HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The first upset of the Class A state baseball tournament guarantees that there will be a new champion in 2026. No. 7 Pendleton County avenged a pair of regular-season losses to their Potomac Valley Conference rivals from East Hardy, 8-4.
The Wildcats (17-16) erased an early deficit with a five-run fourth inning, giving Pendleton a lead it would not relinquish.
“That bunch can put up six or seven runs in an inning. That group of seniors that East Hardy has has been phenomenal since they were freshmen. It is a dangerous baseball team. They are a gutsy baseball team,” said Pendleton County head coach Sam Yokum. “They are the defending state champion. They’ve got a lot of heart. I am proud of our kids. We are really young. We came out and battled.”
Pendleton County scored seven unanswered runs between the fourth and fifth innings to build an 8-2 lead. The first four Wildcats to bat in the fourth inning reached base while the first three reached in the fifth.
“Coming in and getting two runs in the next (fifth) inning after that when they changed pitchers was big. Early on, we had a lot of fly balls to center. But I felt it was a good sign because we were making good contact.”
Each Wildcat in the starting lineup had at least one hit while Mason Miller had two. Travis Owens and Cashton Kisamore each drove in two runs for Pendleton.
Pendleton County’s starting pitcher Chase Owens recorded the first 20 outs for the Wildcats before Travis Owens came on in relief for the final out.
“Chase pitched very well and I am very proud of him.”
The Wildcats await the winner of the fourth quarterfinal between No. 3 Sherman and No. 6 Madonna in Thursday’s semifinal round.
“We are playing four freshmen a lot and a bunch of them are sophomores. They’ve played the game a lot, a lot of baseball. These kids are baseball kids. Some of them are three-sport kids. This is a game they love. Today, they responded.”
East Hardy (21-12) was led by Evan and Mason Hamilton. They combined for six of East Hardy’s eight hits (three each).