Hurricane’s win in the Class AAAA state championship game earned the team recognition with five spots on the All-Kanawha Valley baseball team on Friday.
The sports staff at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail named head coach Brian Sutphin as the valley’s Coach of the Year and their star pitcher Weston Smith as the Player of the Year after a season in which the team finished 29-7 and defeated Morgantown in the championship game.
Hurricane’s three first teamers and two on the second team tied George Washington and ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Catholic which also have five players named All-Kanawha Valley as well.
“Anytime you win Coach of the Year it’s a reflection of the whole team,†said Sutphin. “I’m blessed to have the staff and support that we do.â€
Sutphin put together a pitching staff led by Smith and has the team poised for championship in the future. Smith led Hurricane with 66 2/3 innings pitched this season with an 11-0 record and a 1.05 ERA.
At the plate, Smith batted .342 (38 for 111) with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 37 RBIs.
“With the talent he has and the work he put in he just got better every year,†said Sutphin. “It was a rewarding experience watching him.â€
Joining Smith on the first team were his Hurricane teammates Bryson Shirkey had time on the mound but mainly played shortstop and batted leadoff for Hurricane this season. Like Smith, Shirkey was a senior this past season.
Sophomore first baseman Ty Baxter was named to an infield spot along with Shirkey. Shirkey’s 37 hits were second for Hurricane this season while Baxter’s 35 put him third on the team.
GW’s John Fala and St. Albans’ Brogan Samms were named to the other two infield spots. The Patriots also landed Slade Barton to one of the pitching spots, Eli Smith in one of the outfield slots and Corbin Dixon as a utility player.
Fala was an offensive and defensive contributor for head coach Mike Davis's GW squad that tied a school record with 27 wins this season. Fala had 61 hits for the Patriots.
“He had one of the best seasons I’ve witnessed as a coach,†Davis said, “and he was just a magician with the glove.â€
Smith was tabbed early as one of the team’s top pitchers, but an arm injury took him off the mound and also left him unable to play as catcher, a position he held last season. However, Smith became one of the top power hitters in the state and led the Patriots in home runs.
Smith’s inability to play catcher as he did last year left Dixon to play every inning behind the plate for George Washington this season, Smith said, and he came through to become one of the team’s leaders this season.
Barton’s pitching, too, became one of the reasons the Patriots were so successful this season, Davis said, earning a spot in the Class AAAA state semifinals.
Of Catholic’s five All-Kanawha Valley players this season, three were on the first team led by pitcher Jonah DiCocco, catcher Zaden Ranson and utility player Xander Allara.
DiCocco posted a 6-1 record with a 1.62 ERA this past season and struck out 60 batters in 34 2/3 innings pitched. Ranson set a school record with doubles in a season with 20 while also setting the career doubles mark with 45.
Ranson led the team with home runs, four. Ranson and Luke Blaydes both tied for the school record in triples with five each.
“The guys are real baseball players,†said Irish head coach Will Bobinger. “They bring energy to practice. They bring energy to games. Zaden, Zander and Connor [Jarvis] are back next year.â€
Allara posted a .330 batting average (30 for 93) with six doubles, a triple and 19 RBIs on the season while starting in both the infield and outfield this season for Catholic. The Irish posted a 21-11 record and finished one win shy of qualifying for the Class AA state tournament.
Rounding out the All-Kanawha Valley First Team was Sissonville’s Eli Simonton and Winfield’s Preston Keiffer as outfielders. St. Albans’ Bryce Eggleton, and the Generals’ Blake Withrow got the last two utility spots.
Second Team pitchers were Catholic’s Jarvis, GW’s Ty Nettles, and Buffalo’s Luca Signorini.
Hurricane’s Griffin Dempsey earned Second Team catcher honors. Infielders were Catholic’s Blaydes, Sissonville’s Barrett Van Camp, Winfield’s Brody Ilderton and South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s Braxton Burke.
Outfield spots went to Herbert Hoover’s Tristan Harless and Sissonville’s Layne Coffman. Coffman was also named by the Gazette-Mail as the All-Kanawha Valley Rookie of the Year.
Capital’s Christina Youngblood, Hoover’s Riley Johnson, Winfield’s Brayson Downey and Hurricane’s Wyatt Gautier were named utility players.
