Successful summer for Sophia Little League

Jul. 12—Make a visit to the impressive Sophia Little League complex and among the things you will notice are all the plaques commemorating the league's various district and state champions from over the years.

League president John Shufflebarger will have to find room for more — and they may not be done.

The league had four teams win District 4 championships this summer, and one — the Junior League girls team — won a state championship Monday night.

In all, six of seven teams that entered district play advanced to their state tournaments.

"I like to think we are running a pretty good league," Shufflebarger said, understatedly.

Given the sustained success of the baseball and softball programs at Independence High School — the school that most of the SLL players feed into — it probably comes as no surprise that the league is winning with such frequency. But to have six teams in the state championship conversation is no small accomplishment.

It takes on-field ability, but it also requires community support, which has not been a problem for Sophia. And bloodline doesn't hurt — many of the current players carry the surnames of the area's storied past.

"The bloodline just keeps rolling along," said Kyle Viars, an Independence graduate and the manager of the boys 11-12 team that will begin state tournament play Friday in Bridgeport. "The girls just won the state championship and have set the bar high. It's just bloodlines and the community continues to put in from the bottom up. Coach (John H.) Lilly, he's got the (Independence) football program and he understands it starts at the youth level. That's how you build a program. It's from the bottom up."

Ashley Justice, the manager of the state champion Junior League girls, likened the support shown to her team and the league to the type given during the Patriots' run to last year's Class AA state football championship.

"Our town and people from out of town, Wyoming County, the Glen Daniel area, we've just had so much outpour of love, honestly," Justice said. "Every surrounding county just supported them. Instead of having that county rivalry, everybody came together."

Viars' group has won three consecutive district championships, adding to the titles they won at the 8-10 and 9-11 age divisions. The team finished as state runner-up last summer.

Viars, Heath Myers and Matt Mills have been the coaches all the way through. Of the 12 players on the team, all but two are 12 years old.

Team chemistry is a definite strong suit.

"I think as you go along, as with any team, the more you go along and work and get put into championship games and state tournament-level games, you build that cohesiveness together," Viars said. "You've got kids who have played together since they were 6, 7 years old. That builds that bonding and just a familiarity with each other."

The team seems to be well rounded.

"Right now, the overall athleticism of the team. We're fast and athletic," Viars said. "Every one of these kids plays two or more sports and that goes a long way. But as far as the game of baseball, I think we do a really good job.

"We're deep pitching. I've got three or four kids that I can throw and I feel like I can compete with anybody in the state. When people ask who is my No. 1, I really don't have a No. 1. We're pretty consistent with hitting. And I want to throw in baserunning. We're fast, we get on base and we can manufacture runs. Even if we're having a bad day at the plate, we steal a lot of bases, (on) passed balls we're gone. Delayed steals. We do a lot of stuff and wreak havoc on the basepaths. We're just scrappy. That's just part of who we are."

Sophia will play Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Martinsburg.

Also winning district titles this summer were the Major girls and the Junior boys. The girls saw their season end at the state tournament, and the Junior boys will begin play Friday in Logan, taking on Summersville at noon.

The 9-11 and 8-10 boys both qualified as district runners-up. The 9-11 team will start state play this weekend in Moorefield.

As for Justice's softball team, Southeast Region play begins July 21 in Salisbury, N.C., where Sophia — representing the Mountain State — will take the field at 3 p.m.

The team will leave the day before and could use more community support in the form of funding to cover the cost of uniforms, travel, lodging and food. The players will be tagging at the Friends of Chaarity Auto Fair this weekend and will also be taking donations at Sophia red lights and at the Glen Daniel intersection.

Anyone wishing to donate can also send a message to the Sophia Little League Affinity Park Facebook page.

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5