning,” Barnett said. “They put me in the lead-off two years ago in summer league. With (Clay) Basham leaving last year I knew I had to fill a big spot.”
Cuthbert is hoping his team can continue its solid play on the biggest stage of the year against what many consider the best AA team in the state.
“They are really solid,” Cuthbert said about Winfield. “Anytime you are the defending state champions and win 29 games, you know they are pretty good. When you look at the schedule they are playing, it is not like they are playing bad teams. They are solid defensively and have really good pitching as well.”
“When we walk into that park, they will realize that this is a little different,” Cuthbert went on to say. “We are going to have to play the best that we can. Hopefully we play well defensively and the pitching holds up. Sometimes it is just who handles the environment the best.”
