�����Ƶ

�����Ƶ�It was kind of an odd start there,�����Ƶ� Hurricane coach Brian Sutphin said. �����Ƶ�Weston kind of got to the point where he was unflappable. He was mentally tough, and he was a lot of fun to watch do his thing.�����Ƶ�

Smith pitched all seven innings and got the final out with the last batter he was eligible to face, having thrown 111 pitches. Smith allowed three hits and struck out 13. The run he allowed was unearned.

Smith, a senior who was a member of Hurricane�����Ƶ�s most recent championship team in 2022 but did not play in that state final, said he was never unnerved by two Hurricane errors in the first inning, along with a perfectly placed bunt by Morgantown that loaded the bases.

The Mohigans scored the game�����Ƶ�s first run on a groundout. Smith then struck out the final two hitters of the inning.

�����Ƶ�This is the game you play for since you�����Ƶ�re a kid,�����Ƶ� Smith said. �����Ƶ�Obviously, I wanted the ball and that�����Ƶ�s what I got today.�����Ƶ�

Hutchison, the third baseman, was charged with errors on consecutive ground balls hit to him in the first inning, the result of a broken glove. Hutchison found redemption at the plate, however, with a second-inning double that tied the game 1-1.

Leading 2-1 in the fourth inning, Hurricane started a two-out rally that ended with Baxter getting a fly ball to drop between three Morgantown defenders to score three runs. Baxter came home after two consecutive wild pitches to make it 5-1.

Those mistakes, along with two Mohigans errors, greatly aided Hurricane�����Ƶ�s offense.

�����Ƶ�Essentially, those are things we haven�����Ƶ�t done all year,�����Ƶ� Mohigans coach Pat Sherald said. �����Ƶ�You know, this team was built on pitching and defense and scratching and clawing runs. We gave the best pitcher in the state some runs when, historically, it�����Ƶ�s something we don�����Ƶ�t do.�����Ƶ�

Each of Morgantown�����Ƶ�s three hits were singles, with the lone RBI coming on Vincent Aloi�����Ƶ�s groundout in the first inning that scored Weston Mazey.

The rest of the game belonged to Hurricane.

Hutchison�����Ƶ�s double in the second that scored Aiden Ocheltree was followed by Brady Rigney�����Ƶ�s RBI that gave Hurricane a 2-1 advantage, a lead it did not give up.

In the fourth, Rigney hit a two-out double off Morgantown starter Maddox Boggs, who followed that with a pair of walks to Wesley Sutton and Bryson Shirkey. All three runners scored on Baxter�����Ƶ�s double.

Boggs pitched all six innings for Morgantown, allowing six earned runs on eight hits.

Ocheltree and Nick Fleece led Hurricane with two hits each. Baxter produced three RBIs.

Along with the 2022 Class AAA championship, Hurricane (29-7) won state titles in 2002, 2014 and 2018 before adding another on Saturday.

Morgantown (27-11) was in the state championship for the second time ever, following a runner-up finish to Huntington in the 1976 Class AAA championship.

MORGANTOWN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 �����Ƶ� 1 3 2

HURRICANE 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 �����Ƶ� 6 7 2

Boggs and Joseph. Smith and Dempsey.

Hitting: (M) Aloi 0-3, RBI; Silvers 1-2; (H) Hutchison 1-3, 2B, RBI; Rigney 1-3, 2B, RBI; Baxter 1-4, 2B, 3 RBIs.