MHS baseball trio, Preston's McNew named first-team all-state

Weston Smith placed himself on the list of all-time greats at Hurricane High School, not verbally but with his effort.
The senior right-handed pitcher/centerfielder starred for the Redskins and led them to a 28-7 record and the Class AAAA state championship this season. His dominance led to Smith being named captain of the all-state team in the large-school division. The squad was selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Smith, who signed with West Virginia University, went 10-0 with a 1.17 earned run average and 88 strikeouts in 59 innings. Opponents batted .097. He also hit three home runs, drove in 35 runs, and batted .350. Smith hurled a complete game in a 6-1 victory over Morgantown in the state finals.
'He's done it on the field and in the classroom,' Hurricane coach Brian Sutphin said. 'He's gotten it done every year. It's been a lot of fun to watch him grow, not only as a player but as a person.'
Smith was part of Hurricane's 2022 state champion. He said his maturity level has improved since then. That showed at the state tournament while he signed baseballs for kids outside the Redskins dugout after a 5-3 semifinal triumph over Hedgesville.
One little boy was left holding a baseball, but someone had walked off with the pen Smith was using. Rather than disappoint the youngster, Smith asked assistant coach Eric Brookes if he had another pen. Brookes did. Smith signed the kid's baseball and sent him off smiling to show his friends the newly acquired treasure.
'One of the biggest things is honestly maturing as a player,' Smith said. 'There are some things that, as a freshman or sophomore, that I probably didn't take as much into account as I did this year. But I've used that to get better.'
Fans hoped to see a pitching showdown featuring Smith and fellow first-team all-state utility player Garrett Wagoner of Spring Valley. It never happened, as Smith hurled Hurricane to a 9-3 victory in the first game of the Region IV championship series and Wagoner pitched the Timberwolves to a 5-0 triumph in game two.
Wagoner, too, is a star pitcher/centerfielder. The West Virginia State signee hit six home runs, knocked in 40 runs, and batted .423. He is Spring Valley's all-time hit leader with more than 130. On the mound, he went 4-1 with an 0.71 ERA.
The first-team pitching staff has George Washington's Slade Barton, who is headed to WVU, Jefferson's Jett Gross and Morgantown's Maddox Boggs. Barton went 8-0 with a 1.96 ERA, Gross 8-0 with a 1.30 ERA and Boggs 9-2 with a 1.35 ERA.
The catchers are senior Corbin Dixon of George Washington and sophomore Bryson McNew of Preston. Dixon hit five homers and knocked in 28 while batting .438. McNew homered eight times and drove in 27 runs.
Vinny Aloi of Morgantown, Brody Spencer of Spring Valley, Bryson Shirkey of Hurricane, Owen Grose of Oak Hill, and Jon Fala of George Washington comprise the infield.
Aloi hit .309 with two homers and 31 RBIs. Spencer homered once, knocked in 30 runs and hit .408. Shirkey batted .389 with a pair of home runs and 43 RBIs. Grose batted .488 with two homers and 35 RBIs. Fala swatted four home runs, knocked in 30 runners, and hit .487.
Patrolling the first-team outfield is Maddex Sims from Woodrow Wilson, Carter McLain from Parkersburg South (Sr.), Landon Nida from Cabell Midland and Mason Bowers from Morgantown. Sims batted .438 and knocked home 22 runs. McLain sported a .506 average with 10 RBIs and scored 42 runs from the top of the batting order. Nida, who signed with West Virginia State, hit .308 and was known for stellar defense. Bowers hit .386 with 32 runs scored and 12 RBIs.
The second team, too, is talented in all phases.
Pitchers are Mason McGill of Hedgesville, Bryce Eggleton of St. Albans, and Ty Nettles of George Washington. Catching them are Hurricane's Griffin Dempsey and Jefferson's Cole Smith, Jefferson.
On the infield is Nate Simon of Wheeling Park, Tyler Baxter of Hurricane, WVU signee Weston Mazey of Morgantown, Brogan Samms of St. Albans, and Braedon Oviedo of Jefferson.
In the outfield are Christian Youngblood from Capital, Brance McCune from University, J.P. Sweeney from Spring Mills, and Eli Smith from George Washington. The utility players, guys who displayed tremendous versatility, are Braxton Burke of South Charleston and Tyler Wilhite, a freshman from Woodrow Wilson.
Burke captained the second unit after going 4-2 with a 4.11 ERA and hitting .400 with 19 RBIs.
Wooden plaques in the shape of West Virginia that include the player's name, school, licensed WVSWA logo, year of the honoree are available to all-state first-team, second-team, and honorable mentions, and can be purchased from the Bear Wood Company through WVSWA.org or Bearwoodcompany.com.
— Story by Tim Stephens
CLASS AAAA
First Team
P – Jett Gross, Jefferson (Jr.)
P – Slade Barton, George Washington (Jr.)
P – Maddox Boggs, Morgantown (Soph.)
C – Corbin Dixon, George Washington (Sr.)
C – Bryson McNew, Preston (Soph.)
IF -Vinny Aloi, Morgantown (Sr.)
IF – Brody Spencer, Spring Valley (Jr.)
IF- Bryson Shirkey, Hurricane (Sr.)
IF- Owen Grose, Oak Hill (Jr.)
IF – Jon Fala, George Washington (Soph.)
OF – Maddex Sims, Woodrow Wilson (Sr.)
OF – Carter McLain, Parkersburg South (Sr.)
OF – Landon Nida, Cabell Midland (Sr.)
OF – Mason Bowers, Morgantown (Jr.)
Util – Weston Smith, Hurricane (Sr.) (CAPT)
Util – Garrett Wagoner, Spring Valley (Sr.)
Second team
P – Mason McGill, Hedgesville (Soph.)
P – Bryce Eggleton, St. Albans (Sr.)
P – Ty Nettles, George Washington (Jr.)
C – Griffin Dempsey, Hurricane (Sr.)
C – Cole Smith, Jefferson (Sr.)
IF – Nate Simon, Wheeling Park (Sr.)
IF – Tyler Baxter, Hurricane (Sr.)
IF – Weston Mazey, Morgantown (Sr.)
IF – Brogan Samms, St. Albans (Soph.)
IF – Braedon Oviedo, Jefferson (Sr.)
OF – Christian Youngblood, Capital (Sr.)
OF – Brance McCune, University (Sr.)
OF – J.P. Sweeney, Spring Mills (Jr.)
OF – Eli Smith, George Washington (Jr.)
Util – Braxton Burke, South Charleston (Jr.) (CAPT)
Util – Tyler Wilhite, Woodrow Wilson (Fr.)
HONORABLE MENTION: Christian Altar, Martinsburg; Grant Barclay, Capital; Teryn Boyles, Musselman; Jemere Brown, Martinsburg; Cooper Cancade, Parkersburg; Tommy Clegg, John Marshall; Gavin Comer, St. Albans; Ty Davis, Parkersburg South; Cole Ferguson, Spring Valley, Drew Gallaher, Woodrow Wilson; Serf Guerra, Jefferson; Luke Gordon, George Washington; Ethan Hatcher, Cabell Midland; Sam Hefner, Jefferson; Grant Henderson, Martinsburg; Dylan Holliday, Parkersburg South; Hayden Hughes, John Marshall; Landon Marple, Buckhannon-Upshur; Owen Maynard, Cabell Midland; Wil McGraw, Oak Hill; Tommy Montague, University; Landon Pence, Hedgesville; Tanner Thomas, Preston; Jaxson Updegraff, Wheeling Park; Parker Vannoy, Parkersburg South; Kolton Whitmire, Wheeling Park; Parker Woods, Parkersburg.

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