SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Petersburg and East Hardy begin their West Virginia state tournament runs Wednesday at South Charleston’s Little Creek Park.
The Vikings (24-5) are aiming for their first state championship in school history after consecutive runner-up finishes. Petersburg has qualified for the last nine state tournaments.
East Hardy (10-11) is making its first state tournament appearance since 2011.
The state tournament uses a double-elimination format. This is the first installment of the eight-team field across four classes.
Class AA
Petersburg is the No. 2 seed in Class AA behind Logan (21-7), a team the Vikings eliminated in the semifinals last year 5-3 before falling to Oak Glen, 10-2, in the title game.
Petersburg opens play against No. 7 seed Lincoln (24-6) at approximately 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
It’s the fourth game of the day, slated 30 minutes after No. 3 Sissonville (24-6)/No. 6 Independence (22-10), which follows No. 4 Weir (22-10)/No. 5 Oak Glen (17-10) and No. 1 Logan/No. 8 Midland Trail (19-13).
The 1 vs. 8 game kicks off the action at 9 a.m. All Class AA games will be played on Rock Field A.
Teams that win Wednesday will be off until Thursday. Those that lose their opening-round games will play elimination games later in the day on Wednesday.
The championship is scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Petersburg brings a lineup that averages 11.6 runs per game into the tournament.
Nine everyday players bat .300 or better: Miley Tingler (.556), Shyane Tawney (.446), Potomac State commit Ella Chew (.432), Ella Markwell (.421), Lacey Moyers (.386), Cheyenne Sites (.380), Gracie Carpenter (.344), Karlie DiBenedetto (.317) and Abi Nettles (.317).
Tingler leads Petersburg in home runs (10) and runs (59), and Markwell has a team-high 41 runs batted in.
Three Vikings have starts in the circle in Carpenter, Kinsley Crites and Moyers.
Carpenter has an 11-3 record with a 2.39 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 82 innings, Crites is 9-0 with a 1.92 ERA and 38 Ks in 54 2/3 frames, and Moyers is 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA and 14 Ks in 19 innings of work.
Class A
East Hardy has its hands full against top-seeded Wahama (22-11), which won three straight state championships from 2021-23 and fell to Pendleton County in last year’s Class A title bout.
The eighth-seeded Cougars and Wahama are scheduled to start on Wednesday at 9 a.m. The winner advances to Thursday, and the loser plays an elimination game later on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Elsewhere in the bracket, No. 4 Wheeling Central (19-8) faces No. 5 Pendleton County (18-6), No. 3 Ritchie County (19-10) takes on No. 6 Man (12-8), and No. 2 Sherman (21-10) draws No. 7 Greenbrier West (18-9) on Wednesday.
All Class A games will be played on Rock Field B.
East Hardy is led by Richard Bland signee Madison Strosnider, who bats .537 and has 16 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs at the plate and is the Cougars’ ace with a 4.59 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
Taylor McReynolds tops the Cougars with 27 runs scored.
Keyser begins next week
Due to the expanded tournament field, Class AAA and AAAA don’t begin their slate until Tuesday, June 2.
The Golden Tornado (23-4) are the No. 5 seed in Class AAA and face No. 4 seed Point Pleasant (24-8) in the second game on June 2.
With the week off, Keyser has added a pair of tune-up games.
The Golden Tornado host Class AAAA No. 2 seed University (24-5) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and head to AAAA’s No. 4 seed Morgantown (22-10) on Friday at 6 p.m.