HUNTINGTON — Ripley had already proven earlier in the week that no deficit was too large to overcome.

St. Albans made sure the Vikings never had the chance Saturday night.

The Red Dragons sent 13 batters to the plate during an eight-run first inning and rode the pitching of Gavin Comer and Brogan Samms to an 11-3 victory over defending champion Ripley in the WVSSAC Class AAA state championship game at Jack Cook Field.

The title was the first for St. Albans since 2019 and capped a 32-5 season for a team that entered the state tournament with only one player who had previous state tournament experience.

“We told them they better keep scoring because you know they’ve been in that situation before,” St. Albans coach Rick Whitman said. “The only difference is we scored eight and they only scored one. In another game, they had scored five and got right back in the game. We were able to limit their big inning and keep them from getting back in the game.”

Ripley (25-11) struck first when Parker Keller doubled home Bryson Casto in the top of the opening inning. But the defending champions’ lead lasted only a few minutes.

St. Albans answered immediately, taking advantage of a pair of Ripley errors and a wild inning on the mound. Braxton Burke and Comer opened the bottom half with singles before the Red Dragons scored eight runs on five hits while benefiting from three Viking errors.

Chance Campbell delivered an RBI single, Jonah Carte added a run-scoring hit and Comer capped the outburst with an RBI single. By the time the inning ended, St. Albans owned an 8-1 lead.

“It really helped us out a lot and gave us a lot of confidence,” Comer said. “They got one run on us in the first inning and then we kind of punched back. That’s what we needed to do.”

The Red Dragons added another run in the third when Comer scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 9-1. Ripley finally mounted a threat in the fourth.

John Cummings walked and later scored on Casto’s RBI double. Casto eventually crossed the plate on an outfield error, trimming the deficit to 9-3. Ripley put runners on the corners with one out, but Samms entered in relief and escaped further damage by inducing a double play.

That proved to be the Vikings’ final push.

St. Albans answered again in the bottom of the fifth. Samms doubled to start the inning and scored on Carte’s sacrifice fly. Later in the frame, Mason Bledsoe singled and Campbell raced home on an outfield error to make it 11-3.

Comer earned the victory, allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits while striking out three in 4 1/3 innings before giving way to Samms. The senior battled through arm issues throughout the season and delivered one of his biggest performances when it mattered most.

“I knew we had something the first day of practice,” Comer said. “This is honestly perfect. This is what I imagined. We have a great group of guys, and I love these guys to death.”

Samms closed the door with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. Together, the duo combined for five strikeouts.

Campbell finished with two hits and three RBIs, while Burke, Comer and Samms each collected two hits for the Red Dragons, who matched Ripley with eight hits but capitalized on four Viking errors.

Casto went 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored for Ripley, while Keller added two hits, including the first-inning RBI double. The Vikings stranded six runners and saw their bid for a repeat championship come to an end.

Despite the lopsided score, Ripley continued to battle after falling behind early.

“We dug ourselves a big hole again, like we did in game one, and they could have easily just rolled over and been done with it, but they didn’t,” Ripley coach Shane Casto said. “They fought the entire game. I’m proud of them.”

For St. Albans, the victory completed a championship run built on resilience and timely execution.

“The first two games we won were nail-biters,” Whitman said. “We had to execute, we had to play good baseball to win both of those games, and they did it. This is just a really special group.”

More photos from the state championship