Midland Trail back in state softball tournament

May 19—Midland Trail is heading back to familiar territory this week.

The Patriots will launch WVSSAC State High School Softball Tournament play Wednesday against St. Marys in South Charleston. It will mark Midland Trail's third appearance in the Class A state tournament field in the past four years.

In its opener, Trail (20-7) will square off with the Blue Devils (28-3) at 9:30 a.m. at Craft Field in Little Creek Park in South Charleston.

Midland Trail head coach Candace Young participated in the state tournament three times as a MTHS player, and this year is the third appearance of a Young-coached squad at the state level.

Her team sitting the state tourney out in 2023 after Greenbrier West was the Region 3 representative was difficult to swallow, Young said. "Missing last year after going two years in a row was kind of a heartbreaker. Even this year a lot of people counted us out (because they didn't advance last year)."

Midland Trail dispatched Greenbrier West in the section round this spring, then battled James Monroe in the Region 3 championship series. After the Mavericks rallied from a big hole for a Game 1 win, adjustments for Games 2 and 3 were critical for the Patriots, Young explained. "The biggest thing was staying focused and (trying) to win every inning. That was our main focus."

"Playing as a team and keeping everybody up" has been a big part of the equation as the Patriots have advanced through the postseason, the coach said. "It's been awesome all around. This team has really bought into being a team.

"These girls have had faith in me, faith in each other and faith in God. Several times I've looked across the diamond and seen them huddled in prayer. And, they've put in the work; they're a gritty team. It's been a very, very fun year coaching."

Senior center fielder Hannah Beeson says the Patriots are currently playing pretty solid softball. "We're playing our best right now."

"Missing last year was kind of expected because we were down pitchers and we couldn't hit the ball very well," Beeson continued.

With the arrival of freshman pitcher Madison Rader, who has been a stalwart all season long, Beeson said she knew the Patriots would have a high-percentage shot at returning to state competition.

"It's really exciting to end our senior year this way," she said.

To have success this week, Trail will have to conquer talented teams with which they are unfamiliar, Beeson noted. "Most of the teams we play down in state tournament are not much from our area," she said, indicating more toward different geographic regions where "softball is really, really serious."

The Patriots will encounter "amazing pitching" this week, Beeson said. "In years past, we weren't ready to step into the box mentally," she said. "Our starting nine, we know we're going to see great pitching and we have to up our game a lot."

Beeson said her team has had to coalesce through the tough postseason grind. "When we played GWest, we had a lot of fire under our belt. We wanted to beat them real bad," she said. "At James Monroe (last) Monday, mentally we didn't get off the bus. We had to regroup (for the final two contests)."

She hopes the good vibes can continue this week. "Realistically, my hope is ... to not only to go down there and play good softball, but definitely win a game (or more)."

Senior third baseman Anna Weaver has played all four years for the Patriots, but this week will mark her first time seeing any state tournament action on the field, since she was on the junior varsity team her first two years Trail advanced. "It's exciting because this is the first year out of the three that I played varsity," Weaver said. "It's a lot more pressure."

That isn't going to faze her much, she said. "I'm ecstatic. I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm also confident in the team. I think we'll do good."

Weaver said a main focus for the Patriots has been plowing straight ahead in the face of adversity. "We've always just tried to work as much as a team as possible and talk on the field," she said. "I think the key for us is to hit the ball. Our defense is pretty solid, but our offense can be a little hit and miss."

"I'm happy we've had a pretty successful season, and I think that's going to carry on through our last few games," Weaver said.

One of the team's younger set, Rader admits to harboring a case of the jitters as the tourney arrives. "I'm pretty nervous; I'm just really excited," she said. "It's scary still."

She feels the Patriots have a good chance of having success this week. "I think that if we (play good defense and hit the ball), we can do some damage," said Rader.

She says her teammates have helped make the season a success and helped her move into the role of pitching ace. "Coming into it, I was really nervous, but I settled in because I have my team behind me."

"We know that they (St. Marys is) pretty good," said Rader. "They've only lost three games."

That said, she said she thinks the Blue Devils are beatable if she and her teammates play up to their potential.

"They've got some seasoned girls," Young said of St. Marys. "It's a tough team and going to be a tough challenge."

She thinks her charges are poised for that challenge, given that they have met strong opposition so far in the postseason. "I think they're confident, and I think they're excited."

----For the season, Madison Rader leads the Midland Trail hitting attack among the regulars with a .514 batting average (36-for-70) with five doubles, a triple and 20 RBIs. Teammate Nevaeh Hall, the shortstop, is hitting at a .431 clip (31-for-72) with five triples, four doubles, two homers and a team-best 34 RBIs.

Also, Hannah Beeson is batting at a .323 clip (20-for-62) with four doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 RBIs. Kylie Ramsey bats .306 (19-for-62) with three doubles and 15 RBIs. Trinity Wilson also bats .306 (19-for-62) with four doubles and 20 RBIs.

Others providing offense include Anna Weaver (.286) and Jenna Stonestreet (.286), Raygen Parsons (.283) and Jesse Skaggs (.262).

Rader possesses a 15-7 pitching record. In 125 2/3 innings on the hill, she has yielded 94 hits, 34 earned runs and 42 walks while striking out 155. Her ERA stands at 1.894.

----Pairings for the Class A double-elimination event at Craft Field (via wvmetronews.com) are as follows:

Wednesday, May 22

—Game 1 — St. Marys (28-3) vs. Midland Trail (20-7), 9:30 a.m.

—Game 2 — Petersburg (25-8) vs. Buffalo (18-12), 30 minutes after Game 1

—Game 3 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4:30 p.m.

—Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 30 minutes after Game 3

Thursday, May 23

—Game 5 — Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 9:30 a.m.

—Game 6 — Championship, 2 p.m.

—Game 7 — If necessary, 30 minutes after Game 6.

For tickets, visit https://gofan.co/WVSSAC.

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