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Tygarts Valley All-Stars fall in opening state tourney game

The Inter-Mountain photo by Brad Johnson A Tygarts Valley pitcher goes into his windup while facing Grant County Sunday in Huttonsville.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Brad Johnson A Tygarts Valley pitcher goes into his windup while facing Grant County Sunday in Huttonsville.HUTTONSVILLE — The Tygarts Valley All-Stars were defeated in their first game in the 2017 Little League state tournament Sunday, but they will take the field again looking for a victory today.

Tygarts Valley jumped out to an early lead Sunday, but then fell behind and were eventually downed 12-2 by Grant County.

The Tygarts Valley squad is the host team for the double-elimination state tournament, which is being played on the fields in Huttonsville.

“We came out well, hit a home run and were in the lead, but then we just fell apart,” said manager Davie Tackett. “Once things started going the other way, our guys just couldn’t turn it around. They had the opening game jitters.”

Tygarts Valley will play at 6 p.m. this evening, but their opponent will be determined by the result of games played earlier in the day.

“The team we’ll be against will be playing their second game of the day, so that’s in our favor,” Tackett said. “We still have a chance to make some noise in this tournament.

“It’s just our first loss, and we’re in a good bracket, so hopefully we’ll come out and play better in this game,” he said.

Tygarts Valley’s first game had been delayed a day by the weather. The tournament was set to kick off Friday evening, but rains forced the postponement of all the scheduled games. Those contests were played Saturday, when rain and lightning caused further delays.

“We finally got to take the field Sunday,” Tackett said. “The tournament officials are doing everything they can to get it back on track. They’re playing more games than originally planned Monday to get back on schedule.”

The Tygarts Valley squad includes Garrett Gibson, Charlie Brown, Elliott Smith, Nick Currence, Riley Tackett, Matthew Pratt, Noah Armstrong, Brandon Mahoney, Seth Currence, Derrick Gear, Eli Smith, Ezra Scott and Trenton Shreve, along with Tackett and coaches Jackie Mahoney and Rod Gibson.

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