HUNTINGTON — Four teams punched their tickets Saturday to the Class A semifinals at the WVSSAC baseball state tournament at Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field.
No. 1 seed Huntington St. Joseph opened the day with a win over Morgantown Trinity Christian, while No. 4 seed Gilmer County, No. 3 seed Pendleton County and No. 4 Sherman moved on to Thursday’s semifinals.
Here’s a roundup of Class A action:
No. 4 Gilmer County 10, No. 5 Greater Beckley Christian 3: The Titans overcame an early three-run deficit and scored 10 unanswered runs to defeat Greater Beckley Christian.
Greater Beckley Christian (23-14) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Paul Fox delivered a two-run triple and later scored on a wild pitch. Gilmer County answered with two runs in the second inning and took the lead for good with a three-run fourth.
Jacob Stewart paced the Titans (27-7) by going 4 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Guage Goodrich added three hits and scored twice, while Brody Beall collected two hits and two RBIs. Seth Stewart finished with two hits and two RBIs, and Roddick Page added a pair of doubles.
Kolten Holbert earned the win, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out 12 in a complete-game effort.
The Titans will play St. Joesph in Thursday’s semifinal, scheduled for 10 a.m.
No. 7 Pendleton County 8, No. 2 East Hardy 4: The Wildcats scored seven unanswered runs over the middle innings and knocked off defending state champion East Hardy to advance.
East Hardy (20-12) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and extended the advantage to 2-1 in the third, but Pendleton County answered with a five-run fourth inning to seize control.
Chase Owens walked and scored the tying run before Cashton Kisamore, Mason Miller, Mason Harper and Travis Owens each delivered run-scoring hits during the decisive rally. Kisamore added a two-run double in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-2.
Pendleton County (16-16) finished with 10 hits. Miller, Harper and Owens recorded two hits apiece, while Cole Harper doubled and drove in a run. Kisamore drove in two runs and scored once.
Chase Owens earned the win after allowing four runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. Travis Owens recorded the final out for the save.
East Hardy was led by Evan Hamilton and Mason Hamilton, who each collected three hits. Mason Hamilton added a double and drove in a run.
No. 3 Sherman 10, No. 6 Weirton Madonna 0 (5 innings): Sherman scored 10 runs despite collecting just five hits and rolled to a 10-0, five-inning victory over Weirton Madonna.
The Tide (27-9) broke the game open with a five-run second inning, taking advantage of a series of walks, wild pitches and passed balls to build an early lead. Sherman added two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to end the game via the run rule.
Luke Tagliente starred on both sides of the ball. The senior tossed a two-hit shutout, striking out seven over five innings while also going 2 for 2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Elijah Jeffrey doubled twice, drove in a run and scored twice, while Colby Atkins added a hit, two runs scored and an RBI.
JonAaron Seacrist and Oliver Harless each scored two runs as Sherman swiped six bases in the victory.
Weirton Madonna (11-15), the 2025 Class A runner-up, managed only two hits from Reno Fuscardo and Evan Kaczmarek.
Semifinal schedule
All games played Thursday at Jack Cook Field, Huntington
No. 1 Huntington St. Joesph (31-3) vs. No. 4 Gilmer County, 10 a.m.
No. 3 Sherman (27-9) vs. No. 7 Pendleton County (16-16), 50 minutes after the conclusion of the 10 a.m. game