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STATE CHAMPS

Elkins 14-year-old All-Stars earn title

The Inter-Mountain photo by Angelea Goodwin An Elkins batter waits for a pitch during the state championship tournament Saturday. The Elkins Elks Babe Ruth League’s 14-year-old All-Star team won the tile.

ELKINS — The Elkins Elks Babe Ruth League’s 14-year-old All-Star team won the state title Saturday, going undefeated as the home team for the state championship tournament at Robin Harvey Memorial Field at Bluegrass Park.

“I’m very proud of the boys for this accomplishment. They have worked really hard in practice, and it paid off with our hitting and fielding during the state tournament,” Manager Dave Hamrick said after the historic win.

Elkins completed its 3-0 run through the tournament by handily defeating Huntington Southeastern, 7-0, on Saturday afternoon.

Will Knight earned the win on the mound for Elkins, while Gage Bibey came in to pick up the save. Knight and Bibey combined to throw a one-hit shutout against the Huntington squad. The two pitchers racked up a combined 11 strikeouts in the dominating performance.

At the plate for Elkins, Corey Reed had 2 hits and a walk, with 2 RBIs and a run scored.

The team stands proudly in front of the scoreboard, after keeping Huntington scoreless all seven innings. First row from left are Austin Fletcher, Dakota Stuart, Tanner Corder, Nick Hamrick, Austin Bolyard, Devan Lamarne, and Dustin Primavero; second row, Coach Brian Bibey, Billy Knight, Ethan Kirk, Cory Reed, Alex Wilson, Will Knight, Gage Bibey, Coach Randy Corder, Bobby Henline, and Manager Dave Hamrick.

Both Knight and Alex Wilson had 1 hit and a walk and scored 2 runs a piece for Elkins.

The losing pitcher for Huntington was Corey Sweeney.

Elkins will now move on to the Ohio Valley Regional Tournament in Mattoon, Illinois, set for July 26-30.

This is the second straight state championship for this group of Elkins players. As the 13-year-old All Stars, they claimed the state title last year.

“This was an awesome tournament,” Elkins Elks Babe Ruth League President Brad Schumacher said. “The weather held off enough for us to get all the games in this week. And the weather today (Saturday) was beautiful. We had a great turnout for the games all week.”

Bobby Henline leads his team onto the field to receive the state championship trophy after Elkins' win against Huntington Saturday afternoon.

The Elkins 14-year-old All-Star team includes players Nick Hamrick, Dustyn Primavero, Ethan Kirk, Gage Bibey, Austyn Fletcher, Austin Bolyard, Alex Wilson, Dakota Stuart, Bobby Henline, Tanner Corder, Will Knight, Devan Lamarne and Cory Reed, with Manager Dave Hamrick, coaches Brian Bibey and Randy Corder, and scorekeeper Billy Knight.

“I couldn’t ask for a better group of young men to take to the Ohio Valley Regional to represent our home state of West Virginia,” Hamrick said.

Last month, both the 15-year-old and 13-year-old Elkins All-Star teams claimed the state runner-up position in the state tournaments for those age groups, which took place in Huntington.

The Elkins 13-year-old All-Star squad includes players Jacob Bender, David White, Evan Humphrey, Jesiah Matlick, Nicholas Barrickman, Tyler Ludwig, Cody Cooper, Jaydon Herron, Gauge Manolidis, Hunter Dudley, Jonathan Elmore and Brandon Rossi, along with manager Chris Broughton, coaches Jeff Manolidis and Jamie Shifflett, and scorekeeper Craig Bender.

The Elkins 15-year-old All-Stars include players Trent Tallman, James Smoak, Remington Stanley, Nathan Cooper, David Freeman, Justin White, Gabe Guire, Garrett Silvester, William Waldern and Anthony Jones, with Manager Kent Freeman, coaches Justin Stanley and LJ Tallman, and scorekeeper Ashley Smoak.

Elkins is proud to raise its trophy with confidence and joy after Saturday's state championship game against Huntington.

• Inter-Mountain staff writer Angelea Goodwin contributed to this story.

Manager Dave Hamrick shakes his players' hands in congratulations as they line up with their awards.

Elkins Coaches Brian Bibey and Randy Corder follow Manager Dave Hamrick to recognize the team's players in celebrating their back-to-back state championship wins.

The coaches for Elkins gather the boys for a talk after their historic win to congratulate players for their hard work and dedication.

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