MORGANTOWN — There’s one word to describe the feeling at Mylan Park these days and it’s excitement.
The Morgantown and University High softball teams are buzzing with excitement for the first all-Morgantown regional series between the cross-town rivals that will begin next week.
“The girls are excited for it,” MHS coach Lorri Lipscomb said. “It’s a big rivalry but at the same time, a lot of the girls are friends off the field.”
The rival Mohigans and Hawks haven’t met in the best-of-three Class AAA Region I championship series since the sections were realigned over 10 years ago.
“I’m really excited,” UHS coach Mindy Parks said. “You’re more anxious than nervous, but we’re just really excited. It’s a privilege, it’s an honor and I think all of our hard work is going to pay off.”
The series will begin Monday at 5:30 p.m. on Morgantown’s ISS Field. Game two will be about 100 feet away on University’s Lynch Field on Tuesday at 5 p.m. If needed, game three will be back on ISS Field on Wednesday. The winner will advance to the state tournament in Charleston.
“It’s sad that you’ve got two really good teams in the state and one will move on and one will stay home,” Lipscomb said. “You hate to see that but at the same time, we get to stay at home and hopefully there will be big crowds.”
Despite being rivals, the Hawks (20-9) and Mohigans (20-7) couldn’t be much more similar this season. They split two regular-season meetings with both teams winning 8-0 at home and they’re both playing their best softball of the season leading into the regional.
“We all should be,” Parks said. “We have enough games under our belt, right?”
University breezed through its section tournament, putting up double-digit runs in all three games while outscoring opponents 43-8.
“The middle and bottom (of the lineup) are really starting to gel,” Parks said. “The top has always carried our team and if we can continue that, how great is that going to be?”
Sophomores Maddie Campbell and Sophia Lehosit lead the Hawks both in the circle and at the plate.
Pitching, Campbell is 7-4 with a 3.76 ERA and 65 strikeouts. Lehosit is 8-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 69 strikeouts. With the bat, Campbell is hitting .453 with a 1.233 OPS and 23 RBI while Lehosit is hitting .353 with 14 RBI.
Starting catcher Olivia Masoner is sidelined with an injury, but she has continued to call pitches for Campbell and Lehosit from the Hawks’ dugout.
“I think the pitchers feel like they still have Olivia,” Parks said. “She’s still there for them. It’s all about confidence and they’re confident with her sitting there. It’s almost given them the spark.”
Josalyn Phillips has been behind the plate in Masoner’s absence and had a good section tournament, hitting 4-8 with a double and three RBI.
For the Mohigans to reach the regional, they had to get past a foe that had been their blockade for years, John Marshall. The Mohigans didn’t just squeak past the Monarchs either, they beat JM three times in seven days, 4-3 in the OVAC 5A championship, 8-3 in the second round of the sectional tournament and finally 18-10 in the section championship.
“I think the team chemistry has really been something that has carried us,” Lipscomb said. “They believe in each other, they trust each other, they’re just really a great group of girls and they’re playing for each other. They believe that they can win and that’s what’s carried us.”
MHS blasted a school-record seven home runs in the deciding game against JM with two coming off the bat of Maddie Wisman.
Wisman has been key for MHS this season as not only is she hitting .487 with six home runs and 38 RBI, but she’s also gone 16-2 in the circle with a 2.60 ERA and 106 strikeouts.
“She’s been a game-changer,” Lipscomb said. “The attitude, the enthusiasm, the positivity. I feel the girls are real confident behind her and she’s just, top-to-bottom, an all-around player.”
Wisman was forced to pitch this season because senior Mo Wilson was held back for part of the year with an arm injury. Wilson hit .430 with 27 RBI as the designated player this year and returned to the circle during the section tournament.
Morgantown has won eight games in a row dating back to April 20.
“If we stay the course and keep making good contact like we have been, I like our odds,” Lipscomb said.
With both teams peaking this late into the season, there is very little separation between the two and the smallest things could make the difference between who moves on and who stays home.
“I think we’re very similar,” Parks said. “I think we just have to stay upbeat. Try to play to that last pitch and last innings and try to make it through on top.”
