Kinzer, Swisher among first-team, all-staters; Marshall earns second-team honor
Ripley High School senior Kaleb Swisher, who hit .437 with 15 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 40 runs-batted-in, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball first team. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg South senior catcher Bentley Kinzer, who hit .541 with eight doubles, five triples, a homer and 23 runs-batted-in, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball first team. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg High School senior Ethan Marshall, who went 4-2 with a 1.33 earned run average and 67 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball second team. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)
Ripley High School senior Kaleb Swisher, who hit .437 with 15 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 40 runs-batted-in, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball first team. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg South senior catcher Bentley Kinzer, who hit .541 with eight doubles, five triples, a homer and 23 runs-batted-in, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball first team. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg High School senior Ethan Marshall, who went 4-2 with a 1.33 earned run average and 67 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched, was named to the Class AAA all-state baseball second team. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)
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CHARLESTON -- In Class AAA baseball this season, there were maybe a dozen teams that could have won the state title and no one would have been surprised.
That level of parity was reflected on the West Virginia Sports Writers Association's all-state first team as only three programs had multiple representatives and no one team had more than three. State champion Cabell Midland has just one representative with junior Kenyon Collins being named first-team utility.
"During sectionals, I was asked who were the top contenders to win a championship," Cabell Midland coach Tracy Brumfield said. "My comment at the time was, 'whoever gets hot at the right time is going to win it'. Luckily that was us."
Runner-up Hedgesville has two representatives while semifinalists University and St. Albans combine for one. Morgantown and Hurricane are the other teams with multiple first-teamers.
University senior Noah Braham was named captain of the first team, slugging his way to a .529 batting average with 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 66 RBIs. Braham will play for WVU football in the fall.
"It's been a pleasure to coach Noah for two years and watch him grow and develop and a player and a person," UHS coach Brad Comport said. "This was a very special season for him and he's come a long way. This year was probably one of the best high school seasons I've ever witnessed and it was incredible to be able to be a part of that."
Braham's offense helped power the Hawks to their first state tournament appearance since 2004, when future Major Leaguer Jedd Gyorko was just a freshman.
Joining Braham in the first-team infield are Hedgesville's Braylon Conner, Morgantown's Ryan Fluharty and Ripley's Kaleb Swisher. Conner hit .440 with 13 doubles and 22 RBI for the state runner-up Eagles. Swisher batted .437 with 15 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 40 RBIs. Fluharty, the Gatorade West Virginia Baseball Player of the Year, had a .442 batting average with 25 extra-base hits, 45 RBI and 42 runs scored.
"He had an outstanding year," Morgantown coach Pat Sherald said. "He really stepped up for us hitting in the middle of the lineup, was great with runners in scoring position, just a good all-around offensive campaign."
The first-team catchers are Morgantown's Ty Galusky and Parkersburg South's Bentley Kinzer. Galusky, playing in his first full season after two surgeries on his throwing arm, hit .437 with 19 RBI and 39 runs scored. Kinzer threw out 10 total runners and finished with a .541 average, eight doubles, five triples, a homer and 23 RBIs. He walked nine times, struck out three and had a .607 on-base percentage.
The first-team pitchers are Hurricane's Reece Sutphin, Hedgesville's Lane DeLauter and George Washington's Bryson Hoff.
DeLauter, who plans to follow his brother, Chase, to James Madison for college, went 7-3 in 12 starts this season with a 2.28 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 61 innings.
"Lane was tremendous down the stretch," Hedgesville coach Eric Grove said. "Struck out a ton and always got better as the game went on."
Sutphin went 4-2 with a save and carried a 1.92 ERA through 44 innings. Hoff was 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 54 innings.
The first-team outfield is manned by Damian Witty from Hurricane, Zack Calef-Boring of Buckhannon-Upshur and Kyle Lore out of Musselman.
Witty only struck out three times all season en route to batting .409 with four home runs, 21 RBIs and 33 runs scored. Calef-Boring hit .443 with 12 extra-base hits, 28 RBIs and 40 runs, only striking out four times. Lore batted .448, smacking six triples with 22 RBIs and 50 runs scored.
Collins was joined as first-team utility by Bridgeport's Phil Reed and Spring Valley's Branson McCloud.
Collins played shortstop and pitched for the state champion Knights, breaking the school's single-season hits record. He plans to matriculate to the University of Dayton and pitch for the Flyers.
"He had a tremendous year and he really played a great shortstop," Brumfield said.
McCloud hit .381 for the Timberwolves with eight home runs and 47 RBIs. On the mound, he had a 2.44 ERA and three saves with 48 strikeouts in 37 innings. Reed batted .349 with a .558 on-base percentage and 26 RBIs.
Second-team pitchers are Spring Valley's Grant Stratton, Parkersburg's Ethan Marshall and Morgantown's Hunter Dakan.
The second-team infield is University's Cody Thomas, St. Albans' Aiden Youngblood, Greenbrier East's Darris Boswell, Bridgeport's Zack Rohrig and catchers Caleb Fletcher from Jefferson and Caden Johnson of Hurricane.
Patrolling the second-team outfield are University's Wenkai Campbell, Morgantown's Aaron Jamison and Brooke's Carson Lauttamus.
Second-team utility is Owen Gress of Hurricane, Jayden McLain from Oak Hill and Cabell Midland's Jack Eastone.
All-State plaques are available for purchase to all-staters at wvswa.org or bearwoodcompany.com. They are state-shaped, wood plaques inscribed with the WVSWA logo, name, high school and year of the honoree.