CHARLESTON — The University High School baseball team earned the chance to represent Region 1 in the state tournament by way of defeating rival Morgantown in a best-of-three series to claim the second seed in Class AAA.
In just his second season at the helm, UHS head coach Brad Comport is taking the program to its first state tournament appearance in 19 years. The Hawks last played in states when former UHS, WVU, and MLB baseball player Jedd Gyorko was just a freshman.
“This means a lot,” Comport said. “It’s an exciting time for our school and our program. We’ve had so much support in the school and the community. I’m so excited for the kids. They’ve worked extremely hard to reach this point.”
Sitting at just 6-8 after a loss to Wheeling Park on April 12, UHS seemed to be headed toward an underachieving season given the roster of the team. But a tough schedule in the opening third of the year combined with multiple close losses didn’t dampen the morale of the team, as Comport and his staff often reminded their club to lean on each other and believe in their abilities.
“We played some really good teams and lost some close games on the front end of the schedule,” Comport said. “The message was always to stay the course and trust in each other. Our players knew that their coaches believed in them and their capabilities. We told them we would make a run, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Led by senior first baseman Noah Braham, the UHS roster is riddled with talent and experience. Along with Braham, nine other seniors round out the “Senior Ten” for UHS. Salem University signee Cody Thomas, the shortstop for UHS, says it once the off-field bond got stronger, it translated to the game.
“When we got a few of those big wins in the middle of the year we just started rolling,” Thomas said after winning the regional against MHS. “We all came together and started getting closer. Hanging out together, loving each other. It helped us click much better.”
UHS outscored opponents 319-169 this season, a difference of 150 runs. Most recently, the Hawks tallied 30 total runs across three games during the Region 1 championship series against MHS, including 13 runs in the first and third games.
Braham was named OVAC 5A Player of the Year and will look to use his .538 batting average to propel a heavy-hitting Hawk offense to a strong showing at states. On top of the average, the WVU football signee has tallied 64 hits, including 13 home runs and four triples, scored 51 runs, and has 66 RBI in 35 games. He leads UHS in every statistical offensive category except for triples, Gabe Templeton has five.
UHS will play the second Class AAA semifinal on Friday afternoon, 50 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal between No. 1 Cabell Midland and No. 4 St. Albans which begins at 10:00 a.m.
The Hawks will battle No. 3 Hedgesville (27-8) for a shot in the state championship game on Saturday afternoon. Despite not knowing much about the opposition, Comport knows the Eagles are a solid team and anticipates seeing tough pitching in the win-or-go-home format.
“We haven’t played them and don’t have many common opponents,” he said. “We have to be ready to compete every moment. If we keep things simple and do the little things right we will have a good chance. We just need to play our game; fill up the strike zone, limit free bases, make routine plays on defense, and continue to have great at-bats on offense.”
TWEET @ahhh_griff
