The Final Out on Baseball Season

Today's guests include Chris George, Chris Johnson, and Greg Carey. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Sports fans, it's time for the Friday Free for All.
Over the next two hours, we'll bring you all the
latest from across the region in high school and college sports.
Now Here are your hosts, Chris Johnson and Alex Wiederspield.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Friday Free for All, brought to you
by Dan Cavato to be a GMC. Great to be
here today with you, folks. Thanks for being here with us,
and yeah, we've got a good show for you. Lined up.
Baseball season is over, high school baseball season, the least
legion ball getting set to get underway, and we'll talk
about that coming up in just a little bit. But

(00:40):
we have four champions. Four champions have been crowned in baseball,
they've been crowned in softball, and that that'll do it.
WVU is over their season ended, of course with the
loss to LSU. That's pretty much it for baseball unless
you're a Major League fan, which you know, if you're
in this area, hopefully not the Pirates. Here's who we've

(01:00):
got coming up on the show today. So we're gonna
talk with Greg Carey, little Mountainer Baseball action. I got
a chance to catch up with Greg earlier this week,
and we're gonna break down the changing expectations around Mountaineer Baseball.
Also had an opportunity to chat with our buddy Chris Johnson,

(01:21):
who we may not get a chance to talk with
next week. So Chris joins the show and Chris George
leads off the show. That's all coming up right here
on the Friday Free for All. And then for our
final segment today, I've got a special combo platter for you,
if you will, That's what I'm calling it. Right now.
I'm gonna do a little best of taking some snippets

(01:44):
from some of my favorite coach interviews over the course
of the baseball season and smushing them together. So you're
gonna hear during that segment that's way way way at
the back end of the show. You're gonna hear from
John Carpenter of Philip Barber. You're gonna hear from Derek
Bowen of RCB. They obviously had a fantastic season this year,
just couldn't quite make it as far as they wanted.

(02:04):
And you're gonna hear from Frank tative South Harrison. They
also came up just short, losing to Philip Barber. The
eventual runners up in the state regional round, I should say,
in the in the regional finals. All that's coming up
here on the Friday Free for All brought to you
by Dan Cavtseota Buick GMC. We are back right after
this with Chris George to lead things off.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Time for more high school sports talk on the Dan
Cavatoyota Wick GMC Friday Free for All.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
This is the Friday Free for All brought to you
by Dan Kavateota Buick GMC. And as we always do
during baseball season, our leadoff hitter is Chris George. What's
up man? Good morning? How are you.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Slowest widdest leadoff hitter in the state.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Maybe I set you right up for that one. That's good,
really good. Well, yeah you actually and I will say,
sometimes you back clean up for us, though today you
are leading. You are leading off the show. Though I
did a couple of times I've had you hit clean
up for us, so you might be more fit in
that cleanup role.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
I think I think I set the table better because
my power is gone, not that I had any to
begin with, but let's just table and hey with way
is today? You know, leadoff hitters today. Who knows who's
baton one or two. In today's lineups. You'll see bigger, heavier,
sick guys that have isld base persons hit one or two.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
So here we go exactly there are times, right, nothing
wrong with getting walked, right Uh so like that and
well and LS you proved that by the way when
they when they beat WVU the last weekend. But let's
let's start with high school ball. I want to, of course,
want to get your impressions of the of the state
title games. All four champions not coming from within the

(03:47):
North central region, Philip Barbara and Morgantown wind up being
the only ones from north central West Virginia to make
it all the way to the title game. But East
Hardy Wheeling Central both come away with the victories in
Class Single A and uh and Class Double A. And
Philip Barber of course falls in the Class Double A

(04:08):
one unfortunately wasn't particularly close. They went down uh seven
nothing in that one. East Hardy as as you had noted,
and again just absolutely uh spot on. East Hardy gets healthy,
gets the job done, ultimately wins the whole darn thing.
Ripley takes care of business in Class Triple A and
then Hurricane in Class Quadruple A. And those are your

(04:29):
four state champs. So a little bit of a down
year for north central West Virginia. Did get two teams
into the final and congratulations to them. But again, yeah,
let's get some let's get some takeaways. What was your
ultimate I guess impression from these games?

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Well we'll start single A. East Tardy. You know, they
said the most talent of any bandying a tournament. They
just haven't been healthy all year, and it's got it.
They got Evan Tembleton back towards the end of the
regular season. Sure it's healthy. What did he play well?
And then they got Scott's back for the state championship game.
I know he's not healthy, but he played. He once
to win a state title. He actually pitched three score

(05:04):
of innings of relief and he had two hits in
the game, so he was a factor there. And East
Tardy just right. They rode Uncle Moe all the way
to the state championship game. They were the underdog in
their region. In fact, they Tigart's Valley from Mill Creek
was the one seed and East Tardy went there and
won game one and they won game two in Baker

(05:25):
to get themselves at the state tournament, and they just
they just wrote Uncle Moe. And they played such a
strong schedule throughout the year. They played Muscleman, they played Frankfort,
they played Jefferson, they played some really good teams Eastern Panhandle,
and they took their beatings, they really did. They won some.
There was a couple of surprising winnings in there, including

(05:46):
over Musclming, But all in all, they got healthy when
it mattered the most. And those are winners.

Speaker 4 (05:50):
Man.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
Those kids are all sport athletes over there, and I've
covered a lot of their sports over the years, and
I did a lot of games for Tucker County and
those kids are good, hard working kids and they play everything.
And their winners and congratulations to them winning single, a
uh double A. You know, very very proud, got it,
very proud. I know, I am Philip Barbara. What can

(06:13):
you say. I think we knew they were good. Coach
Carpenter knew they were good. I don't think the rest
of the state respected them like we did, and they
sure got a lot of respect once the state tournament
came to a close. Winning Central did have their way
with them, but it was a very good run for
Philip Barber. The win over Logan was was very good

(06:34):
for that program. Logan's a historical good program and the
first time they've been down in the state since the
what I believe the seventies, I think it was. And
they'll be back. They got a lot of players back
next year and I think they'll be right back in
position to get back in l A State tournament a
year from now. Triple A. I knew it's going to

(06:55):
come down between Ripley and Frankfurt. I really did. In
that game was Ripley jumping out to a five to
nothing lead and Jackson Curry and the Castoke Bryce Caste,
two of the best players in the state. Casto very
good picture but more known for his player short He's
a WU commit, only a sophomore. That's scary. Jackson Curry,

(07:17):
a senior, has been looked at in many schools. I
knew Marsh's looking at him last summer in a game
I was at with Legion Baseball down at Saint Albans
High School. I was impressed with him. I was like, WHOA,
He's gonna be someone to deal with next year. And
was he ever a great game for Curry, the complete
game and a difference when they jumped out five to nothing.
And I noticed just in the Bridgeport game and Frankfort

(07:37):
a week or so ago in Game two, Bridgeport jumped
out to that big and Frankfort didn't recover. And that's
what Ripley did. They jumped on him with a five
spot in the second inning and Frankfort just was not
themselvesssed away thanks thanks to Jackson, Curry and the Vikings.
I think that game could have easily went the other
way had Frankfort jumped out Ripley. I think he could

(08:00):
easily went the other way there, but it didn't. And
triple A I really didn't have a favorite there. I
knew all those he could win. I thought Morgantown winning
against Hedgesville or Oregantown winning against George Washington was a
surprise of the whole weekend. You'll take nothing away from Morgantown.
I did not see that coming. Slave Barton just didn't

(08:20):
have it. I mean, he's a WU commit, but his
control all over the place. Walked five at an inning
plus and then credit Morgantown out early. George Washington came
from behind made it interesting, But then the Mos got
the win and I just lost to Weston Smith and
Hurricane Hurricane was the better team in that on that night.
I'm not sure the best down in Quade, but Hurricanes

(08:42):
very good. Can't take it away from him. I'm pretty
sure the best teams or teams represented all the other classes.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
When you look at how the winners went about getting
their wins, does it change anything for you in terms
of what you ultimately think the way the best teams
are structured to get this far, to get the job done?
Does it change anything for you, especially as we head
into a new tournament format a year from now. Did
anything about this stand out to you in that regard

(09:13):
in terms of how teams are structured or do you
think generally speaking the teams, Well, the names may have
been different, but they were structured kind of the same
way they've always been.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
Yeah, they were the only differences for classes this year,
So it was a little water down a single ag
This was a good East started team. They were the
best of what was there, but they weren't the East Tardy.
I've seen much better eastarting teams last three or four years.
But after the rest of the classifications kind of worked out.
I thought you got your best teams there. I thought
your best teams won it in every class. You make

(09:45):
an argument with Hurricane and Triple A, but hurri also
is a team that could have won it, and they
did win it. Next year, it's going to change strasscally.
I do not like it. I know a lot of
people I've talked that don't have any involvement with the
high school process don't like it. Uh, it's going to
be a massive single A because there's not very many
single A team have three pitchers. Really, they're one or

(10:05):
two deep, no matter how good they are. Uh, it's
going to be the team with the with the deepest pitching.
It's going to survive the thing, and it's the team
that's gonna be able to hit the ball as well.
And it's going to be a slug fast all the
way you're out.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
You know.

Speaker 3 (10:19):
I don't know. It's we'll see how it plays. I
think we're getting to the point now where I think
some of the coaching I wouldn't say coaches, some of the
boarder control, whether it's principals or athletic directors that make
up the boarder control not. The SSAC have no blame
in this so all whatsoever. Sometimes I worry about them,
thinking that more teams to be need to be involved

(10:40):
down there, but I think it's also an honor to
get there playing basketball. You know, it's a little different
setup for basketball. I don't mind as much for basketball
because it's always been eight in each class. Football has
always been sixteen. But imagine football going to twenty four.
That's kind of what this few like. For baseball going

(11:01):
to eight in each class. I'd have been signed with
a four team doublelimination tournament, not eight, Not an eighteen
single elimination tournament. I'm not a fan of that, but
I'm a baseball so I'm gonna watch. I'm gonna be
dialed in for the most part, and see what happens
is this and see how it goes.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, again, eight really does seem like a lot. I
just don't see. Again, we've we've talked about this logistically.
I know that there are there are some serious concerns.
I'm always gonna be a fan of big tournaments, and
I like more teams getting a chance to go, but
we've definitely seen the downside of that in the past.
So that's a that's for sure a story that we're

(11:40):
gonna be paying close attention to. Now, a little teaser
here for the folks at home. We're gonna have Greg
Carrey h While I should rephrase this, I talked with
Greg Carry a couple of days ago. So we're gonna
get deeper into Mountaineer baseball. We're gonna do an entire
Mountaineer baseball segment coming up a little bit later in
the show. But I'm gonna pose a question, Chris to
you that I posed to Greg earlier this week when

(12:00):
we talked about the Mountaineers. Do you feel like, based
on what has now happened with WU baseball back to
back years in the Super Regional tournament or in the
Super Regional round three straight years in the tournament, have
they now changed expectations enough that the realistic expectation for
this Mountaineer team should be that basically every year, save

(12:23):
you might have an occasional off year, but say three
out of every four years, or two out of every
three years, or four out of every five years, some
consistency they should be in at bare minimum just in
the tournament at this point, is that the new baseline
for Mountaineer baseball based on where they're now at.

Speaker 3 (12:43):
Local yes, regionally, no national, No, because only thing national
cares about c SEC and how many teams go, well,
sure they don't care, and they care about the Florida
State's I means the Clemsons of the world in the ACC.
It's gonna be like that forever. Yeah, as far as
the national perspective goes, nobody there's about West Virginia baseball

(13:06):
except for maybe the Big Twelve, okay, because that's the
conference we're in. But they're still not going to get
respected in the conference at twelve. I guarantee when the
media poll comes out next year, there'll be no better
than fourth and fifth. They will never get the respect
they're just due, except for at home within the Northeast.
Right now, they're considered a top baseball program in the Northeast.

(13:27):
But what does that mean in college baseball? Not a
darn thing, as college baseball is a West coast, Southern
golf coast and in the Eastern Seaboard type of league.
If you look at in Ohio State, no one even
knows that they have baseball because it's irrelevant. It's midwest, north, north, midwest,
great Lakes baseball but irrelevant, and there's some good baseball

(13:49):
up there. I remember when Michigan the College World Series
a couple of years ago. They weren't even a national
seat and there went all the way to the finals
and they're like, well, who's Michigan's pretty good? There's teams
all across the country are pretty good. It's baseball. Baseball
is deeper than any collegiate sports when it comes to
Division one and Division two. I mean, look at our

(14:11):
ace pitcher this year. You know, Griffin Kern's a Division
two pitch that turned out to be an All American.
So base deep all across the country. West Virginia I
think can compete, and should they set the standard. They
set the bar. It should be reached every year, and
sooner or later they're going to knock down that door
and get don't fall. When that's going to be, I

(14:33):
don't know, but it's going to have to be soon,
I would think. As for this year, I thought this
was a regional team. I never thought this team would
make the Super Regionals, but they did so they exceeded
my expectations. Now, I didn't think they had a great
shot against LSU, and it turned out. That's what it
turned out. It's because our pitching wasn't where it needed
to be. It wasn't right down the whole last month

(14:55):
of season. The bullpen's era was very large, and they
just didn't hit the well as well for Lana as
they did get last year as a team, but they
had a little bit of magic this year kind of
got them through the and you're kind of hoping that
magic would carry. But let's use a difference. Man, that's
a heck of a program down there, or they're gonna
have several kids draft of off that team. But yeah,
with within this area West Virginia, definitely, that's the that's

(15:18):
thought stick expectation, and it's called had to take maybe
five or six of these before the rest of nation
starts to come around. I'll be honest with you.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
Well, if they if they're able to do this another
three times without taking a break, I think that'd be
pretty pretty impressive. Again, they're they're kind of a unique
spot and there's definitely some some challenges with the weather.
I mean, you you've noted it's a West coast and
southern uh southern focused game at this point, but uh no,
I think that's I think that's fair. I would be

(15:49):
curious to see if three years from now, if they
do this three more times again, whether it's just making
the tournament or making the Super regional. Uh where where
exactly they will be from a respect pers back, But
uh it's it's hard not to think that WVU. You know,
there were some questions about whether or not going to
Sabins was going to be the right call, and Randy

(16:10):
Maze really went to bat for Steve Sabins, vouched for
Steve Sabins, and I mean again, Maze kind of has
like this Mitus touch where it just seems like the
guy just knows baseball. That was a really good call
on Steve Sabins, and ultimately his endorsement made a huge
difference this year.

Speaker 3 (16:31):
I think it's now's the time to see if Sabans
can build this program zone because he was left a
bunch of what Rasing Randy Mazey had behind. Now Sabans
is going to build his own. I think that's that
he needs to make a show. What can he build?
You know, I think there are some additions he can
make to a staff that can help. In the offseason,
We'll see kind of keep that off there. I got

(16:52):
a couple of opinions on what they made do. I
thought Jed Jerko tremendous asset to this team. I mean,
here's a former Major leaguer that players know that can
really too. He just played the game not too long ago,
and he kind of gives baseball side of things for
Steve Sabins, who's known as a great hitting instructor, is
also very analytical in his approach, where Jed Cherco can
kind of give you the the game. I think the

(17:13):
combination worked well. I think they're gonna have to do
some Uh they're gonna have to do some work with
the pitching staff next year. They really got to get
better there. They get better. They got to have fig
at least four starters they can really you know, put
a lot of faith in. They got to stay healthy,
and they gotta find a bullpen that can be consistent,
not just four guys, and they're gonna have to find
six to seven. You saw some of the arms in

(17:33):
the regional you got you got teams going down the three,
four or five deep, and we have we're deep in
that in that bullpen. But guy's struggled with commands so
that's got to improve next year. But you know, I think, uh,
I think he can build it. One thing I'll say
about Sabans is he was with me all those years
and doing all that recruiting. He was a big part

(17:54):
of recruiting classes. Recruiting classes, was Sabans. And if he
conplicate that and add two or through the portal and
continue to build this program, I think this what sheet
program can be better three years from now than what
they are now. And I think that's the bill.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
That's what I was going to ask you about the bullpen.
How many pictures do you think they realistically need to
be functional when they get to this point in the
postseason six or seven? Okay, yeah, because they definitely didn't
have enough this year, and.

Speaker 3 (18:21):
We saw it against us. If you've got four hours,
you can ride on maybe five or six, but if
you only have two or three starters, six or seven
arms down there, you got to because you got to
keep guys stretch. You can't. That's what hurt this year.
Towards the end of the year, Passenger, uh In Streache
and a couple of those other guys were just worn out.
You could tell if they were just tired and Jed Jerker.

(18:42):
You kind of talked about that on the sport I said,
we had a tire bullpen atee in the year. You know,
a lot of our young freshmen pictures didn't develop like
they thought they would. They're going to develop, They're going
to be okay. But yet guys, you know, like last
clock and firm and just like six or seven innings
all year. You can't have that in posts. You got
to have guys have a little stronger depth in the pitching.

(19:03):
And when you rely on freshmen now's you know, these
freshmen those two missions are talented. Now, they're talented arms,
but they're not ready. But they'll be ready someday. And
I think with the portal being what it is, I
think you have a shot to go in there and
maybe get more experienced arms. But they're still going to
have to rely on freshmen and recruiting and have done
a good job with that. And I think again, I

(19:23):
think the I think it's only going to get better
from the here. I expect this to be a better
hitting team next year. I think they'll find pitching and
if they is healthy, I think they've got a great
shot to get back to where they were, But health's
the main thing. Got to stay healthy. Wes was healthy
for the most part this year.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
Okay, so let's uh, let's switch gears over to Legion ball,
which is where I want to wrap the show. Of course,
it's it's now underway with with high school ball ending. Uh,
Legion baseball is going around Chris, of course. Uh, you
are uh pretty much the guy to talk to about
Legion baseball in the state of West Virginia. You want
to go over some of the biggest storylines and biggest
name tams that folks can expect to play across this summer,

(20:04):
who are basically going to be getting ready for They're
going to be competing now hoping to get better, you know,
with a chance to compete next season in the high
school game and beyond.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
Yeah, for those that don't know, I have been the
assistant state chairman for the last several years. Now I
am state chairman. It was named during the off season
to that post, and it's an honor. It's something I've
I've achieved to do from nyers. To be honest with you,
probably what I got out of coaching earlier than I
did to get this, and I got it, and I'm
honored to do it because I love it. I'm actually

(20:37):
having more fun doing this and I did seventeen years
of coach and to be honest with you, but as
the team area, let's just start locally, you know, let's
just start with Bridgeport right here. Picked up their first
win their opening game of the season last night, eight
to two over Buchanan Post seven. In Bridgeport team this summer,
Kobe Carpenter, the former Lincoln stand out also the offensive

(21:00):
coordinator over there at Lincoln, is the head coach of
the ancient team in Bridgeport, and he's assembled a great
roster most Bridgeport players that you saw this fast spring
or playing. They've added Vin Alloy from Morgantown who lives
in Bridgeport, which makes him legal to play Bridgeport and
he didn't have to sign a release for the Alloy
is going to play first some pitch for Post sixty eight.

(21:22):
Then he had a couple Fairmont senior product were very
talented this year. Cam Pecial, an outfielder hit the ball well,
Logan Canfield, the left handed pitcher and an outfielders while
the top fish from Fairmont this past spring, and Sammy Viennie,
a nineteen year old. So by rule, nineteen year olds
can play legion kids that finished their freshman year call
as long as they don't turn twenty later this year.

(21:43):
There's a couple of seniors that kind of where they
were enrolling school kind of hit that twenty year old
mark in December and November in eligible, but most of
them are Viennie's back and Bridgeport gets marked four back.
He was a standout last year on that Bridgeport High
School baseball led the team in home runs. He's back
in the middle of that lineup and all of all
the other Bridgeport players from this past high school season.

(22:05):
O when son Ricer picked up the win today in
five solid Indians against buck Cann the Buckhannon team that
as well as is they're one and one, they're they're talented.
They got from buck Can Upshire, they got a couple
of Lewis County players that are really good and Joanaclem
and Uh and Uh and a couples there, and they
also got a couple of Philip Barbara kids that were

(22:26):
released over to play them u Uh, Nick Gonzales and
Grant Harris Grand Versus, one of the top pitchers on
the Philip Barbara team this past year and getting Gonzales
as an outfield, infield pitcher as well at fielder, infielder
and a pitcher, and he actually beat Bridgeport this year
in the regular season, so it was Gonzalez who took
the loss last night. However, in the Legion contest, it's

(22:48):
going to be a good Buchanan team. Clarksburg locally going
to be young this year. They have a lot of
a Notredine flavor on the team, with a couple of
Robert C. Bird the South Harrison standouts as well, also
a couple of older kids back from a year ago.
Morgantown the running up from the state last year, the
Area two champions. They have a ton of veteran experienced

(23:10):
back this year, a bunch of nineteen year olds that
are just finished their freshman year of college. They're currently
two and one a year. They lost last night to
a very good Napoleon, Ohio team from Toledo. Morgantown tons
of experience that you know. Tristan Mills of pitching staff,
he was a Morgantown hot ace pitcher from a year
ago and he just kind of looked you look your

(23:32):
way across the line up from there, so they got
some of the older kids back. Dylan Travinsky was an
All Conference pick last year for the Morgans in the
High Valley Conference. He was the player of the year.
Also back in Jones from Faremont Senior. He's down in
Cogcord this past year. He's a nineteen year old. And
you know, just to name a few, Mason Cheney from
Univerity High School played at West Liberty this past year,

(23:55):
and a couple current high school They got some good
high school products from both Morgantown and Universe. The mixed
team with that team this year. Outside the area, Charleston
Post ninety fourth, drawing from all the great schools down
the Canall Valley. They're based school South Charleston. They have
a couple of kids there, but they get the majority
of the kids from Washington, Saint Albans, a couple of
Hurricane players mixed in. Also Beckley, the Beckley Bash Post

(24:20):
thirty two off from like eight high schools. They even
got a couple of kids from Virginia. They're gonna be
really good. They're loaded. Uh, they're going to be a factor.
Then over in Eastern panandle Berkeley County, Post fourteen to
get the best from Martinsburg and Jefferson with Musselman in
Washington in North Berkeley Post sixty. They get the rest
from Hedgesville, Spring Mills and Berkeley Springs and mc Valley.

(24:43):
That's where you're East Tardey, the Moorefield, the Pendleton, Frankfurt's
the Kaiser. Now they didn't gave Frankfurt kids this year.
I don't know what's going on our new coach, uh so,
I'm not sure what the story was there. Tonic Valley
will be okay, that's kind of what we're looking at.
Of course, Born Panhandle. I leave the best pass of
defending state champions from your Wheeling. They're gonna be very
good again. They have several players met Williams Central team

(25:05):
that won the state title. A ton of Lensley kids
really really good. Some of Leslie kids are the best
players in the state. And Clean Sub Murray, the shortstop
who was the player of the Year last year in
Legion baseball. He's only a he'll be a senior next year.
And they got some kids as well from Tyler Solidated
and a couple from william Parks. So that's kind of
how the state looks this year just kind of getting underway.

(25:25):
We're three weeks in. Reminded people listening in if you
want to see some good baseball that Tim Bucks Shields
were more tournament over at Bridgeport, Frank Lauria Field, Nunner Fort,
Robert C. Burn and Liberty High School. There'll be games
all there, Frida Sarity and also some on Sunday as well.
Check it out to Tim Buck Memorial Classic. The second

(25:46):
year for this great tournament. The teams in at Bridgeport,
Clarksburg's in as well, and some of the great teams
from the state outside of the state as well. Go
out and take it in. It's gonna be some good
baseball this week.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
It's tough. Thanks Chris. I know you've had a obviously,
you put a lot into baseball over the course of
the high school season. It's a very very abbreviated season
because of how many games they get in over a
short period of time. The big question is when's your
next pirate game.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
A week from today, I go up to see uh
Texas Rangers coming up on the twentieth, and by getting
and then on twenty seventh, I'll be there to see
the Mets. Then I got a game in July, in
a game in August to wrap up my six game
stretch for Pirates Baseball during the summer. Had a good
game last Friday, they wanted to bottom the ninth over
the Phillies, who end up sweeping last week in a

(26:37):
three game sweep. And then you know, Pirates five of
the last six heading into the CUB Series which started
last night. They're better, but I don't know. Offense Still,
this offense changed.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
They didn't they start, didn't They sweep the Phillies and
they only scored five runs in the whole series.

Speaker 5 (26:54):
Yep, that's why.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, that's crazy. That is That is nuts. I love that.
That is Hey, they pitch. We know that they can
certainly pitch. Chris, thanks for all your help this season.
Could not do the baseball version of the show without you.
And obviously we'll be talking with you during the summer
as we as we start switching gears to football, we'll
still be checking in on what's going on with Legion

(27:16):
Ball over the course of the next couple of months.
So much appreciated for all that you do for the
show and for baseball across the state. Thanks man.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
Should be a fun summer. Get out washed, some good
legion baseball, a lot of talented players to keep an
eye on this summer.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
Very good. This is the Friday Free for All brought
to you by Dan Cavataeota Buick GMC. We're back after.

Speaker 1 (27:37):
This time for more high school sports talk on the
Dan cavatoyot wah GMC Friday Free for All.

Speaker 2 (27:46):
This is the Friday Free for All, brought to you
by Dan Cavataeota Buick GMC. Alex Wheederspiel here with you.
Good morning, Happy Friday. Glad to be here with you, folks, friends,
and thanks for joining us. We have officially reached that
time of the year. It is a the laziest few
weeks of the year. Football summer camps have not quite

(28:06):
gotten some have gotten underway, but not really in mass yet,
and the baseball title has been decided. So we've got
a little bit of nothing for a few weeks. But
we are gonna recap everything that went down last weekend,
plus talk about some other things. All state lists are
coming out. Chris Johnson, my regular co host, is here
with us on the phone today. Chris, what's up, man,

(28:28):
mag what's going on?

Speaker 5 (28:29):
Good morning, Good.

Speaker 2 (28:32):
Morning, it's weird. You know, this time of year is
always so strange to me because it just feels like
like we go all year and we covered more baseball
this year than we ever have before, which was great,
really enjoyed that, really got a chance to learn much
more about high school baseball this year. And at the

(28:52):
same time, there's a certain emptiness because it is finally
over and we've got a few weeks until we can
start really digging our teeth into football. But uh yeah,
a little strange.

Speaker 5 (29:03):
Yeah, uh no, it's kind of that that weird time
of year.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
You know.

Speaker 5 (29:08):
We got some North South you know North South stuff
coming up this weekend and we'll talk about in just
a minute. But other than that, I mean, you know,
there's you know, flex day events here and there, you
know throughout the state. The Bridgepoor volleyball team actually has
a h a summer tournament uh tomorrow at home. There
should be a lot of really good volleyball teams there

(29:30):
for that if any volleyball fans out there want to
go check that out, you know, be about an all
day event. So, uh, like I said, you get some
events like that this time of year, and until it's
always gonna be you kind of hit or miss, you know,
what's going on in a certain area until we get
to that official start or practice at start of August.

Speaker 2 (29:54):
It's true.

Speaker 5 (29:55):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (29:55):
And on that note, let's talk a little bit about
last weekend. Obviously for state champs, all crowned and this
year no representation for north central West Virginia. Philip Barber
loses in the Class Double A title game, Morgantown loses.
Any takeaways, any major takeaways from the state tournament and results,

(30:17):
Any surprises for you from the end results?

Speaker 4 (30:20):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (30:22):
No, really major surprises. You know. I'll start with quaud A.
I know Hurricane been playing really well during the latter
half of the regular season. They seem like they went
into this thing with a whole lot of momentum, So
wasn't surprised all see them. They'll pull that thing out

(30:47):
trip away. I mean, I feel like there's about eight
teams you can take any combination of and trip away
and put them in a series against each other, or
you know that old saying, Well, if they played tens,
you know, I think Bridgeport and Frankfurt they played ten
times and each win five. I think Ripling Frankfurt played
in state title game ten times, they each win five.

(31:08):
You know, last Saturday just happened to be you know,
you know, Ripley's day, Philip Barber, I mean maybe the
most exciting game of the tournament. You came into Semis
when they knocked off a logan Uh. You know last Thursday,
Uh kind of went right down to the wire, Grant
Harris coming up with a huge strikeout, you know on

(31:31):
the mound. You know that we were the bases were
loaded in the one run game, so really came through
in the clutch. But uh, Philip Barber ran into a
buzzsaw on Wheeling Central. I mean, look what Wheeling Central
did into two games of Charleston Pitt. In both games combined,
they allowed three hits.

Speaker 2 (31:50):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (31:51):
So you know they had, you know, two studs on
the mound that really got the job done for them.
And then you know, in single way, you know, Chris
George uh uh kind of kind of predicted this, you know,
to some extent because you know, you know, East Hardy
went into that thing with a losing record. He said,
I'm telling you what, keep an eye out on them

(32:12):
because I guess you know, they were really battling some
injuries throughout the early portion of the season playing really
well down in the stretch, it's just just goes to
show if you can find a way to get into
the tournament. And that's when you're playing in your best
baseball the season, you know, good things can happen. So,
you know, hats off to Hurricane Ripley, Charleston Catholic, and

(32:32):
East Hardy. We're getting, you know, the last four state
championships of the year.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
I think that's spot on about about East Hardy. Uh
and and Chris really did, I mean he nailed it
basically saying like, look they they weren't healthy all year,
and look what happened when they were healthy. It's it's
not like this wasn't some fluke where they they just
got hot. They they got healthy, and what a difference
it makes. And it is worth noting that, like being

(32:57):
healthy isn't the only thing, because you get that happens
all the time where at every level of sports where
you know, guys get healthy and it's still not quite
enough to push them over the top, either to get
them into a postseason bid or get them to a championship,
because you know, sometimes guys come back they're not one
hundred percent, but they are capable of at least playing.

(33:18):
Sometimes guys come back and they're rusty and they need
time to acclimate, and they don't really have that time.
They just have to get thrown right into the most
difficult games of the season. And it all kind of
worked together. So there's a little bit of luck in
there for East Hardy. But at the same time, you know,
you recognize it that they weren't just they didn't just
have some magic glow up. They did get what they needed,

(33:40):
which was they got healthy at the right time.

Speaker 5 (33:43):
Right, you're exactly right, So yeah, pretty much the same.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
I think my other big takeaway is just Philip Barber
and how far the athletic program has continued to go,
and that really the boys are catching up to where
girls sports had been for a while, and we're constantly
talking about them, and the certainly dropping down to four
classifications has made this even a little bit a little
bit more pronounced. But Philip Barbara, looks like they're gonna

(34:11):
be a perennial playoff team in almost every sport we
talk about.

Speaker 3 (34:15):
Now.

Speaker 5 (34:16):
Yeah, no, that's a great point. I mean, you look
what the football team has been doing. I mean you
just right now. I mean, you would have to predict
them to be, you know, a playoff caliber team. Again,
both boys and girls basketball programs have been strong. You know,

(34:38):
we're not too far removed from you know, the girls
program playing for a state title and they were one
of the youngest teams in the state this year, so
they you know, they're getting used to to play a
new important, big time postseason games. You know. The volleyball
program speaks for itself, you know, arguably, you know, the

(35:00):
most consistently dominant, you know program in the state. Best
girls and boys soccer programs have been really really good.
Now you throw baseball through the mix. You know, it's
there for a few years. You know, track and field
and cross country was a program strength as well. Both

(35:20):
sports are down been downs a little bit, but you know, overall,
you look at you the big picture. When it comes
to Philip Barber Athletics, it's become a program where they're
not just happy to make it to the state tournament
or the state meet. They expect to get there and

(35:40):
expect them make some noise once they are there. So
that's great, you know, it.

Speaker 6 (35:47):
Just it seems like it's a school and and it
might have something to do with with the size of
the school and being just the one high school in
the county, but each sports seems to feed off of
the other, and I think that's been really cool to
observe that build, you know, the past couple of years.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
Yeah, no, it's it's it's absolutely true and one of
the things we know, so the path has been made
a little easier for them. But at the same time,
you know, we've talked about it before, all the work
that they have done, and this is I mean, man,
when we had Nick meleyon last year, which I'm sure
we'll do again at some point, but he did mention this,
as I remember correctly, talking about how important it was

(36:34):
to get things going at not just not just the
high school level, but there needs to be sort of
a cohesive plan throughout the county, especially when there's only
one high school, and that that does seem to have
really made made a bit of a difference there. So impressive,
impressive for Philip Barber. I feel like we're talking about
them every single season now, so and that's going to continue.

(36:58):
We don't need to, I don't. I'm not gonna harp
on it, but I am impressed by it, Why don't
we switch gears over to the North South All Star
Games that, of course is coming up this weekend and
coming up in multiple sports. Of course, in football, Bridgeport
is going to be sending two representatives. I actually have
hold on I have the list of all the locals

(37:19):
who did make it out of north central West Virginia.
But while I bring that up, talk a little bit
about Alex Moses is on that roster and Donovan Williams
is on that roster. It's a really good group coached
by Lewis Counties Dustin Koger.

Speaker 5 (37:32):
Yeah, and you mentioned you coach malely from Philip Barber.
He's helping, you know, Dustin out you down there this weekend.
H Yeah. I mean when the rosters were first initially
were released, you know, Donovan was the only Bridgeport player
on there. But then when the final rosters came out
and started this week, you know, Alex Moses has been added.

(37:53):
So I think that's awesome that Alex gets one more
high school football game, you know, uh, and and to
get to play with his high school teammate and his
good friend in his future Glenville State, you know, the
teammate and Donovan man. I I've talked a lot about Alex,

(38:13):
you know, throughout the season. I feel like that young
man's a walking highlight reel and I would not be
shocked to see him go down and just do something
that's just like people are like, oh my goodness, look
at this kid, because like if there's a kid that's
made to like shine in like an all star event
like this, and you know, to me, as Alex Moses,
we're just because I mean, he's just I mean, he's

(38:36):
just you know, he's just lightning in a bottle, you know,
every single play, and uh, if he gets a chance
to returning to kick or you know, gets in the
open field on the handoff, where where there's yeah, let's
be an honest, there's not quite as much emphasis on
defense and in these type of events as there is a
regular season games. Uh, I mean, if he can get

(38:57):
loose on in the open field out there, I'm feeling,
you know, Alex is a strong candidate, you know, to
put on a show Saturday afternoon in South Charleston.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
Worth noting, by the way, there is a story up
at the high school sports section of wv metronews dot
com highlighting the North squad coached by Lewis County's Dustin Koger,
and you can check. I recommend that you check that
out the rest of the group as I have them
among the locals. South Harrison's Luke Given, no surprise there,

(39:30):
North Marion sending to Noah Hessngay Bland, Philip Barber, John McGhee,
Richie County, Aidenstrayer and Brayden Hodt, who are both multi
sport athletes. Lewis County sending Maddox Gillespie, Buchanan Ups, you're
sending Colton Wendling, Lincoln sending Aiden Rice, a name we
are very familiar with, Grafton sending Cam Foley. That's a
good addition. And then of course from Fairmont's Senior, no

(39:51):
surprise from either of these names. Cannon Dinger and Brody
white Hair. No shocker there for Fairmont Senior. And again
you can read much more in depth of TV metronews
dot com. That's a good group of names there.

Speaker 5 (40:03):
Oh, absolutely, And you know the story you're mentioning you.
I read through her last night while sitting around rating
for voting precincts that you had to come in from
the Bridgeport nuncipal election and I remember talking to you
about how one of my favorite things about the North
South stuff is the relationships that are built between UH

(40:24):
players that were kind of rivals, you know, throughout their
high school careers and they get to hang out with
someone from another team you know, down there for a week.
You had to get ready for this game, and you know,
the young man from Morgantown talked about how he's gotten
close in just a few days with a couple of
kids from Martinsburg, and and Donovan and Alex from Bridgeport.
To me that that's the best thing about these All

(40:46):
star events is that bond that these elite level athletes
formed in such a quick period of time with someone
who a few months ago, you know, with you know,
arrival out there on the field.

Speaker 2 (41:03):
Yeah, it's a it's a great point. Remind me what
are the dates for the other ones for for basketball
and baseball? Okay, okay, that's right, that's right, gotcha, Okay,
very good. Uh let's wrap here with the all state

(41:24):
softball lists. These have been coming out, and of course
all state baseball lists will be on their way I
imagine next week as well. UH in in Class single
A among the locals Gilmer Counties. Layla Smith made it
as an infielder. Uh. Not a ton of representation locally
in in class uh single A some some trinity again

(41:48):
that's a little far north for us.

Speaker 4 (41:50):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (41:50):
And then in Class double A hold on bringing that
up right now. List is Scarborough for Liberty Freshman honored.
Congratulations to her. Oh you're right, you're right. It is
Liberty rally. Yeah, I guess they don't need to specify
that anymore. Brooke to Haven from Doddridge County and Olivia

(42:14):
c from Doddridge County both honored. Avery McDaniel from Philip
Barber earned and honor. Caitlin Cooper from Philip Barber made
the list. Riley Myers from South Harrison also makes the list.
Rockland Markham from Richie County makes the Class Double A
list as well, and then wrapping up in Class Triple

(42:34):
A on this. On the all state lists we have
Lily Krim, who of course was a standout pitcher in
the Big ten senior from Grafton who made that list.
Courtney Boggs from Lewis County made the list. Riley Pearlman

(42:57):
from Lincoln made that list. And you can check all
of that out at WV metronews dot com. And I
have not seen the Quad A list yet, but I
believe you have seen the Quad A list already.

Speaker 5 (43:09):
Yeah, it's your first you know. You know, uh Lily
Krim from Grafton the second team captain. And there's I know,
off the top of my head, I know Bridgeport had
two uh players on honorable mention, Kylie Anderson and Edison Vigel. Yeah,

(43:29):
the the Quad A team was h let me switch
back over here. I was just I was actually just editing,
you know for you looking at the list again too.
It's uh led by Dre Watts from Cable State champion
Capbell Midlin. She's the first team captain and her stats

(43:52):
are just mind boggling to me. I mean as a pitcher,
she was twenty two and one with a zero point
eight ninety r A. That's uh, it's not bad, so.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
No kidding, And folks, remember you can check all that
out at wvmetronews dot com.

Speaker 5 (44:12):
So, Chris, one thing I can add about, and this
applies to both softball and baseball this year because we
even though the All state baseball teams won't come out
the next week, we have already had the meeting, the
teams have been selected statewide. Great year for catchers. There

(44:32):
are so many for whatever reason, there's so many good
catchers throughout the state in each class. And you know,
I don't want to spoil anything, you know, baseball wise,
but I have been attending and running All state meetings
for decades now. We spent more time trying to iron

(44:58):
out the double A catchers in baseball then I think
any other position in history of any all state meeting
I've been to. It was that position was that loaded
this year. So we did some tweaking. Again, I don't
want to spoil anything, but the overall goal was to

(45:19):
get the best sixteen players represented. So I'm just saying
with double A when it comes to catchers, there may
be more than the usual one or two catchers on
the list than what we're used to because the problem
we kept running into was like, well, we only got
so many spots for you know, catcher you to start

(45:40):
out with. But I'm like, we just kept coming back
to the fact is like, well, okay, but these other
two three kids, is there anyone better in the state
in this player? And like and you know, we kind
of manipulate the positions in all the sports, like I said,
in an effort to get the best players on there.
Like sometimes you might see six linebackers and two defensive

(46:02):
backs of football. Next year it might be reversed. So
I'm like, I just brought it was like, well, why
can't we do that with the catcher position. You know,
we've done it with every other position, you know, whether
it be infield, outfield, or you know, different positions in football.
And again I don't want too who was on there
and who's not, but that's kind of what we had

(46:25):
to do to get what we felt like. We're the
best sixteen players on first team Class Double A baseball
team this year.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
I'm excited to see. I'm excited to see that list
that that should be. That should be really interesting when
that comes out. Those are all due out next week, right.

Speaker 5 (46:41):
Yeah, they will. If listeners have been following the softball schedule,
baseball will follow the same pattern just next week. You know.
Class A will be off Monday, Double A, Tuesday, trip A, Wednesday, Quaude, Thursday,
State Player to the Year Friday.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
Okay, very good, very good, Chris, real quick before I
let you go. So now that we had we do
have a few weeks until we really start having to
focus on football. And the truth is, you know, we
really won't ramp it up until after July fourth is
typically when, so you know, three four weeks of of
of kind of nothing and then things will really start
to ramp up after the fourth of July. Uh. What

(47:20):
are you gonna do with your your extra time without
any sports to really cover right now?

Speaker 4 (47:25):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (47:26):
Any anything good that you're planning on watching, Any trips
you're planning on taking.

Speaker 5 (47:30):
Actually, I got to kind of big trips coming up.
One would be next week, so I may not be
available h next week. Unlet's say, you know, we get
together and record early. But uh uh, me and my
daughter are going to New York City for an event
called FanFest, uh that Fanatics puts on. But uh uh

(47:56):
the biggest highlight for me is, you know, you know,
it's all established. I'm a huge wrestling fan, uh, you know,
huge sports fan in general. My all time favorite athlete,
Cal Ripkins Jr. I'm going to be meeting Cal Ripken Jr.

(48:17):
A week from tomorrow in New or Cities. So yeah,
pretty excited about that. Uh. And Plus I mean I've
been through New York traveling to other places. You know,
been to the airport there, never have done like the
touristyed type stuff. So we're gonna try. We're gonna try to,

(48:39):
uh we get there on Friday. We're gonna try to
at least get to the nine to eleven Memorial. Uh
maybe uh just go walking around Central Park, you know
for a little bit. Uh definitely will probably be trying
some uh a slice of New York style piece of someplace.

Speaker 2 (49:00):
Uh. So I can't say, oh, I can't say that
I have any good recommendations for pizza, just because the
funny thing is pizza is so good in New Jersey
that I I don't typically as often get get pizza
in New York because it's just like, well, I mean
I can get this, I can get this right across
the border. But I will tell you if you can
find either like you got it. If you can find

(49:23):
a good breakfast sandwich like a New York bagel, it's
it's unmatched. And then the other the other real winner,
if you can get there kats Is Deli, uh, the
oldest deli in New York City. It's it's definitely a
it's become a real tourist attraction. But kats Has Deli
made famous in the movie when Harry met Sally. That's
the deli therein when Meg Ryan has her has her

(49:43):
uh fake orgasm and uh, you know, the woman says,
I'll have what she's having. They are some of the
best sandwiches you'll ever eat. Just just that's my my recommendation.

Speaker 5 (49:52):
Yeah, I've been doing a little scouting, uh in both
those regards, so yeah, you know, and then and then
later in me and my daughter again though we're actually
going to uh Arlington, Texas for a big wrestling show.
I'm gonna spend I think two three days in Arlington.

(50:13):
So yeah, so that's my two big trips. So you
know playing as of right now.

Speaker 2 (50:19):
Very nice, that's fantastic. Those are those are some good trips.
That's very nice and diverse to New York and Texas.
Those are those are that's a that's a that's a
nice combo.

Speaker 5 (50:28):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I can't It's like, I
don't know what I'm more excited about. You know some
of the you know, like the you know cats Is
Delhi or you know some New York pizza or you know,
actually eating some brisket in Texas.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
Yeah yeah, looking forward to some.

Speaker 5 (50:45):
Good barbecue in Arlington. I would imagine i'd be able
to to find a place that could search some brisket ribs.

Speaker 2 (50:53):
Yeah, oh yeah, no, I I so, I haven't been
to Arlington, but I've been to Austin, and yeah, that's
the best. That's probab with the best barbecue I've ever eaten.
Uh up there with I did a. I had really
good barbecue in Asheville, North Carolina as well, but man, yeah,
I would say Austin's probably Texas in general, that was
number one for me. Now listen, I'm sure the folks

(51:14):
of Kansas City would push back on that, but I
haven't been able to visit Kansas City yet. Uh so,
if I ever get the chance, I will have some.
I've had Saint Louis barbecue, not bad, but uh Kansas City, Yes,
that's that's if I once I sample it, I'm sure
I'll be able to make my official rankings. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (51:30):
No, I mean above all, I mean two awesome trips
you know with my daughter. You know, daddy daughter trips
are pretty awesome. So looking forward to to to both
of them.

Speaker 2 (51:40):
So very good, And listen, if we have to, if
we have to talk a little bit early next week.
No biggie, uh, no biggie at all. That is all good.
That said Chris, I guess we'll we'll let you go
and we'll go ahead and get to our next break
and we're back after this on the Friday Free for
All brought to you by Dan Cavatota, Buick GMC.

Speaker 1 (52:01):
Now back to the Dan Cavatoyota Wick GMC Friday Free
for All on one three three w KMZ.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
Welcome back in everybody. This is the Friday Free for
All brought to you by Dan Cavatiota, Buick GMC, Alex
Wwiierspiel here with you, and we're gonna jump into some
Mountaineer baseball talk. Deeper dive in a Mountaineer Baseball Talk
with Greg Carey. I got a chance to catch up
with him Greg from wv Metronews dot com. Of course
check out his work there earlier this week, and now

(52:29):
I'd love it if you would give this a listen.
Greg talked about the changing expectations for Mountain Your baseball,
obviously disappointment against LSU, but not just the disappointment against LSU,
but the work that was done this season was really
pretty incredible for WVU baseball. Now, after two consecutive trips
to Superregionals, how have the expectations changed for this program?

(52:53):
Here's Greg. We got Greg carry on the line with us,
fresh off his return from baton Rouge, to talk a
little mount near baseball. Craig, what's up man.

Speaker 4 (53:02):
Good morning, Alex. How you doing.

Speaker 2 (53:04):
I'm good, and I would say maybe doing a little
better than you, since I didn't have to hang out
in a swamp and watch the Mountaineers get pounded in
real time while correct me, I'm wrong. You said you
were wearing a washcloth in your cap. That's how hot
it was.

Speaker 4 (53:19):
Yes, while I was out taking pictures, I did not
have to resort to the washcloth in the hat while
I was in the press box, which was their conditioning.
Although the gentleman to my right, who was keeping the
pitch clock at the stadium for reasons i've still yet
to figure out, felt the need to open the window
in the press box for the first game, while it

(53:40):
was about in the mid nineties and obviously in that afternoon,
but certainly a very neat experience. I'd been to Louisiana
once before down in the New Orleans area many moons ago,
but really cool to see that atmosphere in Baton Rouge
is pretty much second to none in the college baseball landscape.
And obviously a disappointing ending to an otherwise very memorable

(54:02):
and successful season for West Virginia's baseball program.

Speaker 2 (54:05):
Disappointing and yet in a lot of ways it felt
very on brand. Obviously, WVU had pitching issues, and I
think there was no surprise there. There was obviously a
little bit of hope after the way LSU played against
Little Rock that maybe WVU was sort of ascending an
LSU was declining and sort of as the waxing and
waning of the season and the way that that kind
of works out, that maybe the Mountaineers had the momentum

(54:27):
at the right time and LSU had none of it.
None of that wound up mattering at all. The more
talented team wound up winning, but WU showed a lot
of resiliency in both of those games. They organized a
couple of comebacks in both of those games. Ultimately, though,
the talent in that LSU line up through one through
nine is what won the day in a sweep.

Speaker 4 (54:49):
Yeah, and it was, and you know, it's a very
good lineup. You know, it's an LSU team that has
seven national championships within their baseball program's history, a recent
one in twenty twenty three, a team that was obviously
led by Paul Skeins. We know what he's gone on
to do over his first two seasons now in Major
League Baseball, So you know, just a lot of tradition there,

(55:11):
a team that leads the country in attendance this season,
you know, regularly sells out games and had over twelve
thousand on hand for both of those. But you kind
of brought up the pitching problems for West Virginia, and ultimately, yes,
the home runs, particularly the two Grand slams and three
run shot in Game one, made a massive difference. But
really what I think West Virginia hampered its own cause

(55:34):
by was self inflicted mistakes through a lot of walks,
seventeen of them to be precise, in the two games,
along with eight hit batters. And when you're not the
favored team, and when you're not, in all likelihood in
most people's eyes, the better team, and you're playing in
that environment on the road, there really is no method
to overcoming two subpar starts from your two starting pitchers

(55:57):
that combine to give you only six innings, and that
mixture of all the free passes which between the hit
batters and the walks came out to a total of
twenty five factor and a few costly errors it well
as well, and that ultimately is what doomed the Mountaineers
and Baton rouge. But you know, as we mentioned, the
lineup held its own. They hit Kate Anderson extremely well

(56:19):
as the game war on. In Game one the seven runs,
six of which were earned that Anderson gave up that
was a season high for him. And then even the
next night against an equally talented pitcher and Anthony Iinson,
West Virginia managed three runs in five innings. So a
very good showing for the Mountaineer lineup and kind of
saw what this team was about. Yes, it didn't have
any impact on the game, but you think about West

(56:40):
Virginia losing Game one sixteen to nine. They scored for
the last four runs of the game late Jase Reinhardt
hits a solo home run late in Game two when
they're down twelve to four. So the resiliency and the
toughness that this team displayed was still there. It was
not a matter of you know, a lack of effort
or anybody that was, you know, kind of an inn
or anything of that. It was just a team that

(57:02):
simply wasn't good enough in that environment to advance.

Speaker 2 (57:06):
Now the expectation though, moving forward is that and you
mentioned a guy like Jase Reinhard who is a senior.
This program is raising the bar every single season. And
when you go back to back years, Grant, it's still
have not won a game in the Super Regional round
in the stretch of this time, but back to back
seasons in the Super Regional and I think you would
argue probably last year they looked closer to beating UNC

(57:28):
than they did to beating LSU. This season, they just
didn't get the job done. UNC came from behind a
couple of times. Mountain Your bats really kind of kind
of died in North Carolina last year. Very very different
kind of a series. But when you do this two
years in a row and you make it to this
point where your two wins away from going to Omaha,
which in many ways is kind of the goal because

(57:49):
once you get there, it's kind of anybody's game. But
the expectations are now they are. They're not just creeping up,
they are shooting up with some speed.

Speaker 4 (57:59):
Here they are, and you know, really what you're doing
is you're furthering recruitment opportunities portal. You know, we know
West Virginia's already been busy in the portal. The season
has only been over for about, you know, some fifty
hours plus now, and West Virginia's already getting commitments. They've
already had a number of players go into the portal.
So you know, it's just like any other sport, and

(58:20):
perhaps even more so in baseball, the roster transition is
going to be extreme. You go back to twenty twenty
three when West Virginia shared that Big Twelve championship, ended
up losing at University of Kentucky in that regional. There
are only nine players on this year's roster that were
around from that twenty twenty three team. That gives you
an idea of kind of what you can expect in
the near future. You've obviously got to monitor the draft,

(58:43):
which will be next month. West Virginia's likely going to
have a couple kids they come off the board there.
Then they'll have to decide whether or not they want
to turn professional or stay with West Virginia and come
back for another year at college. But transition is just
a big part of college athletics in general right now,
so different in baseball, and honestly, it might even be
more prevalent in baseball than some of the other sports.

(59:04):
So it will be very interesting to see how the
Mountaineers are able to parlay some of this recent success
into trying to continue to bolster that program and as
you mentioned, ultimately take the next step, which at this
point is to get to o MAHL and be one
of the last eight team standing.

Speaker 2 (59:19):
Well, it is funny because once upon a time in
college sports, we used to have like an idea or
an expectation. When a season ended, we would say, okay, well,
you know, we know that, you know, I'm thinking like
football as an example, here, we know that sixteen starters
are set to return next year, we have a great
recruiting class coming in. That's not really the world of
college athletics anymore. As you just pointed out, there's going

(59:39):
to be some fluidity for a little while here until
we have an idea of what to expect, even to
the point that as you just pointed out they're already
in the process of recruiting guys in the transfer portal.
So that's always the interesting part to me now of
modern college athletics. It's hard to have expectations outside of
what the general program expectations are because of how much

(01:00:02):
fluidity and roster movement there actually is.

Speaker 4 (01:00:04):
Now absolutely one thing. I would say, West Virginia is
going to lose some notable players. We know that from
a strong senior class. They're probably going to lose several
other notable players that aren't seniors, whether it be by
way of transfer or by way of opting to turn
professionals should they be drafted next month. But think back
to this point last year, and you were spot on
and what you said. Both of those games in North

(01:00:26):
Carolina were far more competitive. They ultimately were not decided
until the final pitch on both games of what were
a couple you know, one run and a walk off
loss there for West Virginia, So they were more competitive.
I'm North Carolina take nothing away from they were an
outstanding team last year. I don't think they were white
as good as what LSU is this year. I mean
LSU or Arkansas is going to be your favorite to

(01:00:49):
win the national champion. Now one of them is going
to lose because they play each other in the CWS
opener this weekend, so you know, one will have to
basically overcome losing that first game to have an opportunity
to play for the championship. But I can tell you
from being at both and again no sense in North
Carolina here, but it's not the same. You know, the
atmosphere at Chapel Hill pales in comparison to what it

(01:01:11):
was in Baton Rouge. You had over twelve thousand on
hand of both games. You had about fifty five one
hundred to six thousand last year in Chapel Hill, and
the conditions were brutal. You know. I actually was talking
to one of LSU's beat writers down there, and he
was saying that he doesn't think it necessarily gets enough
attention until you come here. But he's kind of almost
likened it to like when teams go out to Colorado
and play in the altitude, and he said, you know,

(01:01:32):
for a team like West Virginia, there's just no way
to practice it. You get down there and you're playing
game one Saturday afternoon, twelve thousand fans, you know, the
majority of which you're obviously rooting against you, and it's
ninety five plus degrees sweltering conditions. It obviously makes it
extremely tough to pitch in and you've got to be
mentally focused, you got to be mentally ready. But you know,

(01:01:53):
the Mountaineers were able to overcome large roster transition last year,
and just think about they lost the first round draft
and one of the most notable players in school history
in JJ Weatherholt, and they lost the ace of their
pitching staff and Derek Clark. And look where they were
this year, you know, right back to where they were
a year ago, with more wins, a better record, and
an outright Big twelve championship. So I think that should

(01:02:14):
give you a lot of cause for hope in the
way that the program is able to not only identify
total talent but also continue developing players. You're probably going
to see some of the guys, maybe, for an example,
a Chase Meyer, who was outstanding in relief Sunday Night
and was probably West Virginia's best overall pitcher over the
two games in that series. Well, dif he build up

(01:02:35):
a little bit more arm strength and get to a
point where he's comfortably throwing five and six innings as
opposed to two and three innings, and then maybe he
can become your number one or two starter next year.
We've seen jump from like that from guys in the past,
So in addition to replacing quality players, you're also going
to have to see some expanded roles from the standouts
that West Virginia is able to return.

Speaker 2 (01:02:56):
So obviously specific expectations are hard to pinpoint, but as
a program we talked about the rising general expectations. Are
we at the point now where we can safely say
that this Mountaineer program has ascended to a level where
we can say they should be at bare minimum in
the regional whether hosting or traveling in most years they

(01:03:21):
can every now and then they can have it off year.
That's fine, that happens in sports. But are we at
the point where we should say they should be in
the at least in the regional round with a regular
basis and be able to do this every couple of
years where they make a run to the super regional.
Is that kind of where the expectations have moved to
now or is that fair?

Speaker 4 (01:03:39):
Yeah? I think that's funny. Fair. I know it might
sounds a bit strange to say, but you know, this
is the third consecutive year that they've been in an
NCAA regional. They've won two of those three regionals and
gone six to zero in regional pool play over the
last couple of years. But yeah, the next step is
to get to omahall. But I think the regional or
I'm sorry, the reasonable expectation, on mostly an annual basis

(01:04:00):
is to feel the team that has a winning record,
a winning record in Big twelve play, and is good
enough to at least be in the conversation, if not
safely be in the field for the NCAA tournament. It's
obviously not going to work out that way every year,
but I think if Steve Saban sticks around, West Virginia
continues to build on what it's recently accomplished, there's no
reason to expect that the Mountaineers can't be a postseason

(01:04:21):
team more often than maybe missing out on it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:25):
Yeah, I know, I think that's I think that's generally fair. Again,
there's there's still a lot that we a lot that
we we don't know at this point, but there are obviously,
as you allude, there are definitely some guys and we're
just talking about just the seniors. You mean you alluded
to it. And any thoughts on who might get drafted.
I know that's a that's kind of an esoteric in
baseball with how large the draft processes. Any thought on

(01:04:47):
guys who might get drafted who are not seniors, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:04:50):
I think there's a pretty high likelihood that Logansave' get drafted.
I know, the numbers you know at the plate don't
necessarily jump out to you, but pretty important to remember that.
You know, when you are a catcher and how valuable
that defensive position is, it's going to boost your draft stock.
You know. In some cases you might see it as
being like a quarterback in football, you know, and if

(01:05:11):
you're the tenth best one, well there's going to be
ten quarterbacks drafted, so you know what I mean. So
you've got a good opportunity. I would expect him to
probably hear his name called next month. I would think
there's a decent chance of player like Sam White could
not sure he necessarily has a defined position at the
next level. He battled a lot of injuries this year
and played designated hitter for most of the second half
of the season, but he has a back that was

(01:05:33):
on display in Baton Rouge. He went five for nine
in the series. And you know, he hits for a
high average, he hits for power, he hits to both
sides of the field. So I would think from an
offensive standpoint, Sam White will certainly get some looks, not
entirely sore on the pitching staff, but you do know
you're losing both Griffin Kerr and Jack Cartsonis might be
a chance that Chase Meyer could hear his name called.
He certainly has the stuff. He got a lot of

(01:05:53):
praise in Sunday nights postgame session from LSU coach Jay Johnson,
who also offered a lot of praise kind of out
of his way to talk about Steve Sabins, And it
was pretty interesting because earlier in the week before Game one,
Johnson actually revealed that he tried to hire Sabans when
he got the LSU job. He wanted him on as
an assistant. Not entirely sure, neither guy really wanted to
go into length about you know how close it went

(01:06:15):
to coming down, but pretty you know, pretty pretty telltale
stuff there. When you think of the success of LSU's
baseball program, and a guy like Steve Sabans, who at
that point had been at West Virginia as an assistant
for five or six years and you know, was being
sought after for by maybe one of the best programs
in all of college sports.

Speaker 2 (01:06:34):
Fantastic work is always Greg and a reminder folks that
you can find Greg's work at wv Metronews dot com.
And for those who don't know, there is a generic
sports section there, but there's also a WVU sports section.
There's a high school sports section. So if you're looking
for something specifically, you just got to hover over the
over the sports bar and it'll drop down the menu
and you can click on that. It's an underutilized aspect

(01:06:56):
of the website. Greg. Before I let you go, you
see Chris Rider likely getting traded today.

Speaker 4 (01:07:02):
Yeah, yeah, it will be a I guess it's sad
but maybe inevitable day.

Speaker 2 (01:07:06):
Yeah yeah, I know. I have to sneak a little hockey,
but it's written in my contract. I have to sneak
a little hockey talk in every episode of the Morning
Spield that I do to We're eventually going to bring
Division one hockey to West Virginia as my goal.

Speaker 4 (01:07:19):
I like the sound of that.

Speaker 2 (01:07:21):
Listen. I don't think it's that insane anymore when you
see the the what's going on with the NC DOUBLEA
and the legal arrangement that's going to allow Canadian major
junior players to come over and play in the NC DOUBLEA.
So like the consensus number one overall pick for the
twenty twenty sixth draft is likely going to Michigan State
next year, and the consensus number two overall pick in

(01:07:42):
this borderline consensus number two overall pick in this draft
is probably going to Penn State. I think this is
a huge deal that they're going to leave the Canadian
leagues and come play US college hockey and we could see,
you know, what's like a seventy five or eighty team
college hockey expand a bit. I'd love to see that.
If there's money to be made, I think I think

(01:08:03):
there might be there might be some some room for
growth here, a growth market in West Virginia. That's my theory.

Speaker 4 (01:08:10):
Yeah, well, it's like you said, if there's money to
be made, that's that's what it'll boil down to.

Speaker 5 (01:08:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:08:14):
Anyway, Greg, much appreciated, man, Go enjoy I mean, I've
assume you got to be taking some time off soon.
You had a crazy last month.

Speaker 4 (01:08:23):
Yeah, I'll be off next week actually, so you know
we'll have coverage North South stuff throughout this week, obviously
the basketball game Friday night in South Charleston and then
cap in the high school season officially with the football
game on Saturday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (01:08:38):
Yeah, it won't be long before I'm hitting you up
for high school football storylines. But ye, in the meantime.
In the meantime, enjoy some time off after this, after
these all star games get through. You and Bricado and
the entire sports team do incredible work, and you guys
are super busy all year long, and it seems like again,
I feel like there are three months of the year.

(01:08:59):
It's like no November and March and May or or
i'm sorry, May, June or all kind of nuts for
you guys because all the postseason stuff converges all at once.
So know that your work is deeply appreciated and hopefully
our listeners will go and check that out.

Speaker 4 (01:09:14):
Thanks, Greg, appreciate it. Have a good one.

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
See man. That was Greg Carry from wv Metronews dot com.
Appreciate all of the expertise that he brings on every subject.
Of course we'll be talking with him, I think before
long about some my school football coming up. But really
a pleasure to get to chance, pleasure to get the
chance to talk about Mountaineer baseball. What an end of
the season. And this has kind of become a baseball

(01:09:38):
show for like two months out of the year now
that's basically where we're at. We just go all baseball,
whether it's high school, WVU. We've even done some Salem
and baseball and softball. We'll talk about anything. So but
we'll be transitioning into football soon enough here on the
Friday Free for All. I mean I will do some
this month, but after July fourth, it's going to be
a back to basically being a football show again. So

(01:10:00):
funny how the seasons work like that. Got to take
a break. We're back after this here on the Friday
Free for All, brought to you by Dan Cavato to
buick GMC.

Speaker 1 (01:10:08):
Time for more high school sports talk on the Dan
Cavatoyota Buick GMC Friday Free for All.

Speaker 2 (01:10:15):
We are just about out of time, back to wrap
the show. Alexweederspiel here on the Friday Free for All,
brought to you by Dan Cavato to buick GMC. How
about that a wrap on baseball season, and it just
flew right on by completely as fast as it possibly could.
So baseball season comes to an end, and Chris Johnson

(01:10:36):
and I are about to start putting our focus on football.
Over the next few weeks, we're gonna do some special episodes,
but as we I think we're still gonna have quite
a bit of football open the next couple of weeks, well,
where you're really gonna see it, where you're really gonna
see a lot of football's after the July fourth holiday,
and I believe this year, actually correct me if I'm wrong.

(01:10:58):
July fourth is a Friday. We're not gonna have a
show on that day. So when we come back for
that July eleventh, it's for us that's football season. We're
into football mode fully at that point, and again we're
gonna do some light football, We'll do some coach interviews.
It's gonna try to do some player interviews too. Over
the course of the summer, I'm gonna try to bring
you some more features, but we'll be definitely deep into

(01:11:20):
football by July eleventh. I can tell you that much,
so really excited for it. Obviously, we'll make it through
these next couple of weeks guys, as we tend to do,
and I hope you continue tuning in to the show,
whether in radio or podcast form. Just know that Chris
and I really appreciate it, and yeah, for the time being,
I will see you all next week.

Speaker 1 (01:11:49):
You've been listening to the Dan cavatoyot of you at
GMC Friday Free for All. Be sure to tune in
every Friday as we review and preview local high school sports.
This has been a special centation of w VRC Media
and one O three three w.

Speaker 5 (01:12:03):
K M Z m HM