Story from the West Virginia

Sports Writers Association

 

by Rusty Udy

Register-Herald

 

When the 2019 baseball season opened up, the question running rampant around the state of West Virginia was, is there a Class AA team that can dethrone five-time defending state champion Bridgeport?

 

Ultimately, the answer to that question was, no.

 

Under the guidance of veteran skipper Robert Shields, the Indians again bested the Class AA competition, winning their sixth straight championship.

 

"This was a team that had to work hard to get to the state championship game," Shields said. "We didn't execute well at points throughout the season. We had played Scott and played Frankfort during the regular season and beat them, but we didn't beat the Morgantowns, the Erie-McDowells (Pa.), the Spring Valleys and the GWs. I gauge my teams by how they fare and I was a little skeptical. But I did believe in our kids overall."

 

The state championship formula for Bridgeport was a familiar one — a strong pitching performance from its ace, followed by a stellar performance from a player no one really expected to pitch.

 

Senior ace Tim Via pitched the Indians past Shady Spring in the state semifinals before Shields handed the ball to big-hitting first baseman Nick Stalnaker in the championship game against Frankfort.

 

Prior to the championship game, Stalnaker — only a junior — had pitched just seven innings all season.

 

"Timmy was hot in the postseason and he was really on top of his game," Shields said. "He has done just a phenomenal job from being a reliever as a sophomore to being a starter his junior and senior year. Stalnaker is just an athlete, probably the best athlete in the school, and he is just a gamer."

 

In addition to helping Bridgeport earn a sixth state championship, Stalnaker, Via and teammate Ryan Goff were each named Class AA first-team all-staters by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

 

"Ryan earned the respect from his peers last year as a freshman. We brought him in slowly and he helped us beat James Monroe (in the 2018 semifinals) with a real tough at-bat. His defensive skills are amazing, and he has grown into a solid offensive player as well."

 

Prior to the state tournament, Via was 6-1 on the mound with 43 strikeouts, while Stalnaker hit .404 with 20 RBIs. Goff batted .381 on the year with two home runs and 18 RBIs.

 

WVU signee Carter Lyles of Scott captains the first team as a pitcher and is joined by fellow Skyhawks Nathan Kuhn (.560, 34 RBIs) at utility and Isaac Miller (.406, 27 RBIs) as an outfielder.

 

Lyles was 8-1 over the regular season with an ERA just under 1.00, striking out 83 batters in 55 innings of work. Lyles also hit .402 with 11 doubles and 29 RBIs.

 

"Carter came in this year in the best shape of his life," Scott head coach Brett Kuhn said. "He came in focused, and I saw a maturity about Carter this year. He was going to take the bull by the horns and go after hitters this season."

 

Chapmanville senior Connor Mullins (6-2, 0.62 ERA, 106 Ks) rounds out the first-team pitchers, while junior Eli Kirkendoll (.479, 6 HR, 39 RBI) from Lincoln County is the first-team catcher.

 

Class AA runner-up Frankfort earned two first-team selections in utility player Caleb Hare (.457, 48 hits) and infielder Zach Whitacre (.404, 42 hits).

 

Shady Spring returned to the state tournament for the first time in 13 years and was led by two senior first-team selections in infielder Noel Sizemore (.390, 3 HR, 13 SB) and outfielder Justin Lovell (.420. 6 HR, 36 RBI).

 

"Without those two players, we couldn't have achieved as much as we did," Shady Spring head coach Dave Shaw said. "Both of them have been clutch in big games this year and are very talented players."

 

Rounding out the first team are senior infielder Zach Robeson (.489, 3 HR, 27 RBI) from Sissonville, senior outfielder Mason Hamrick (.391, 5 2B, 26 RBI) from Nitro and sophomore utility player Ethan Payne (.448, 24 RBI, 2.23 ERA) of Poca.

 

Sophomore Nick Holtzapfel of Winfield (7-1. 0.86 ERA, 60 K) captains the second team and leads a trio of pitchers that includes junior Tommy Williams (7.0, 2.20 ERA, 44 K) from Shady Spring and senior Peyton Brown (9-1, 1.99 ERA, 53 K) from Scott.

 

Eric Hoosier (.525, 12 2B, 22 RBI), a senior from Wyoming East, is the second-team catcher. Teammate McQuade Canada (.434, 7 2B, 20 RBI), a junior, earned one of four infield spots.

 

Matt St. Clair (.402, 13 2B, 23 RBI), Shady Spring's senior third baseman, joins Canada in the infield, along with sophomore Peyton Stover (.363, 21 RBI, 30 SB) from Winfield and senior Hunter Poole from Petersburg.

 

Senior Jacob Oates from Braxton County heads up the second-team outfielders, along with senior Jake Whiting (.420, 17 RBI, 25 SB) from Roane County and sophomore Casey Hurley (.460, 32 RBI) from Chapmanville. 

 

The four second-team utility selections are seniors Hunter Moore (5-2, .342, 28 RBI) from Lincoln, MIles Williams (.387, 17 RBI, 20 SB) from Point Pleasant, junior Lane Jordan (4-1, 1.32 ERA, .375) from Oak Hill and junior Dawson Beckett from Logan (.383, 23 RBI, 1.77 ERA).

 

2019 BOYS ALL-STATE BASEBALL

First team 

 

P – Carter Lyles, Scott, Sr. (captain) 

P –Conner Mullins, Chapmanville, Sr. 

P – Tim Via, Bridgeport, Sr. 

C – Eli Kirkendoll, Lincoln County, Jr. 

IF – Zack Whitacre, Frankfort, Sr. 

IF – Ryan Goff, Bridgeport, So. 

IF – Zach Robeson, Sissonville, Sr. 

IF – Noel Sizemore, Shady Spring, Sr. 

OF – Justin Lovell, Shady Spring, Sr. 

OF – Isaac Miller, Scott, Sr. 

OF – Mason Hamrick, Nitro, Sr. 

UTIL – Caleb Hare, Frankfort, Sr. 

UTIL – Nathan Kuhn, Scott, Sr. 

UTIL – Nick Stalnaker, Bridgeport, Jr. 

UTIL – Ethan Payne, Poca, So. 

 

Second team 

 

P – Tommy Williams, Shady Spring, Jr. 

P – Nick Holtzapfel, Winfield, So. (captain) 

P – Peyton Brown, Scott, Sr. 

C – Eric Hoosier, Wyoming East, Sr. 

IF – McQuade Canada, Wyoming East, Jr. 

IF – Peyton Stover, Winfield, So. 

IF – Matt St. Clair, Shady Spring, Sr. 

IF – Hunter Poole, Petersburg, Sr. 

OF – Jacob Oates, Braxton County, Sr. 

OF – Jake Whiting, Roane County, Sr. 

OF – Casey Hurley, Chapmanville, So. 

UTIL – Hunter Moore, Lincoln, Sr. 

UTIL – Miles Williams, Point Pleasant, Sr. 

UTIL – Lane Jordan, Oak Hill, Jr. 

UTIL – Dawson Beckett, Logan, Jr.

 

Special Honorable Mention

 

Eli Brogan (Lincoln County), Danny Bush (Roane County), Matt Caldwell (Wyoming East), Josh Cline (Oak Glen), Logan Conley (Braxton County), Jonathon Creese (Oak Glen), Landen Fairchild (Winfield), Logan Gaddy (Nitro), Matthew Gainer (Elkins), Breeden Gilbert (Fairmont Senior), Daylin Goad (Mingo Central), Atticus Goodson (Independence), Andrew Hazelwood (James Monroe), Brody Jeffers (Point Pleasant), Nick Jewell (James Monroe), Caleb Jones (Oak Hill), Tyler Kelly (Weir), Will Knight (Philip Barbour), Tyler Komorowski (Weir), Andrew Little (Keyser), Jonathan Lyons (Oak Hill), Braydon McClung (Logan), Jason Meadows (Shady Spring), Connor Neal (Fairmont Senior), Toby Payne (Poca), Read Shumacher (Elkins), Peyton Sindledecker (Petersburg), Carter Smith (Point Pleasant), Brady Vance (Westside), Tyce Wisnewski (Petersburg), Caleb Wynn (Clay County)

 

Honorable Mention

 

Andrew Allen (Mingo Central), Pat Bart (Lincoln), Chase Berry (Chapmanville), Gage Bibey (Philip Barbour), Peyton Branham (Logan), Garrett Brewer (Oak Glen), Xander Castillo (James Monroe), Vincenzo Cava (Bridgeport), Drew Clark (Shady Spring), Tanner Corder (Philip Barbour), Brandon Corley (East Fairmont), Grant Davis (Shady Spring), Ashton Deskins (Mingo Central), Corey Elswick (Clay County), Levi Fox (Lewis County), Will Hackney (Sissonville), Reid Hoover (Weir), Sam Ingram (Winfield), Cameron King (Berkeley Springs), Noah Leggett (Liberty-Harrison), Clay Lester (Wyoming East), Grant Lowther (Robert C. Byrd), Jackson Mace (Roane County), Peyton Meadows (PikeView), Garrett Moats (Grafton), Monroe Mohler (James Monroe), Cole Morris (Berkeley Springs), Brandon Mullins (Herbert Hoover), Evan Ogden (Bridgeport), Connor Robe (Bridgeport), Andrew Scarberry (Nitro), Scott Soblit (Sissonville), Sebastian Spencer (Weir), Rhett White (Herbert Hoover), Garrett Wilkerson (East Fairmont), David Wilson (Independence), Michael McKinney (Independence), Chris Begley (Liberty R), Logan Williams (Liberty R), Zane Wolfe (Oak Hill) 

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is of Tim Via, while Ryan Goff is shown in the second photo and Nick Stalnaker is shown below. Photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.