WV MetroNews
The Voice of West Virginia
GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia had not played this week before Friday’s series opener against Baylor, and the Mountaineers lost their three most recent contests last weekend at Texas Tech.
So when the Bears got a leadoff home run from the game’s first batter, Enzo Apodaca, as part of a two-run first inning, an already strong sense of urgency became even greater for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia responded early in the form of each of its first four batters producing a hit, and the Mountaineers went on to score four runs in their first trip to the plate as part of a season-high run total in an 18-5 victory before a crowd of 3,712 at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
“Not just crucial to get four, but get four because they got two. That team can really hit,” WVU head coach Randy Mazey said. “If we don’t score four there and they play with a lead throughout that game and start bringing some guys out of the pen to hold a lead, that’s a whole different game. Four in the first off a guy who’s been pitching really well for them was really important.”
West Virginia (24-16, 12-7) elected to start pitcher Hayden Cooper in a Friday night spot that had previously belonged to Aidan Major.
“We prepared him as a reliever and he’s done so well as a starter, but the 100 pitch games and 120 pitch games early on, it’s hard for a reliever to do that without needing a rest at some point,” Mazey said of Major. “We’ve been waiting all season to give him an opportunity to rest a little bit and from Friday to Sunday would be nine days, which is exactly what he needed. He’ll start on Sunday.”
Cooper was shaky early, allowing the Apodaca home run to right field and a second run on a single from Daniel Altman — the game’s fourth batter.
It hardly mattered.
Each of the Mountaineers’ first four batters — JJ Wetherholt, Logan Sauve, Sam White and Reed Chumley — accounted for a single, with White driving in the first run and Chumley the next two to put WVU on top for good. Grant Hussey’s sacrifice fly brought in Chumley for the fourth run of the opening frame as the Mountaineers got to Baylor starting pitcher Mason Marriott early.
After Cooper worked a scoreless second, the Mountaineers garnered complete control of the game.
Benjamin Lumsden drew a base-on-balls to start the home half of the second, and after Skylar King was hit by a pitch, Wetherholt belted a three-run home run to center field. It was Wetherholt’s third home run in what marked his 16th game.
“That was his best game of the year from a swing standpoint,” Mazey said. “Solid contact both sides of the field — middle of the field, pull side. His rhythm was good and his timing was good. Maybe since he’s playing short he feels like a complete player now. Who knows, but that was really good to see him back. He and Sauve their first two times up were 4-for-4 between the two of them. That’s what the top of the lineup is supposed to do.”
Leading 7-2, West Virginia continued to take it to the Bears (19-21, 9-10) and added an additional three runs that inning on Kyle West’s RBI single and a Grant Hussey triple, with Hussey coming around to score on that play courtesy of one of four Baylor errors.
Marriott recorded only five outs and allowed nine runs, eight of which were earned, on seven hits and a walk. He was removed in favor of Mason Green, and the Bears got to within six when Zach Mazoch laced a two-out, two-run single in the third. After Cole Posey drew a walk, Cooper, who lasted 2 2/3 innings, was replaced at pitcher by Tyler Switalski.
WVU came to bat in the third leading 10-4 and matched Baylor’s two runs that inning courtesy of Wetherholt and Sauve each accounting for a sacrifice fly. The Bears again hurt their cause that inning with an error.
West, a University of Charleston transfer in his first season at WVU, blasted his 10th home run this season with one out in the fourth to make it 13-4.
“We hve confidence no matter who’s at the plate now. Anyone can do damage at any given second,” West said. “No matter who’s at the dish, confident they’re going to get the job done, and at this rate, exponentially.“
Chumley’s bases clearing triple in the seventh highlighted a five-run frame and marked the final scoring play of the night.
Apodaca and Altman had two hits apiece to combine for half of the Bears’ hit total. Marriott fell to 3-4 with the loss.
West Virginia made the most of its 12 hits and stranded only three baserunners.
Chumley led all players with five RBI, while Wetherholt drove in four runs and scored twice while finishing 2-for-3.
“You can tell when he’s locked into the middle of the field. That’s the result you get,” Mazey said of Wetherholt. “When he gets a little pull happy, he starts pulling off balls and you see some ground balls on the right side. But when he’s locked in on the middle of the field is when he’s at his best.”
Switalski was credited with the win and improved to 2-2 after allowing one run on two hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and issued one walk.
“You just have to make sure you keep your mindset right, stay aggressive and stay within yourself,” Switalski said. “Don’t let the moment get too big. Go out there and throw strikes and let your stuff play. You work on it every single day.”
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GLENVILLE, W.Va. — Less than an hour after grinding out a 2-1, 10-inning win over Doddridge County in the semifinals of the Little Kanawha Conference Tournament, St. Marys had to quickly refocus on a one-loss opponent in the championship game. The Blue Devils did just that in a 4-0 win over Roane County to secure the school’s first LKC title.
“This is huge,” said St. Marys head coach Lacy Riggs. “This was goal number one on our list for the year.”
After pitching six relief innings in the semifinal, Cali Masters allowed just three baserunners against the Raiders. She struck out 14 batters, walked one and yielded just two hits.
“Her riseball was working well and her curveball was working well. And her changeup worked well also.”
St. Marys broke a scoreless stalemate in the third inning. Breanna Price circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run after hitting a liner into the corner in left field.
“I was confident. I thought for sure she was going to make it.”
The Blue Devils added a pair of runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth as part of their nine-hit attack.
“I was a little bit concerned about our bats. We didn’t hit well in game one. But we came out and seemed to bounce right back from it.”
Masters, Price and Zoey Winland each had a pair of base hits for the top-ranked Blue Devils (23-1).
Roane County starter Mahailey Nicholson struck out eight batters while tossing a complete game. Piper Harlan had both of the hits for the No. 5 Raiders (19-2). Roane defeated Wahama, 6-2 in the semifinal round.
Both the Raiders and the Blue Devils will open double-elimination sectional play next week.
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WHEELING, W.Va. — Photo gallery from Weir’s 4-1 win over Indian Creek, Ohio in the OVAC 4A Championship game.
(Photo gallery by Teran Malone)
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Zach Frazier made history throughout his storied West Virginia career, starting 46 games and 37 consecutively at center, while earning All-American honors twice and All-Big 12 Conference status on three occasions.
On Friday, Frazier became West Virginia’s highest draft pick in eight years when he was selected in the second round with the 51st overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A native of Fairmont who excelled on the gridiron and as a wrestler at Fairmont Senior High School, Frazier enjoyed a decorated four-year career with the Mountaineers, and won’t have to go far to begin his professional career.
The wait is over
@zfrazier54
@steelers pic.twitter.com/jJbfsNQLlA
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) April 27, 2024
“I just know how much offensive line means to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their long tradition of having great o-linemen and great offensive lines,” said Frazier. “It’s special. They already went to the offensive line in the first round. It’s special. I am excited.
“They’re getting a hard worker who is going to give everything he has to the organization to win football games. I couldn’t be more excited.”
“We’re extremely excited to bring Zach into the program,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. “It is rare when you find a guy with that kind of pedigree and the amount of snaps he has in college. Certainly with his background in wrestling, he has been a high-achiever his whole life.”
He played extensively in his first college season, starting nine of the team’s 10 contests at left guard. Frazier went on to be named a freshman All-American by several national services.
Ahead of the 2021 season, he moved to center, where Frazier would spend the rest of his time at WVU.
Sixteen times throughout the course of his Mountaineer career Frazier was named the team’s offensive lineman of the week and he allowed one sack in a West Virginia uniform.
Getting the call from Coach T
@zfrazier54 pic.twitter.com/DGT7aLSlpx
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 27, 2024
Frazier’s career ended one game earlier than it otherwise could have when he suffered a fractured fibula in the regular season finale at Baylor, forcing him to miss the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against North Carolina. He recovered quick enough to participate in some drills at the NFL Combine eight weeks ago.
Frazier is the first WVU player taken in the second round since quarterback Geno Smith was chosen by the New York Jets in 2013. He is West Virginia’s highest draft pick since safety Karl Joseph went in the first round in 2016.
.@pat_fry5 announced the pick of @zfrazier54
: #NFLDraft on NFLN/ABC/ESPN pic.twitter.com/d3oS3OnlVi
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 27, 2024
Frazier becomes West Virginia’s 45th player picked in the last 20 drafts, including the fifth offensive lineman over that time.
He is the second alumnus of Fairmont Senior to be drafted in the last two years, joining his former high school and college teammate Dante Stills with that honor. Stills, a defensive lineman, was a sixth-round selection of the Arizona Cardinals a year ago.
Frazier’s selection ensures West Virginia’s had at least one player chosen in 20 of the last 22 drafts. The two years the Mountaineers didn’t were 2006 and 2022.
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BECKLEY, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin spoke Friday to members of the American Postal Workers Union at their annual convention in Beckley.
Manchin fielded a number of questions about the U.S. Postal Service and he also talked about the recent decision by the USPS to change the operations at the processing and distribution facility in Charleston at Southridge to a local processing center.
Manchin said he’s still waiting for the agency to answer his request for an audit of how the decision was made.
“There’s no need for them to delay this audit because they had to make a decision. Just show us how you made this decision and we’ll tell you if the audit is going to be acceptable or not,” Manchin said.
A review of the Charleston operation began last November. A decision was announced April 2 that some operations will be heading to Pittsburgh, PA and Pennwood, PA.
Manchin wants to know why.
“Tell us why you did what you did–why you changed everything,” he said.
Manchin said he can’t be convinced that moving some of the operations to Pittsburgh will be more efficient.
“Most of Charleston (Processing & Distribution Center) serves the rural area, when you look at West Virginia as we know it and you look over in Kentucky and down into Virginia and those are all rural areas. And you tell me that Pittsburgh will be able to serve them? I don’t think so but we’ll see,” Manchin said.
Initial results from the postal service projected the loss of 26 positions at the Charleston facility with the move. Union officials have said they believe the number will be higher.
WJLS Radio Reporter Keith Thompson contributed to this story.
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WHEELING, W.Va. — Photo gallery from Morgantown’s 4-3 win over John Marshall in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference 5A Championship game.
(Photo gallery by Teran Malone)
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GLENVILLE, W.Va. — Mahailey Nicholson struck out a dozen batters as Roane County advanced to the championship game of the Little Kanawha Conference Tournament with a 6-2 win over three-time defending Class A state champion Wahama.
Nicholson tossed a three-hitter and she allowed just one earned run.
The No. 5 Raiders (19-1) posted three-run frames in the first and the fifth innings. Nicholson and Fair Smelko each had multi-hit games for the Raiders.
Elissa Hoffman went the distance in the circle for the No. 7 White Falcons (14-8). She struck out eight batters.
Roane County will face St. Marys in the LKC Championship game at 7:30 p.m. St. Marys defeated Doddridge County, 2-1 in 10 innings in the other semifinal.
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MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Photo gallery from John Marshall’s 6-5 win over Brooke on Senior Night.
(Photo gallery courtesy of Robert Ovies Sports Photography)
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ELEANOR, W.Va. — Organizers are getting ready to host food trucks for an annual event on Putnam County Fairgrounds in Eleanor.
The 6th annual West Virginia Food Festival will be held from 1-5 p.m. Saturday.
More than a dozen food trucks will be on site. Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Kelli Steele said the food is the highlight in addition to craft beer, live music and outdoor games.
“We always have some lawn games. You can play cornhole, lawn Jenga, Connect 4, people can toss the Frisbee around,” Steele said during an appearance on “580 Live” hosted by Dave Allen on 580-WCHS.
There’s a VIP ticket option from 12-1 p.m. Tickets are free after 1 p.m.
“It gives people an opportunity to make sure that they’re not waiting in line for an extra long line and to try multiple trucks before the lines get crowded,” Steele said.
Proceeds will go to benefit the Putnam County Library System.
“Each year we choose a different non-profit partner and any profits that are received from the festival, along with proceeds from our raffle basket and donations, go to a different non-profit each year and this year is the Friends of the Putnam Library,” Steele said.
To view a list of the food truck vendors and find more information about Saturday’s event, visit wvfoodtruckfestival.com.
The Putnam County CVB and Chamber of Commerce are hosting the event.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department has identified the man killed in a truck crash earlier this week near Morgantown.
Deputies said Bradley Fairman, 57, of Fairmont, lost control of the box truck he was driving on Smithtown Road near the intersection with Smithtown School Road at 7:21 p.m. Wednesday.
Investigators said the truck struck a large culvert.
When first responders got to Fairmont he was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.
The crash investigation is ongoing, according to Sheriff Perry Palmer.
Volunteer firefighters from Triune Halleck and Clinton District, Mon EMS and Marion EMS assisted at the scene.
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