BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Four Tug Valley baseball players received All-State honors for Class A. The four made it on the honorable mention list.
They include junior Chandler Copley, senior Austin Smith, junior Gage Whitt and junior Gavin Fitzpatrick.
The four were all an integral part of first-year head coach LeeAnn Blankenship’s squad, which had a good season for the Panthers this past spring.
Copley, a shortstop, hit .346 this season.
As one of the team’s top pitchers, Smith had a 2.92 ERA with 60 strikeouts and eight walks over 45 1/3 innings. He also had a good offensive season at the plate.
Fitzpatrick, an outfielder, led the Panthers this season with a .385 batting average. Gage Whitt, a third baseman, hit .372 for the season.
Tug Valley started out slow but came on strong as the season progressed. They made a solid showing in the super regional tourney, upsetting highly ranked St. Joe of Huntington in one tourney game.
The four players were all solid performers for TVHS, according to Coach Blankenship.
Class A First Team
P – Reed Wilharm, Madonna, (Sr.)
P – Kason Angel Cameron (Jr.)
P – Jaxon Drennen, Tygarts Valley (Sr.)
C – Cam Gerace, Man (Sr.)
C – Parker Hopkins, Trinity Christian (Jr.)
IF – David Connors, Madonna (Sr.)
IF – Evan Hamilton, East Hardy (Jr.) (Capt)
IF- Kolten Holbert, Gilmer County, (Soph.)
IF – Eli Rickard, Wahama (Sr.)
IF – Ryan Parker, Clay Battelle (Jr.)
OF – Luke Tagliante, Sherman (JR.)
OF – Jacob Lazear, Madonna,
OF – Landon Cantrell, Man (Jr.)
Util -Garrett VanMeter, East Hardy (Soph.)
Util – Dom Bombardiere, Notre Dame (Sr.)
Util – Braxton Messer, Man (Sr.)
Second team
P – Kooper Statler, Clay Battelle (Jr.)
P – Max Brown, Webster County, (Fr.)
P – Wyatt Pence, St. Joe’s (Soph.)
C – Paul Fox, Greater Beckley (Jr.)
C – Brody Ewing, Wirt County (Sr.)
IF – Dominico Minnocci, Notre Dame (Soph.)
IF – Finn Loy, Magnolia (Jr.)
IF- Eli Gunter, Greater Beckley (Jr.)
IF- Matt Geer, Madonna, (Jr.) (Capt)
IF – Landon Church, Calhoun County (Sr.)
OF – Soier Reed, Cameron (Soph.)
OF – Isaac Snyder, Webster County (Sr.)
OF – Hayden Lloyd, Wahama, (Sr.)
OF – Bryson Sanders, Trinity Christian (Sr.)
Util – Hunter Muncy, Mount View (Jr.)
Util – Braylon Mencer, Gilmer County (Sr.)
HONORABLE MENTION: David Beane, St. Joe’s; Wyatt Boice, Wirt County; Chandler Copley, Tug Valley; Gavin Fitzpatrick, Tug Valley; Parker Giles, Richwood; Koleton Grishkevich, Madonna; Brayden Hamrick, Sherman; Ky’rece Hughes, Mount View; Kaden Lane, Richwood; Isaiah Lewis, Greater Beckley; Zayde Long, Cameron; Jovanni Minnocci, Notre Dame; Easton Moore, Van; Cade Price, Van; Reece Schoolcraft, Calhoun County; Hunter Skidmore, Webster County; Austin Smith, Tug Valley; Wes Starcher, Cameron; Cody Walls, Man; Jacob Wamsley, Tygarts Valley; Mason Watts, St. Joe’s; Kaiden Wells, Madonna; Gage Whitt, Tug Valley