Doddridge County baseball coach Nathan Wright, right, talks with the home plate umpire prior to the start of a game in Williamstown (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WEST UNION — If Doddridge County felt like they belonged in the Class AA state tournament field, a convincing win in the Little Kanawha Conference Night of Champions final gave the Bulldogs credence.

Less than two weeks previous to the LKC championship game, Williamstown and starting pitcher Jenner Burge shut out DCHS 1-0 in a regular season game. When the respective teams hooked up with the same starting pitchers, the Bulldogs bashed out a 12-1 victory for the conference title.

“We hit Jenner Burge pretty well — not to take anything away from him because he is a great competitor and one of the best arms we have seen,” DCHS coach Nathan Wright said. “That was a defining moment for us to see a good pitcher.”

DCHS earned its ticket to Monday’s opening round of the state tournament in Huntington by winning three games without a loss in Region I. The Bulldogs, who have not appeared at the state level since 1994, earned the No. 5 seed and meets No. 4 Logan in a quarterfinal scheduled for approximately 1 p.m.

The host site is Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field in Huntington.

Doddridge County pitcher Tristan Swiger (12) and catcher Maxwell Nicholson (9) have a meeting at the mound. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I had us at either a four or five seed — at the end of the day, you just go play the game,” Wright said. “You have to win three games regardless.”

The winner advances to Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal matchup against the winner of No. 1 Wheeling Central and No. 8 James Monroe.

“Historically, Logan has a good baseball culture with their baseball program,” Wright said. “As far as matchups, they have pretty good pitching and they are top-heavy in their lineup. It will be a good matchup. All the teams at state will be competitive and we feel we match up with anybody.”

Coach Wright is confident his lineup one through nine can produce. Even several players off the bench could possibly start for most teams.

Caleb Hall leads the Bulldogs in hitting at a .518 clip and in home runs with six. Brody Brockelman and Dayne Murphy are hitting a smidge below .400.

Doddridge County batters Luke Rokisky (50) and Dayne Murphy (1) chat prior to the start of a game in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

As for the pitching staff, coach Wright feels he has four reliable arms to call on with Hall, Tristan Swiger, Hunter Hayhurst and Caleb Sutton.

“Pitching is what has kept us in close games and making plays behind them,” Wright said.

Wright pointed out defense became a concern during the team’s spring break trip to Myrtle Beach. However, those problems have ironed out in the back half of the season.

“To be honest, our week at the beach we played soccer with the ball more than we played baseball,” Wright said.

DCHS baseball is continuing the fandom athletics has created with playoff football, state appearance in boys basketball and boys state track title.

“This is the first time at state for me — I’ve been there to watch it, but it’s a huge honor for me to experience it,” Wright said. “Give credit to the boys. I was talking to my assistant about how we were going to Morgantown in snowstorms and hitting at their indoor facility. We look back on what we were doing in January and February. Kudos to the guys who put the work in.”