HUTTONSVILLE - On yet another rainy night at the Tygart Valley Little League Complex, Shinnston Little League fell just short of the state championship game with a 9-7 semi-final loss to Winfield Little League. Following some late game heroics, including a home run off the bat of Nick Kellar, Shinnston's rally came up just short, unable to shore up enough runs to extend an amazing run through the Little League state tournament.
Shinnston began the tournament with the excitement of the home run derby won by its own Levi Moore with a notable ten home runs before hitting ten outs. The early victory of that competition would prove prophetic for Shinnston's state tournament stay.
After multiple rain delays, Shinnston found itself pitted against Huntington in its opening round game. Jeremiah Carpenter had a solo home run in the game to help Shinnston build an early lead. After leading for most of the game, Shinnston could not hold off Huntington in the sixth inning and fell by a score of 8-6. The blue and orange found themselves starting off the tournament in a bad position: one loss away from elimination.
They returned the next day with the daunting task of winning two games in one day. Shinnston came out in the morning to beat longtime West Virginia powerhouse Barboursville by a score of 12-2 and found themselves preparing to face another recognizable name in Martinsburg that evening. After an interesting string of events, Shinnston claimed a 4-2 victory over Martinsburg when Dillon Shaw hit a two-run walk-off home run to keep Shinnston alive.
On Tuesday, Shinnston found themselves facing a familiar opponent, Bridgeport; Shinnston's only loss in the District 5 tournament. Shinnston used the opportunity to exact revenge against the three-time defending state champions and behind the three-run home run of Michael Martin in a pitcher's dual defeated Bridgeport 3-1.
Shinnston's path got no easier after that when they found themselves staring at another state powerhouse, St. Albans, a team which had haunted other Shinnston teams in the past. Shinnston yet again found a way to put history behind them. Shinnston used a nine run first inning including a home run from Levi Moore to put St. Albans in a hole right out of the gate. They gave themselves some more breathing room in the sixth with a solo home run from Lance Hostuttler and ended up with a 10-2 victory. This advanced them to the state semi-finals where they fell just short after a terrific run.