Kanawha Valley teams begin pursuit of state tournaments as sectional play opens

The Patriots (15-5) have stolen the bulk of the headlines, and understandably so after reaching the state tournament a year ago, returning the majority of its team and bringing in freshman second baseman Kalissa Lacy, who is hitting .440 entering the postseason. That’s good for second on the team behind shortstop/third baseman Emma Groe’s mark of .500. GW was a seventh-inning error from knocking off Hurricane in a Mountain State Athletic Conference semifinal on Thursday and is undefeated against the rest of its section.

But South Charleston, coached by Annette Olenchick, is no easy out and St. Albans (14-7) is an extremely dangerous team that has flown under the radar a bit as the season has progressed.

“Tournament time, everybody brings their ‘A’ game,” GW coach Kim Darby said. “Even the teams that aren’t supposed to win find a way. We’re telling them not to overlook anybody. St. Albans is a really good team and they’ve held us down before. I just told them in the meeting, we play Capital on Monday and we can’t overlook them. Everybody brings their good stuff.”

The Red Dragons have gone 12-3 since a 2-4 start, though one of those defeats was to GW. Sophomore pitcher Kinsey Hudson has continued to develop after a productive freshman year as she is hitting .462 with eight doubles and 12 RBIs while going 12-5 in the circle with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 931/3 innings. SA is also getting heavy contributions from a pair of freshmen boppers in Gracie Payne (.426, six home runs, seven doubles, 32 RBIs) and Jillian Holley (.450, five home runs, 30 RBIs).

“We flipped a switch in the middle of the season,” SA coach Christian Watts said. “We strung together some good wins but most of all as young as we are, we’ve grown up a lot over the last month or so. We’re confident every time we go out there. We want to win and we expect to win.

“I definitely think we sneaked up on some teams, especially with the start we had and how young we are.”

The Red Dragons certainly won’t sneak up on GW, which now has state-tournament experience to rely on if and when the going gets tough this postseason. That experience could prove invaluable as pressure mounts in tight, do-or-die contests.

“We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the year because they felt like they had to compete with what they did last year,” Darby said. “But coming into the postseason I can see more confidence in them. They’re leading the younger girls. I think they’re just gelling real well right now.”

Class AA Region 4 Section 1

Four Valley teams will be in action in this section as well with games being played at higher seeds starting on Tuesday. Top-seeded Poca and No. 2 Nitro earned opening byes with No. 5 Wayne traveling to No. 4 Winfield and No. 6 Sissonville heading to No. 3 Point Pleasant for 6 p.m. games to begin.

The Dots (19-8) have struggled most with inconsistency, earning a big win over Chapmanville during the season and losing by a single run against defending state champion Hoover. But there have also been some letdowns.

Still, pitcher Taylor Bonnett, who returned this season after suffering a knee injury in basketball a year ago, has been stellar in the circle, going 15-4 with 149 strikeouts in 1412/3 innings to go with a 1.59 ERA. She also leads the team in batting average (.421), doubles (10), home runs (four) and RBIs (25).

“My curveball is working really well,” Bonnett said. “When you watch games you’re like, ‘Oh, that looks easy,’ but when you get out there it’s hard not to think a lot. I just go out there now and try not to think and just hit the ball.”

With four key seniors (Bonnett, third baseman Molly Collins, center fielder Tori Gibeaut and designated player Jayla May) in the lineup, the Dots’ success hasn’t been a surprise.

But the same thing can’t be said for the Wildcats (21-5), who had won 14 games in the previous four seasons and start either six or seven freshmen every game. First-year coach Greg Garber admitted the magnitude of the turnaround has been a bit surprising even for him, but he doesn’t expect his youngsters to struggle with the added pressure of the postseason this week.

“We’ve been preaching the same thing since day one,” Garber said. “Play with your head 100 percent of the time and play with heart 100 percent of the time, it doesn’t matter what game it is. I’m not a coach that thinks we’ve got to play extra hard now, I believe you play your hardest all the time. I think for our kids, it helps relieve some of that pressure. They have pressure every day to perform, so this is no different.”

Freshman pitcher Bella Savilla has been outstanding for the most part this year in the circle and with the bat, combining a 21-5 record, 164 strikeouts and a 2.08 ERA with a .411 batting average and 25 RBIs.

Speedsters Kerigan Moore (33 steals) and Morgan Burdette (27 steals) have kept the pressure on opposing defenses on the basepaths while infielder Lydia Sweat (.515, 11 doubles, 33 RBIs) leads the team offensively.

Class AAA Region 3 Section 1

Riverside (11-8) earned the top spot in its section and will have home-field advantage throughout beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday when it welcomes in No. 4 Princeton. No. 3 Woodrow Wilson will visit No. 2 Greenbrier East on Tuesday as well.

Like St. Albans, perhaps Riverside has slid a bit under the radar, and the Warriors are equally dangerous, featuring a lineup as good as any in the Valley from top to bottom and gritty senior pitcher Lauren Pauley, who has been in her share of battles.

Pauley enters the postseason with an 8-3 record and a 3.09 ERA, and she’s got plenty of offense to support her.

Senior first baseman Gracie Donato leads the way, entering with a .500 batting average to go with five home runs and 23 RBIs. She’s far from the only slugger in Riverside’s lineup posting impressive power numbers. Madison Ramirez is hitting .491 with five home runs and Hannah Pullen is at .472 with four home runs. Each has driven in 21. Pauley (.420) and outfielder Jasmine Symns (.439, 20 stolen bases) set the table atop the lineup.

Class AAA Region 4 Section 2

Three-time defending Class AAA champion Hurricane will begin its pursuit of a fourth crown in a row at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home as it takes on fourth-seeded Huntington at 7 p.m. No. 2 Cabell Midland will play No. 3 Spring Valley at 5 p.m. to open play.

The Redskins (16-2) aren’t exactly heading into postseason on a high note after losing in the MSAC title game to the Knights, but they have a track record of rebounding from losses.