Sure, it was the biggest game of the year, and played on the biggest stage. But why should the championship game be any different in what's been a dazzling season for Nitro?
Sure, it was the biggest game of the year, and played on the biggest stage. But why should the championship game be any different in what's been a dazzling season for Nitro?
Sophomore Andrew Pickering blasted two more home runs, sophomore J.R. Bradley worked five shutout innings and Nitro capitalized on seven Fairmont Senior errors to earn a 10-0 victory in the Class AAA finals before an estimated crowd of 3,500 Saturday at Appalachian Power Park.
It hands the top-ranked Wildcats (32-4) their first state baseball title, and they pulled it off much the same way they've done it all season - with a mixture of dominant pitching, hitting and defense.
Bradley (9-1) spaced out five singles, struck out five and walked two. Leading just 2-0, he escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fourth by fanning Mark Gardner. Wildcats pitchers allowed just six hits in 10 state-tournament innings.
Nitro also played errorless ball for the second straight day in racking up a second straight mercy-rule conquest - its 18th such victory of the season and its 20th game of scoring 10 or more runs.
Senior standout Chase Pickering was thankful the Wildcats closed out a memorable season at the state tournament by doing it their way.
"We really did, and that means a lot,'' said Pickering, a left-handed pitcher-outfielder considered a pro prospect and the leading candidate for the state's player of the year award.
"Just to come in and play two games here - 10 innings and 20 to nothing. That's a good sign right there. It proved we're a good team. I'm not saying we're the best team that's ever played, but we're a pretty good team, and we proved we're the best team this year. I don't think anybody can disagree with it.''
That's hardly up for debate after Nitro capped the season by winning 27 of its last 28 games. But you could make an argument that the Wildcats are one of the best teams the state's ever seen.
"Now we can start talking about where we stand in the history of baseball in West Virginia,'' said coach Steve Pritchard, who became part of a third title team. He played on Chapmanville's AA championship squad in 1987 and coached Sissonville to the AA crown in 1996.
The enduring figures of this season for Nitro will likely be Chase Pickering mowing down one batter after another and how the Wildcats consistently ripped the ball from top to bottom in their batting order.
Even though they managed just 16 hits in two state tournament contests, the Wildcats only got to bat in nine innings because of the shortened games. Seven of those 16 hits went for extra bases, including three of their first four on Saturday. Even No. 9 hitter Clay Riggleman flirted with a homer in the fourth, sending a long drive just foul down the left-field line.
Sure, it was the biggest game of the year, and played on the biggest stage. But why should the championship game be any different in what's been a dazzling season for Nitro?
Sophomore Andrew Pickering blasted two more home runs, sophomore J.R. Bradley worked five shutout innings and Nitro capitalized on seven Fairmont Senior errors to earn a 10-0 victory in the Class AAA finals before an estimated crowd of 3,500 Saturday at Appalachian Power Park.
It hands the top-ranked Wildcats (32-4) their first state baseball title, and they pulled it off much the same way they've done it all season - with a mixture of dominant pitching, hitting and defense.
Pickering, who launched a solo homer in Friday's 10-0 semifinal win over Martinsburg, added a two-run shot Saturday during Nitro's five-run uprising in the fourth inning and another solo clout in the fifth. Brett McClanahan, the basketball star-turned-baseball player for one season, went 3-for-3 with three extra-base knocks.
Bradley (9-1) spaced out five singles, struck out five and walked two. Leading just 2-0, he escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fourth by fanning Mark Gardner. Wildcats pitchers allowed just six hits in 10 state-tournament innings.
Nitro also played errorless ball for the second straight day in racking up a second straight mercy-rule conquest - its 18th such victory of the season and its 20th game of scoring 10 or more runs.
Senior standout Chase Pickering was thankful the Wildcats closed out a memorable season at the state tournament by doing it their way.
"We really did, and that means a lot,'' said Pickering, a left-handed pitcher-outfielder considered a pro prospect and the leading candidate for the state's player of the year award.
"Just to come in and play two games here - 10 innings and 20 to nothing. That's a good sign right there. It proved we're a good team. I'm not saying we're the best team that's ever played, but we're a pretty good team, and we proved we're the best team this year. I don't think anybody can disagree with it.''
That's hardly up for debate after Nitro capped the season by winning 27 of its last 28 games. But you could make an argument that the Wildcats are one of the best teams the state's ever seen.
"Now we can start talking about where we stand in the history of baseball in West Virginia,'' said coach Steve Pritchard, who became part of a third title team. He played on Chapmanville's AA championship squad in 1987 and coached Sissonville to the AA crown in 1996.
The enduring figures of this season for Nitro will likely be Chase Pickering mowing down one batter after another and how the Wildcats consistently ripped the ball from top to bottom in their batting order.
Even though they managed just 16 hits in two state tournament contests, the Wildcats only got to bat in nine innings because of the shortened games. Seven of those 16 hits went for extra bases, including three of their first four on Saturday. Even No. 9 hitter Clay Riggleman flirted with a homer in the fourth, sending a long drive just foul down the left-field line.
Fairmont Senior's outfielders were turned every which way but loose trying to circle under one long blast after another. Andrew Pickering's two longballs Saturday were struck almost to the same spot in right center. The second bounced on Morris Street, landed on the awning of the former Charmo warehouse and rolled right up to the upper-floor windows before trickling back down to the street. That gave Nitro 49 homers this season.
McClanahan was robbed of an RBI on a sky-high fourth-inning double that spun Polar Bears center fielder Joey Buonaiuto around three times. The ball bounded off the warning track and glanced off the black batter's eye screen behind the fence, making it a ground-rule double and sending runner Daniel Kahn back to third base.
"It's a big field and they were hitting them a long way out there,'' Buonaiuto said. "We just tried to keep them under control, and we did that the first couple innings. But after a while, their bats came through and they just outplayed us today.
"They were by far the most solid team one-through-nine we've played all season. They could all hit the ball very hard wherever they wanted to.''
It was certainly uncharted territory for Fairmont Senior (27-6), the No. 3 team in the Gazette's final state rankings. Its only other 10-run loss was 14-4 at Hurricane during a doubleheader split on April 19.
The Polar Bears committed four of their seven errors in the bottom of the third as Nitro broke open a scoreless game with a pair of unearned runs. Shortstop Brad Dodrill was credited with two on one play as he muffed Cam King's grounder then threw late and wide to first base, allowing Riggleman to score.
Nitro broke it open with five runs in the fourth to go up 7-0. The key hits were Andrew Pickering's two-run homer and Chase Pickering's two-RBI double.
"I can see the ball good here,'' Andrew Pickering said with a broad smile. "By looking at the stats, I guess so.''
A combination of big hits and Polar Bears' gifts halted the game in the bottom of the fifth,
Andrew Pickering struck his solo homer and McClanahan finally got his RBI double - all with two outs - to make it 9-0. Riggleman then bounced to third, but Andrew Marra's peg to first base was wide and McClanahan rounded third and came home for the game-ending run.
It was one of the few times the Wildcats didn't dive headfirst across the plate to score, whether it was necessary or not. They were just having fun, and putting their stamp on a season where they got to the top by doing things their way.
To contact staff writer Rick Ryan, use e-mail or call 348-5175.
Fairmont Senior's outfielders were turned every which way but loose trying to circle under one long blast after another. Andrew Pickering's two longballs Saturday were struck almost to the same spot in right center. The second bounced on Morris Street, landed on the awning of the former Charmo warehouse and rolled right up to the upper-floor windows before trickling back down to the street. That gave Nitro 49 homers this season.
McClanahan was robbed of an RBI on a sky-high fourth-inning double that spun Polar Bears center fielder Joey Buonaiuto around three times. The ball bounded off the warning track and glanced off the black batter's eye screen behind the fence, making it a ground-rule double and sending runner Daniel Kahn back to third base.
"It's a big field and they were hitting them a long way out there,'' Buonaiuto said. "We just tried to keep them under control, and we did that the first couple innings. But after a while, their bats came through and they just outplayed us today.
It was certainly uncharted territory for Fairmont Senior (27-6), the No. 3 team in the Gazette's final state rankings. Its only other 10-run loss was 14-4 at Hurricane during a doubleheader split on April 19.
The Polar Bears committed four of their seven errors in the bottom of the third as Nitro broke open a scoreless game with a pair of unearned runs. Shortstop Brad Dodrill was credited with two on one play as he muffed Cam King's grounder then threw late and wide to first base, allowing Riggleman to score."I can see the ball good here,'' Andrew Pickering said with a broad smile. "By looking at the stats, I guess so.''
A combination of big hits and Polar Bears' gifts halted the game in the bottom of the fifth, Andrew Pickering struck his solo homer and McClanahan finally got his RBI double - all with two outs - to make it 9-0. Riggleman then bounced to third, but Andrew Marra's peg to first base was wide and McClanahan rounded third and came home for the game-ending run. To contact staff writer Rick Ryan, use e-mail or call 348-5175.
