West Virginia State Tournament: Class A Preview
June 3, 2016
By Greg Williams
West Virginia Director of Scouting
A total of 48 teams began regional play last week and 12 remain as the West Virginia state tournament prepares to kick off on Thursday at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston. Today we preview the four teams that will compete for an opportunity to be crowned Class A state champions for 2016.
Preseason Flashback:
We went 4-for-4 on predicting the Class A field, sort of. In Region 2 we called a three team race prior to the season and while we did not predict a clear-cut favorite, Pendleton County was among those in the hunt. We nailed the remaining three regions so we'll give ourselves a .750 batting average with an asterisk. CLICK HERE to view our complete 2016 preseason region previews.
+ CLICK HERE to view complete regional Tournament brackets leading to the state tournament
Class A
Wheeling Central (17-9)
Mired just above the .500 level at the halfway point of the season the Crusaders got hot late and come into the state tournament on a roll.
Tyler Riedel (1.20 ERA) and Brian Shaw (2.16 ERA) gives Wheeling Central a solid 1-2 punch on the mound. The Crusaders are led offensively by Isaac Rine (.493, 45 runs scored), Brian Campbell (.380, 36 RBI) and Anthony Gentile (.392, 30 RBI).
Pendleton County (25-8)
The Wildcats have won one state title in 2004, but have not returned to the tournament since. The No. 3 ranked team in the most recent WV MetroNews Class A poll survived a rugged Region 2 tournament to advance.
The Wildcats will likely send Tim Hevener to the mound in the semifinals. The senior punched out 15 batters in Pendleton County's regional semifinal win over East Hardy.
Wahama (20-10)
The White Falcons return to Charleston looking to repeat as the Class A champs. Wahama starting pitchers Philip Hoffman (8-4, 0.49 ERA) and Mason Hicks (7-3, 1.87 ERA) tossed shutout baseball in the regional tournament and Wahama has outscored its opponents 41-2 during postseason play.
Hoffman (.521, 34 RBI) has also led the Wahama offense six players hitting over .300 on the season.
Man (12-17)
Man enters the state tournament as one of the hottest teams in the field after a rough start. The 2014 state champs have outscored their opponents 29-2 in the postseason and are playing their best baseball of the season.
Senior lefty Jake Adkins (4-2, 1.34 ERA) pitched a gem in Man's 1-0 win over Greater Beckley Christian in the regional championship and has plenty of state tournament experience to lean on from the past two years.
State Tourney schedule
Friday, June 3 - Appalachian Power Park
Wheeling Central vs. Pendleton County (10:0am)
Wahama vs. Man (1:00pm)
Saturday, June 4 - Appalachian Power Park
Class A Championship Game - 1:00pm
Class AA Semifinals Recap
PikeView topped Wayne 4-0 behind a complete game 3-hitter from Levi Nash and a 3-for-3 performance from Carter Shrewsbury.
Bridgeport needed just five innings to dispose of Braxton County 10-0 with Hunter Haddix going the distance while allowing just three hits. Elijah Drummond and Drew Hefner each drove in three runs to fuel the Indians offense.
Upcoming Events
| Showcase | State | Date | Location |
| 2016 Western PA Top Prospect Games (INVITE ONLY) | WV | Jun 14 | Seton Hill University |
| Individual Player Evaluation (Year Round By Appointment) | WV | Jun 22 | Keystone State Baseball Academy - Manheim, PA |
| 2016 Eastern PA College Prospect Showcase | WV | Jun 28 | Maplezone Sports Village (Aston, PA) |
| 2016 Eastern PA Top Prospect Games (INVITE ONLY) | WV | Jul 19 | La Salle University |
| 2016 PBR Future Games powered by Under Armour (Pennsylvania Invite Only) | WV | Aug 4 | Grand Park (IN) |
| 2016 Western PA College Prospect Showcase | WV | Aug 18 | Iron Horse Sports Complex (Windber, PA) |
| Team PBR (Invite Only) | WV | Aug 19 | Pennsylvania |