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Area players honored

Hunter Greco wanted his senior season to end with him and his Woodrow Wilson teammates raising a state championship trophy.

That didn’t happen – the Flying Eagles lost 5-0 to Cabell Midland in the Class AAA state semifinals. Greco will, however, gladly accept the honor of being named a first-team all-stater.

Greco was one of three pitchers named to the first team, released Friday by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Elkins High School junior Colby Gainer and Buckhannon-Upshur senior Dalton Westfall, meanwhile, were both selected to the second team.

“It’s a dream come true, really,” said Greco, who will play college baseball at Fairmont State. “This is the first time I have been first-team all-state. I worked my butt off for it. I feel like I deserved it.”

Greco was solid from beginning to end this season. He hit .449 and slugged .663, hit 12 doubles and drove in 24 runs.

But his presence on the mound was big for Woodrow, which won its first region championship since 2007. The right-hander was 6-2 with a 1.47 earned run average. He had 59 strikeouts in 47 2-3 innings pitched.

“He was a four-year starter and that’s a lot of experience,” Woodrow coach Mark Daniel said. “It’s been a while since we have had a four-year starter. He was just consistent for us all year.”

The first-team captain is senior first baseman Daniel Heliene of state champion Hedgesville. Heliene had a monstrous year, setting school records with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs. He also hit .475 and had a .980 slugging percentage.

Joining Heliene as all-state infielders are Musselman’s Darrin Zombro, Huntington’s Joey Mundy and Preston’s Jimmy Galusky.

Zombro batted .494 and drove in 20 runs for the Applemen.

The Highlanders got a .515 average, 17 doubles, 12 stolen bases and 31 RBIs from Mundy.

Galusky hit .519 with 11 doubles, seven homers and 31 RBIs for the Knights.

Spring Valley’s Elijah Wellman and Hampshire’s Matthew Maiers join Greco on the first-team pitching staff.

Wellman went 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA for the Timberwolves. He had 61 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 47 innings.

Maiers had a big senior season, going 8-0 with an ERA of just 0.82. He struck out 57 and walked 12 in 51 1-3 innings.

Parkersburg South senior Braxton Johnson is a first-team outfielder after batting .455 and scoring 43 runs.

Hampshire junior Shane Ennis is also honored in the outfield. He hit .440 with nine doubles and six home runs while driving in 35 runs.

Morgantown’s Shane Commodore is the third outfielder and teammate Connor Leone the catcher.

The four utility spots went to Cabell Midland’s Seth Kinker, Logan’s Zack Minnick, Wheeling Park’s Andrew Kowalo and Hurricane’s J.T. Rogoszewski.

Kinker batted .468 and was 6-4 with a 2.30 ERA. He did not allow an earned run in his final three starts.

Minnick went 7-2 with a 1.38 ERA and had 53 strikeouts and 11 walks in 51 innings. He also batted .535 with six homers and 39 RBIs.

Kowalo finished his senior season with a .420 average, 20 RBIs and 10 doubles.

Rogozewski was 6-2 with a 0.72 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 11 walks in 48 1-3 innings, while batting .368 with nine doubles.

CLASS AAA All-State team

First team

P – Elijah Wellman, Spring Valley, Sr.

P – Matthew Maiers, Hampshire, Sr.

P – Hunter Greco, Beckley, Sr.

C – Connor Leone, Morgantown, Sr.

IF – Darrin Zombro, Musselman, Sr.

IF – Joey Mundy, Huntington, Jr.

IF – Daniel Heliene, Hedgesville, Sr. (captain)

IF – Jimmy Galusky, Preston, Jr.

OF Braxton Johnson, Parkersburg South,Sr.

OF – Shane Commodore, Morgantown, Sr.

OF – Shane Ennis, Hampshire, Jr.

Util – Seth Kinker, Cabell Midland, Jr.

Util – Zack Minnick, Logan, So.

Util – Andrew Kowalo, Wheeling Park, Sr.

Util – J.T. Rogoszewski, Hurricane, So.

Second team

P – Cody Butts, Hedgesville, Sr.

P – Austin Hensley, Hurricane, Jr.

P – Brad Brubaker, Parkersburg SouthSr.

C – Jacob Frantz, Greenbrier East, Sr. (captain)

IF – Andrew King, Jefferson, So.

IF – Dalton Westfall, Buckhannon-Upshur, Sr.

IF – Shane Wellman, John Marshall, Sr.

IF – Tre Jackson, Parkersburg South, Sr.

OF – John Thomas, George Washington, So.

OF – Levi Casto, Parkersburg, Jr.

OF – Logan Wriston, Beckley, Jr.

Util – Tyler Hayes, Cabell Midland, Jr.

Util – Colby Gainer, Elkins, Jr.

Util – Josh Bumgarner, Winfield, Sr.

Util – Travis Renner, University, Jr.

Special mention

David Delawder, Hampshire; Nick Colasante, Morgantown; Brendan Schack, Shady Spring; Josh Rakes, Beckley; Chris Hysell, Oak Hill; Heath Utterback, Greenbrier East; R.J. Massie, Greenbrier East; Justice Jackson, Wheeling Park; Heath Hildreth, Brooke; Zach Winland, John Marshall; Troy Markley, Hedgesville; Stephen Hite, Hedgesville; Trey Dawson, Hurricane; Bryson Fluke, Buckhannon-Upshur; Taylor Kuhn, Cabell Midland; Brady Elkins, Cabell Midland; Clayton Collett, Elkins; Clayton Anderson, George Washington; Stephen Holland, Huntington; A.J. Boyd, Jefferson; Anthony DiAmario, Jefferson; Colby Brogan, Lincoln County; Johnny Morrison, Logan; Troy Burgess, Logan; Curtis Miller, Martinsburg; Chris Longdo, Martinsburg; Jacob Whitmore, Musselman; Kaleb Kinder, Capital; Chase Chambers, Preston; Ryan McDonough, Nitro; Tyler Hall, Riverside; Joey Dodrill, St. Albans; Wes Stowers, Oak Hill; Logan Dudley, Parkersburg; Wes Mitchem, Parkersburg South; Alex Somerville, Point Pleasant; Addison Wood, Princeton; Bo Williams, Princeton; Tyler Pittenger, Ripley; Antonio Brown, South Charleston; Jonathan Cline, South Charleston; Colby Webb, Spring Valley; Drew Hetzel, Washington; Seth Campbell, Washington; Jordan Clark, Winfield; Brandon Wright, Winfield; Phoenix Shrewsbury, St. Albans; Chaz Davis, Riverside; Luke Pudder, Lewis County; Justin Palmer, Capital.

Honorable mention

Chase Chambers, Preston; Billy Kinney, University; Brandon Chandler, Beckley; Ryan Snodgrass, Shady Spring; Shannon Smith, Oak Hill; John Linkous, Shady Spring; Russell Schwertfeger, Brooke; Jeremiah Fromhart, John Marshall; Michael Grove, Wheeling Park; James Wright, Hedgesville; Riley Metz, Hurricane; Connor Adams, Hurricane; Bryton Jobe, Cabell Midland; Tanner Sorrells, George Washington; Josh Zehosky, Greenbrier East; Brandon Timbrook, Hampshire; Andrew Grove, Jefferson; Brynnan Fakourey, Lincoln County; Josh Rein, Logan; Chase Preston, Logan; Mitchell Henson, Martinsburg; Thomas Presley, Musselman; Maverick Keller, Musselman; Matt Harrison, Nitro; Damon Ribeiro, Parkersburg; Austin Toler, Point Pleasant; Ian Southcott, Princeton; Chris Jordan, Ripley; Jerod Jobst, South Charleston; Tyler Radcliffe, Spring Valley; Dustin Turley, St. Albans; Tyler Wood, Lewis County; Josh Crawford, Hampshire; Silas Gibson, Elkins; Corey Reed, Buckhannon-Upshur.

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