Photo / Michael Browning
Matewan's Logan Lester slides safely into home plate. Lester was initially called out at the plate, but the Williamson catcher dropped the ball and the umpire called Lester safe.
The section championship is the 12th for Matewan Coach Danny Perkins, who was pleased with his team's performance.
"We played well for having been off for 10 days (due to flooding)," Perkins said. "We made good contact with the ball and didn't make a bunch of errors to hurt ourselves. Now, we play Man on Monday at Man and my kids have to play a lot better if they want to have a chance to win."
The Tigers (9-8) stay alive in postseason play to face Man in the super region co-champion game on Monday. The regional tournament is single elimination and the winner will play the winner of the Wahama-Charleston Catholic game later in the week in Charleston.
"We'll have our hands full with Man," Perkins said. "I hope our kids play like I know they can and give ourselves a chance to win. Man is tough. My kids will have to play better than they have all year to have a chance to win."
The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Williamson.
Max Whitt reached base safely and Josh Sammons batted him in by hitting a single. Roger Slone's triple then scored Sammons to make it 2-0.
Colton Copley hit a bloop single to shallow centerfield to score Slone. Logan Lester was walked. Corey Cisco's RBI single scored Copley to make it 4-0.
Jacob Staton then hit a single to score Lester and Cisco stole home to make give the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
Williamson scored a run in the top of the third on a Matewan error to cut the Matewan lead to 6-1.
But, the Tigers put another run on the board when Lester stole home to make it 7-1.
Matewan tacked on two insurance runs in the fourth frame to take a 9-1 lead.
A brief rally by the Wolfpack put three more runs on the board for Williamson, but the comeback fell short as the Tigers held on for the title win.
"That first inning killed us," Williamson Coach Pedro Ledger said. "We had to play that complete game (against Burch) first, then come back and play Matewan and that was tough. But, they didn't quit."
The Wolfpack falls to 7-11 with the season-ending loss. Williamson, like most other teams in southern West Virginia, was hampered by rain this season and had 14 games rained out.
For the Tigers, Slone hit a triple, Sammons hit two singles, Cisco, Staton and Whitt each hit a single and Lester was walked three times.
Copley pitched the win for Matewan. He was relieved by Roger Slone. Corey Cook and Austin Reed also pitched.
Jarrid McCormick was tagged with the loss on the mound. He pitched the complete game.
Will Hale hit a pair of singles for Williamson, while Bobby Hurley hit a double and Israel Varney hit a single.
The Wolfpack beat the winless Burch Bulldogs, 11-1 in six innings, to advance to the sectional championship game.
Williamson scored three runs in the first inning, then five more in the third to take an 8-0 lead. Burch's lone run came in the fifth inning when Ryan Hatfield's RBI single scored Jacob Stratton, who had reached on a single.
Keith Hill also hit a single for the Bulldogs.
Williamson then scored three more runs in the sixth inning to get the mercy-rule victory.
Ryan Diamond was the big hitter for the Pack. He went 3-for-4 at the plate. Hurley, McCormick, Hale and Alex Anderson each hit a single.
Varney pitched the win against Burch, while Hill suffered the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.
"We were playing pretty good before that long layoff," Burch Coach James Joplin said. "We had no practice and we still don't have a facility. I'm really pleased with my kids and the season we had. They had plenty of chances to quit, but they never did. We are hoping we can get a field before next year. That will make us a better team."
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