Resilient (adjective): Able to withstand or recover from difficult situations.
The fourth ranked Yellow Jackets are the epitome of the word resilient, fighting through adversity in an eight inning battle with second ranked Wheeling Central Catholic to become the West Virginia Class A State Baseball champions with a 4-3 victory at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston on Saturday night.
“I can’t think of another word [resilient] that best describes this game and the situation,” Moorefield skipper Wade Armentrout remarked.
“There’s a lot of good things that have to happen to win a state championship. There are adversities that you have to get through to overcome it. Sometimes it is just overwhelming and you can’t overcome it, but this group was able to do that. They jumped out to a lead and things don’t go our way. We just got to hang on there and not let things unravel. This team was resilient through it all. That was a complete gutsy performance.”
Moorefield (23-9) has been full of confidence and poise the entire season and it was that same confidence that boosted the team from the start of the state championship with aggressive hitting for an initial 3-0 lead and the faith and encouragement from skipper Wade Armentrout instilled in freshman Isaac Van Meter being handed the ball to lead the Yellow Jackets on the mound as the starting pitcher performing through five innings.
“Isaac’s [Van Meter] demeanor, he’s done that so many times before. It’s not surprising to us that he did that. It’s absolutely a trait that he has that keeps everybody around him from panicking, knowing that no matter what happens we have a chance. Coming up late in the game making the hit that scored the run, it’s a complete team victory. Throughout the playoffs, we only gave up one earned run. Our pitching has been great and our defense has improved as the year went along and we needed that to happen. We’ve beaten two really good baseball teams over the past two days,” Coach Armentrout stated.
This was the third state baseball championship under coach Armentrout in six appearances in Charleston during his 19th season at the helm for a career record of 352-176 with the two previous titles coming in 2002 and 2009.
One of the challenges faced was actually before the title match began as there was a rain delay in the Class AA state championship game forcing another late start for the Yellow Jackets, but the focus and determination was never washed away.
Another challenge was proving that having a young team starting two freshmen and three sophomores would in fact be beneficial in garnering the victory.
Moorefield soaked in the atmosphere and adjusted to the thrill of being in the title contest.
Moorefield leadoff batter sophomore shortstop Brent Moran sparked the momentum with a single into center field off Wheeling Central Catholic pitcher George Cupp.
Moorefield junior designated hitter Grant Keller reached base on an error by Maroon Knights second baseman Patrick Brown taking a knee to stop the ball and it skipped past his glove.
A sharp grounder by Yellow Jackets junior Blake Watts was bobbled by Wheeling Central Catholic shortstop Bryan Courts, who launched an off-balanced throw past the leap of Brown providing enough time for Moran to score on the play, 1-0 nil.
Two giant cardboard faces of Moorefield coach Wade Armentrout and assistant coach Scott Stutler were raised up as the Yellow Jackets fan base applauded.
After a fielder’s choice out at second base off the bat of senior center fielder Jake Ours, Moorefield added to the lead on freshman third baseman Hayden Baldwin’s RBI single into center field with Ours making it to third base.
Van Meter notched an RBI sacrifice fly in right field with Jake Ours tagging up for the run home putting the Yellow Jackets ahead 3-0 before a pop-up by sophomore brother catcher Lane Ours was caught by Brown.
Wheeling Central Catholic’s Doug Clark grounded out back to Van Meter on the mound, then Cupp and Brown garnered singles into left field.
Logan Wells singled into left center field to load the bases for the Maroon Knights (24-5), then Adam Murray struck out.
Wheeling Central Catholic’s Chris Furka cleared the bases on an error tying the game as the ball went off the glove of Moorefield’s Jake Ours rolling toward the warning track giving Furka time to slide into third base and a pop-out by Angelo Gentile to first baseman Blake Watts ended the inning.
Remarkably after such a start, there were no more runs to be scored from the second through the seventh innings.
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Moorefield senior left fielder Garett Haggerty struck out to begin the second inning before a walk by Cupp was issued to sophomore second baseman Thomas Williams.
“I have been dreaming about winning a state championship since I was in little league. This is an awesome feeling,” Moorefield sophomore Thomas Williams noted.
Moran flew out to Maroon Knights center fielder Doug Clark and Keller hit into a fielder’s choice ending the side.
Van Meter threw a strikeout to Wheeling Central Catholic’s Clay Slyder, then Courts grounded out to Moran.
Wheeling Central Catholic got two baserunners aboard as Clark singled up the middle and Cupp singled into left field before being left on base on a flyout by Brown to Moorefield right fielder Derek Hoyt.
In the third inning, Watts rocketed the ball into left field where Maroon Knights’ Adam Murray made a diving catch and was disputed as to whether it was dropped as Stutler ran down the baseline from the bullpen to talk to the umpire to no avail.
Ours went down swinging and Baldwin flew out to Clark in center field as the Yellow Jackets came up empty.
Wells flew out to Haggerty to start off the batting order for Wheeling Central Catholic in the bottom half of the third inning, then Murray grounded out to Baldwin.
Furka doubled into left field and was stranded on a flyout by Gentile to Jake Ours.
Van Meter grounded out to Courts, then Moorefield’s Lane Ours singled on a grounder into left field and junior pinch runner Caden Kimble came in for Ours on the base path.
Haggerty hit into a double play fielder’s choice by Courts to Brown to retire the side.
Courts singled with one out for the Maroon Knights and couldn’t be brought home as Clark and Cupp hit flyouts to Jake Ours in center field.
In the fifth inning, Williams grounded out to Cupp and Moran grounded out to Furka before Keller’s shot eluded the diving attempt of Murray in left field.
Wheeling Central Catholic second baseman Patrick Brown made a diving stop on a grounder by Watts, but the throw evaded first base.
The Yellow Jackets left both ducks on the pond as Jake Ours grounded out to Brown.
The Maroon Knights went down in order as Van Meter induced three straight groundouts with Moran collecting two around one fielded by Baldwin with Watts making a stretch for the catch.
Baldwin singled into left field to commence the sixth inning and Kimble came in as the runner, but was left on base as Van Meter flew out, then Lane Ours and Haggerty grounded out.
Moorefield junior closer Derek ‘The Latch’ Hoyt came to the mound in the sixth inning and Furka recorded a single on a blooper into right field.
Gentile bunted up with the ball caught by Hoyt, who turned a double play with a throw to Watts and ended the inning with a strikeout to Slyder.
Moorefield didn’t reach base as Cupp struck out junior Ben O’Neill prior to Moran and Keller grounding out to Brown.
Moran fielded a grounder by Courts for the first out, then shortstop Isaac Van Meter tracked down a fly ball by Clark in shallow left field before Hoyt snatched up a grounder by Cupp sending the game into extra innings locked up at three runs apiece.
“We had confidence in each other. He [Isaac] is a great player and they will be back next year, I promise. It means we’re the best. I am so excited right now. I lost my voice mid-game,” Moorefield senior Garett Haggerty said.
Watts started the top of the eighth inning with a single into the left center gap, then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Ours.
Baldwin ripped the ball into right center field where it was chased down by Clark with Watts tagging up to reach third base.
“It means everything, this is what you work for all season and just to get here was great. The defense was a great help. I was just trying to get them to groundout and flyout. They did everything for me. It was great and gave me a lot of confidence to know that coach had a lot of confidence in me. This is the most competitive atmosphere I have ever been in and I want to be back next year,” Moorefield freshman pitcher Isaac Van Meter commented.
Van Meter connected for the game-winning RBI single into left field giving the Yellow Jackets a 4-3 edge.
“We kept our chins up and I talked to them after a couple innings telling them it is like starting from scratch, it’s a zero-zero game. I know it felt like we had lost the lead, but we hadn’t even though they scored last with those three runs early. I knew if we could hold on and get to a point where we could get just one run and turn it over to [Derek] Hoyt, we would be in good shape. He has been excited since early this morning. He was planning exactly what would happen after we won and that’s an great attitude to have and you have to have that attitude. You have to have confidence in a game like this or things just get away from you. He has been confident in that role. It is just amazing to see this group of guys achieve something as marvelous as this for our community and the fans were great. We beat Wheeling Central in 2002 for the championship and all the teams are good getting to this point. These guys have so much to be proud of and a championship is a bond that sticks beyond just the game and lasts,” Coach Armentrout concluded.
Lane Ours flew out into right field to end the side as the Maroon Knights came up to the plate with fans chanting ‘keep the faith’.
“It’s really special and it’s good to go out with a bang. We worked all season to get to this point and I patiently waited four years to get to this point. It’s good to have hard work pay off,” Moorefield senior Jake Ours remarked.
“It is like no other feeling you will experience. I have played football, basketball and track and never made it this far until now. It is a magical moment,” Moorefield senior Matt Mongold added.
Moorefield center fielder Jake Ours caught a fly ball by Brown and Wells grounded out to Van Meter as Wheeling Central Catholic was on the brink of elimination, then Watts fielded a grounder by Murray to seal the state championship victory.
“Like I do in every other game, I come in and close the game. Today it felt a lot more special, because we are state champs. I went and caught the ball on the bunt and knew he wasn’t going to be there since his teammate didn’t execute the bunt. It really sparked energy for us and got us the win,” Moorefield closer Derek Hoyt noted.
The Yellow Jackets swarmed the field as Moran attempted to tackle Hoyt, but he escaped leading the team into shallow right field with his finger pointed to the sky and was brought down by Lane Ours to initiate a celebratory dog pile.
“It means everything, this is surreal. We are going to come back for a two-peat, a three-peat and a four-peat,” Moorefield catcher Lane Ours stated.
“This means we’re number one. This is where dinner hangs. We are number one in the state. It certainly puts us back on the map and gives us some respect,” Moorefield junior Ben O’Neill said.
Both teams shook hands with Haggerty leading the line, hugging several Maroon Knights in the process showing great sportsmanship.
“That was one of the greatest baseball games I’ve ever been involved in and I’ve been in a lot of them. Both teams played hard and we left it all out on the field. They just came out to be the winners,” Wheeling Central Catholic coach Bo McConnaughy said.
“I know it’s heartbreaking and it’s hard to accept right now, but it’s only a baseball game. If that’s the worst thing to happen to you in life, you’re doing great.”
During the awards ceremony, Moorefield seniors Jake Ours and Garett Haggerty grabbed water bottles to pour on coaches Armentrout and Stutler after not finding a cooler of water.
Stutler would return the favor splashing two cups of water on Haggerty during an interview later on in the evening.
There was a cooler full of water minutes later which would be used to drench coach Armentrout.
Moorefield had four players selected to the Class A State Baseball All-Tournament team: Garett Haggerty, Hayden Baldwin, Isaac Van Meter and Blake Watts joining Wheeling Central Catholic players Logan Wells, George Cupp and Doug Clark, plus Ravenswood’s Chase Swain and Ethan Mahan and Charleston Catholic’s Marshall Pile.
Class AAA Hurricane won its third state championship and Class AA Bridgeport made a fifth straight title win.
The Yellow Jackets had a team meeting in the dugout after the trophy presentation and photos for each player were taken, then the fans had an opportunity to embrace the squad in the stands.
The local team reporter wore yellow socks and was told to never wash them again and not to wear green all of next year for the Yellow Jackets games.
Moorefield returned to Hardy County with the hardware which was the tenth overall team state championship in school history as the football team won six times, baseball thrice and boys basketball once.
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