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Dominion Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- Dominion Post
NOTEBOOK: Grant Hussey coming off the bench for WVU a move that had different factors
MORGANTOWN — It would be easy to point to a few stats as the reason why WVU baseball coach Steve Sabins elected to bring Grant Hussey off the bench over the three games it took the Mountaineers to win the Clemson Regional. Sabins, knowing the Mountaineers would likely face a ton of left-handed pitchers in the region, pointed to one stat himself. 'Hussey's performance against left-handers helped us get a little bit closer to that decision,' Sabins said. Yet it wasn't just batting averages or analytics that played into Sabins' choice to start sophomore Ben Lumsden at first base in all three games and bring Hussey — a former Parkersburg South standout — off the bench. 'There's a multitude of factors,' Sabins said. 'There were a thousand reasons that weren't isolated to Grant. 'That's where people get confused sometimes is that decisions are made to a player. Decisions are made only and strictly for the team.' Hussey is the school's all-time home run leader with 44 over his career. He's also third on the program's all-time list with 213 starts and he's the only player on the roster who has played in all 58 games this season. To suddenly see Lumsden at first base in the NCAA tournament was a bit unusual. Sabins said the decision should be viewed as calculated rather than unusual. 'You're essentially taking (Hussey's) skill set versus the opposing pitching and then you have to make a decision on if there's another player that we think is on our team who may be able to help us win more often,' Sabins said. 'I felt like, in this circumstance, it was viewed as a one-for-one, where you take Grant out and put in Ben Lumsden, but it was more complicated than that. It was not a one-out and one-in kind of thing.' As the Mountaineers (44-14) get set to travel to No. 6 overall seeded LSU (46-15) — Game 1 of the three-game series is 2 p.m. Saturday — Sabins said how he elects to use Hussey is still up in the air. 'There are games moving forward, maybe Grant will start or maybe Grant will come off the bench,' Sabins said. 'He's not used to that, but by the end, he had really turned the page. He handled it like a pro and performed at a high level.' If Hussey comes off the bench, expect to see him as a defensive replacement in close games. 'We need him at first base, especially late in games,' Sabins said. If I want to take some risks and think there might be a better at-bat matchup earlier offensively, the risk is that we might struggle defensively. That's where you saw, like in the fourth or fifth inning if we had a tie game, you have to put Grant in the game.' The major difference between playing in a four-team regional and a two-team super regional is the number of games. It's possible a team could play up to as many as five games to capture a regional championship, while a super regional is either going to be two or three games. Utilizing a pitching staff in a regional is more difficult, because coaches have to limit innings pitched in case of a deciding game the next day. In a super, you need two wins anyway you can get them. 'This week is easier to go all-in,' Sabins said. 'It's like anything, you need aggressive and intelligent risks for you to win. 'It's crazy (in a regional), because you can push all your chips in, but then the score can change and you have to pull a couple back, which you can't do on a poker table.' Sabins said the scores of the game will still dictate how many pitching changes he needs, but there won't be any holding back. 'If you have a chance to win the game, in general our philosophy has been to be aggressive, because we think our offense can score in bunches,' Sabins said. 'You certainly don't ever want to give the team the feeling that you're playing for tomorrow, so you have to keep going.' The Mountaineers might be the only team in the super regionals who can't wait to get to the bottom of their batting order. Lumsden, along with Brodie Kresser and Armani Guzman combined to hit .447 (17 of 38) in the Clemson Regional. They scored eight runs and drove in 12. Guzman, who bats ninth in WVU's lineup, was named the regional's MVP after hitting .667 with six RBIs. 'I bet there's never been a nine-hole hitter who has been a tournament MVP,' Sabins said. 'I would imagine that's the case. What he did was epic.' Sabins said there is a great feeling as a coach to see players at the bottom of the order producing, but it also begs another question: 'If your seven-through-nine hitters are winning regionals, should those guys be your one-through-three hitters? Like, what in the heck are you doing?' Sabins said. 'There's always a balance of trying to keep it in perspective, but it was incredible.'
Dominion Post
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Morgantown High flips script on Parkersburg South, wins OVAC softball title
WHEELING – One of Morgantown's darkest days as a softball team this season came at the hands of Parkersburg South. The two schools met for a second time Friday night at Wheeling Park High School for the OVAC Class 5A Championship. Again the day was dark, but only initially due to the black skies above which delayed the first pitch two hours. Once the ball was in play, Morgantown turned the tables and defeated the Patriots 3-1. Parkersburg South, which opened the season with a 10-0 win over the Mohigans with basically the same personnel in the lineup, slips to 16-7 after playing its final game as a member of the conference. Beginning with the 2025-26 winter sports season, all South athletics play under the Mountain State Athletic Conference umbrella. 'I really don't know what to expect in the MSAC,' South coach Tim Burch said. 'I know some of the teams in it, but yes I will miss coming out here and playing some of these teams in the OVAC. 'I'm looking forward to playing some of the new teams (from the MSAC).' On the flip side, Mohigans improved to 19-9 and duplicated their OVAC title in the same manner from last year when they won as the No. 4 seed. 'We played Parkersburg South in our second game of the season – we were facing a very good pitcher, and we didn't do so well,' Morgantown coach Lorri Lipscomb said. 'Then we went to Myrtle Beach and we faced a lot of good teams. It's all similar pitching down there and I think that helped us get better. 'These girls have tons of confidence right now. They are a very special group of young ladies and they truly care about each other. That's huge – it's like a reset when somebody makes a mistake and they come back and play harder.' Morgantown blindsided Parkersburg South at the outset when Liz Alsop homered over the left field fence with two outs in the top of the first inning – the first homer allowed by South starting pitcher Anniston Shelton in her first 87 innings of her high school career. 'I was just trying to start hot and get some energy going for our team,' Alsop said. 'Honestly, the first time we played them we weren't as prepared as we should have been. We knew tonight would be a completely new ballgame. 'They are a good team, but we had a good game tonight.' The Mohigans tacked on a second run in the next inning in what would prove to be the eventual game-winning run. Beth Robinson singled, and with two outs No. 9 hitter Madi Stone grounded to the third baseman. A throwing error to first base allowed Robinson to advance three bases and increase the lead to 2-0. South's offense was stagnant for the first three innings as Morgantown starting pitcher Maddie Wisman retired the first 10 batters she faced. The junior eventually worked all seven innings – allowing five hits and no walks while striking out nine during that time. 'Definitely two different games between us and South this season,' Wisman said. 'We didn't get our spring trip yet so we weren't exactly fully prepared. We didn't really come into that game with the right mentality. 'The first time we played South, it was 0-0 in like the third or fourth inning, so having that home run by Liz was absolutely amazing. It gave me so much more confidence on the mound.' The Patriots started to create traffic on the basepaths beginning in the fourth inning with Shelton's one-out double. A Morgantown error on the infield put runners on first and second. A fielder's choice erased the runner at second trying to advance to third base, and after a wild pitch Robinson made a running catch toward the infield to end the threat. Kailey Lockhart and Shelton both produced a one-out single in innings five and six, but South failed to find that clutch hit. Morgantown extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Robinson reached safely on an infield single, and following two of Shelton's 12 strikeouts, Wisman legged out an infield single. Robinson, who was at second base at the time, didn't stop at third and managed to advance two bases on the infield grounder then cross home plate. South didn't totally go away empty-handed. Brylee Hatcher, who was robbed of a base hit in the second inning when Alsop covered significant ground from center field and dove just before the ball touched the turf for the putout, led off the seventh inning with a double to the right-center field gap. With one out, Kailey Lockhart took the first offering from Wisman and singled to put runners at first and third base. With two outs and Shyanne Hays facing an 0-2 count, Wisman threw a wild pitch to allow Hatcher to score. Hays eventually hit a sky high pop up to Wisman, who gloved it for the final out. 'We played a good team,' Burch said. 'I told our girls that sometimes someone plays better than you and that was the case tonight. 'We hit it, we sprayed it. We just didn't put them together. I was proud of the girls because they never gave up. Even to the last inning.' South played the final five innings without starting catcher Payten Mackey, who received a foul tip directly at her face mask for the second time in as many innings. 'Yes, Payten took a couple of shots,' Burch said. 'She took one in the beginning of the game and it worried me. Then the second one. I didn't care what the trainer said, she wasn't playing any more. She checked out OK, no concussion or stuff like that, but she was done for the night after that.' M 110 010 0 – 3 5 1 PS 000 000 1 – 1 5 1 WP: Maddie Wisman 7.0IP 5H 1R 1ER 0BB 9SO LP: Anniston Shelton 7.0IP 5H 3R 2ER 2BB 12SO Morgantown (19-9): Anne Robinson 2-4, run, 3B, SB: Grace Robinson SB; Liz Alsop 1-3, run, HR, RBI; Maddie Wisman 2-3, RBI; Beth Robinson 1-3, run Parkersburg South (16-7): Anniston Shelton 2-3, 2B; Brylee Hatcher 1-3, run, 2B; Kailey Lockhart 2-3 — Story by Kerry Patrick
Dominion Post
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
MHS takes down Steubenville to reach OVAC finals, UHS upset by Parkersburg South
WHEELING — The Morgantown High softball team will have the chance to defend their OVAC 5A championship after a 9-3 upset victory over top-seeded Steubenville on Wednesday. Meanwhile, defending state champion University High suffered a loss in the semifinal, 5-1, against Parkersburg South. MHS will battle the Patriots at 5 p.m. Friday for the championship. The Hawks only managed four hits to go along with as many errors against Parkersburg South. Patriots starting pitcher Anniston Shelton threw seven innings and struck out 13 batters without surrendering a walk. Seven Parkersburg South batters earned a hit in the contest. UHS starter Maddie Campbell also went the length of the game, allowing nine hits and five runs (two earned), with only one walk and 10 strikeouts. Liz Alsop was the prime suspect in Morgantown's productive night on offense, tallying six RBI and walloping two home runs and a double to do it. On the mound, Maddie Wisman pitched a complete outing for the Mohigans, striking out seven. Kira Smith also drove a home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning. Alsop's three-run blast broke open what had been a scoreless game with one out in the third inning. Morgantown scored five more in the fourth inning thanks to Alsop and Smith. 'Bats came alive tonight, pitching was great by Maddie Wisman,' Morgantown head coach Lorri Lipscomb said. 'Even though we had some defensive miscues, they picked each other up and came back strong. That's the key.' 'They're better than us,' Steubenville head coach Gus DiMarzio said. 'They pitched better than us, they fielded better than us, they hit better than us.' Each team tacked on one run apiece in the final frame, a sac fly from Steubenville's Riley Zorne serving to cut into the Mohigans lead, but Morgantown would retire the following batter to advance to the 5A final, at the JB Chambers Sports Complex. 'We're excited we're back to defend the OVAC championship, we want to make it two in a row.' Sophia Zorne and Riley Zorne each finished with an RBI for Steubenville. Morgantown won last year's OVAC championship 4-3 against John Marshall. The Mohigans entered that game as the four-seed in the tournament bracket as well. — Story By Nick Henthorn
