Mid-Ohio Valley Spring Sports 2026: Wirt County baseball has dreams of going to state
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ELIZABETH -- It's year two for head baseball coach Terry Mullen and softball coach Candice Hardbarger while Wirt County track mentor Nathan Edwards remains the longest mainstay entering his fifth season at the helm.
BASEBALL
Coming off a 12-11 campaign, the Tigers return three key seniors in Alex Bevel (2B/P), Jake Moore (1B/P) and Easton Wyer (LF/P) while first-year seniors are outfielders Draygon Pate and Lucas Pahl.
The junior class for coach Mullen, the longtime head man at Belpre High School, will play a pivotal role this spring with Trenton Watson (CF/P/SS), Peyton Dye (P/UTL), Wyatt Boice (P/SS/C), who leads the team with seven hits and a .583 average, and Sammy Moore (3B/1B/P).
A pair of sophomore reserves dot the roster in Brent Shears (RF/P) and Alexander Lott (RF) while the freshman class is a half dozen strong.
Jake Moore, Dye and Boice lead the team in the early going with four RBIs apiece. Sammy Moore has driven in a pair as too has Wyer and freshman Luke Hickman (SS/3B/P).
"Since I've been coaching high school baseball this is probably the best crop of freshmen I've coached in 30 years. Just a solid group of athletes," admitted Mullen.
Andrew Lemley (3B/P/OF) is off to a .429 start with a pair of RBIs. He and Hickman are joined in the ninth grade class by Mason Boice (SS/P/OF), Isaac Romage (UTL/P), Dylan Hutchinson (C/OF) and Willy Schofield (RF).
"We feel we have a good team," added Mullen, who admitted "We've played five games and we haven't been on the field.
"We haven't practiced (outdoors) because of the weather. I think we are rated number three indoors."
The coach noted that freshman shortstop Mason Boice, who was credited with the Tigers' lone save thus far, has "just been phenomenal so far."
While things will change depending on who is pitching, expect Wyatt Boice and Dye to handle the catching duties with the Moore brothers anchored at first when not on the bump, but Sammy also has been playing the hot corner.
Mullen noted of the center fielder Watson "he's probably one of the best outfielders in the area in terms of going to get it."
Obviously, the end goal is finding a way to get through the regional and advance to the Class A state tournament in Huntington.
"That's what the kids talk about all the time, going to state," said the skipper. "Our biggest thing is staying together as a team."
TRACK
Things should be picking up for the track program as the Tigers boys scored six points last year at state to place 17th in single-A while the girls tied for 28th with a single point.
That came in the 4×8 thanks to placing eighth as seniors Kaelyn Robinson and Lily Cross return on that unit. They were joined by fellow current senior Kelli Shearlock on last year's shuttles team that also qualified for the state meet.
For coach Edwards, everything this spring is about gearing up for the Region IV meet come May at Herbert Hoover.
Cross and Shearlock also advanced out of the regional in the 300 hurdles, but had to settle for 14th and 15th place, respectively.
Senior Rylee Hall, who was sixth in the discus at Friday night's Kim Nutter Invite, finished 13th at the state meet in the event last spring.
The only other Tiger girls returning with state experience from last year are junior Brooklin Mills and sophomore Millie Sampson, who were part of the 4×2.
For the boys, senior Kadeon Sees leads the way after placing sixth in the 400 at state and then just missing out on a podium finish in the 300 hurdles by .09 seconds along with having to settle for ninth in the long jump.
Senior distance runners Matt Balis (3200) and Byron Long (1600) are looking to end their careers back in Charleston as the duo joined Sees and current sophomore Tanner Slack on the eighth-place 4×4 team.
"It's going to be interesting," Edwards said of the boys, who also boast seniors Ezra Rose, Braxton Dennis, Tyler Smith, Wyatt Goodnight, Landon Beavers and Gabe Daugherty.
Rose didn't run a year ago, but returns as a sprinter.
"Sprints-wise we might not maybe totally get there individually, but I think maybe we can put together a good 4×1, 4×4," said the coach. "Our region is going to be pretty tough."
At the Kim Nutter Invite, Smith finished third in the 100, Sees was fifth in the 400 and Dennis placed seven in the high jump.
Rose joined Smith, sophomore Jude Allen and the anchor Sees on the third-place 4×1. Sees also ran the opening leg with Smith, Balis and Long following on the 4×4, which got third. Balis anchored the sixth-place 4×8 behind Long and a pair of freshmen in Lucas Curfman and Colton Butler.
"Between the boys and girls we have 38 kids on the team," Edwards said. "It's probably the biggest team we've had."
Sophomore Kinsley Nicolais and freshman Allison Bumgarner paid with Cross and freshman Skylie Thompson to finish seventh at the Kim Nutter.
Also on Friday, Shearlock, Cross, Robinson and Thompson placed fifth in the shuttles during their second meet of the spring.
"The girls aren't necessarily quite as deep sprints-wise. We have a solid five or six girls there that are going to help us," added the coach. "They've been working hard. Kinsley had never ran until cross country season this year.
"She had a pretty good cross country season and she's played softball her whole entire life. I never had anybody do it (track/softball). We're giving it a shot. I think it will work out well."
The coach also hopes his senior class can go out strong on both sides.
"Trying to get everybody on the same page and understand it's a long season. It's a building process each week," stressed Edwards. "Every meet you run you learn something and get better. Even if you have a bad race you learn from it and continue moving forward.
"I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where we can go and grow as a team. It's fun with track and field because you don't have to go against single-A schools all the time. You get to mingle with AAs, AAAs and quad-As, and really get to test yourself."
SOFTBALL
Green is the correct color when talking about coach Hardbarger's second team for the Tigers.
The orange and black graduated second team Class A all-state catcher Kylee Ross and the only senior on this year's roster is Rylee Lockhart.
The junior class, which includes Kyra Wine, Olivia Pettus, Kylee Barker, Rylee Noland, Abbie Kerby and Brooklyn Herrington, also features main pitcher Addison Smith, who has the 1-3 Tigers' lone win in the early going.
Sophomore Adison Polk currently has a team-leading three runs-batted-in and is joined by fellow classmates Bella Mullen, Nicolais, and Kylee Martin.
Nicolais and freshman Mallory Bell have two hits and a pair of runs-batted-in apiece.
Also competing for the Tigers as ninth graders are Morgan Williams, Tina George, Lilly Bolek, Eliza Arthur and Mattie Ross.