If there were any doubts about what Kenyon Collins meant to Cabell Midland, he answered all of them during the baseball state tournament at GoMart Ballpark.
He proved his value to the Knights as they won their second straight Class AAA championship.
Collins pitched a one-hitter with six strikeouts and drove in half of the Knights’ runs in an 8-0 victory over Morgantown and then completed an unassisted double play at shortstop to end the Knights’ 3-2 championship game victory over George Washington.
It’s that versatility that enabled the Marshall-bound player to be named as a utility member of the Class AAA baseball All-State first team.
“His pitching, defense and hitting meant a lot to our ballclub,†Midland coach Tracy Brumfield said. “His presence on the mound made our defense relax.â€
Collins went 9-1 as a starter with a 1.40 earned run average. He struck out 81 in some 50 innings.
Collins’ battery mate, Luke Samuel, who had two hits in the state final, was named as one of two catchers on the first team. Bridgeport’s Michael Romano was chosen as the second catcher.
Brumfield said an opposing player told the coach that Samuel brought fear to defenses because of how hard he hit the ball.
“He had eight to 10 balls that were scorched that players made diving catches or great plays on him,†Brumfield said.
He batted .395 this season with 48 RBIs. A season ago, Samuel drove in 58 runs.
Half of the members of the 18 first-team honorees played in the state final four in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Beside Collins and Samuel, the others include pitcher Bryson Hoff and outfielder Abe Fenwick of George Washington, pitcher Carson Boober, infielder Braeden Oviedo and outfielder Christian Alter of Martinsburg and pitcher Hunter Dakan and infielder Dylan Travinski of Morgantown.
The first-team captain is Boober, who came within one win of matching the Martinsburg program record of 11 wins, held by retired pro Doug Creek.
Boober finished the season with an 11-1 record and had a regular-season earned run average of 1.29. He struck out 81 batters in 67 1/3 innings. He batted .362.
“As a pitcher, I think Carson’s biggest attribute is how he competes every day, how he handles himself,†Martinsburg coach Aaron Beiler said. “He never let emotions get the best of him. He was always on an even keel.
“Any time he took the mound, the team felt like we were going to win, no matter what. He engendered that confidence with his team.â€
Boober’s teammates Oviedo and Alter, both juniors, batted .477 and .420, respectively.
Hoff, a West Virginia University signee, got the best of Boober and the top-seeded Bulldogs in the first game of the state semifinals. He blanked Martinsburg by throwing five innings of two-hit ball, with seven strikeouts and a walk.
Fenwick smacked two doubles among three hits in the victory over Martinsburg. He had two RBIs in that game.
Travinski batted a team-best .427. Dakan won eight of nine games and led the Mohigans with an ERA of 1.61.
Bridgeport matched Martinsburg with a first-team-best three honorees.
Pitcher Jacob Stavrakis and infielder Zach Rohrig joined Romano from Bridgeport.
The others selected to the first team include infielder Bryson Casto of Ripley, utility players Riley Morgan of Jefferson, Grant Stratton of Spring Valley and Evan Wilson of Capital and outfielders Kyle Lore of Musselman and Wenkai Campbell of University.
Campbell is a repeat first-team honoree. He batted .434 and stole 28 bases.
Lore’s .473 batting average led the Applemen.
Morgan went 5-0 with an ERA of .090 and posted a team-high batting average of .363. During the postseason, Morgan pitched 9 1/3 innings of no-hit ball between sectional and regional action.
Stratton batted .392 to lead Spring Valley. He went 6-0 as a pitcher.
The captain of the second team is utility selection is Tristan Milik of Morgantown.
The rest of the second team is pitchers Cayden Mackey of Parkersburg South, Justin Duvall of Bridgeport, Lane DeLauter of Martinsburg and Drew Gallaher of Woodrow Wilson, catchers Noah Dunford of Princeton and Bryson McNew of Preston, infielders Koa Silvers of Morgantown, Jackson Curry of Ripley, Maddex Sims of Woodrow Wilson and infielder Serf Guerra of Jefferson, outfielders Cade Johnson of Cabell Midland, Weston Smith of Hurricane, Mark Biafore of Bridgeport and Landon Pence of Hedgesville and utility players Trent Ride of Oak Hill, Cade Goode of Ripley and Garrett Wagoner of Spring Valley.
