Regional Softball: The Run to Little Creek Starts Monday

The softball season has been trimmed to eight teams in each class.

Following this coming week, the number will be down to four.

The teams that survive the regional round will advance to the state softball tournament starting Wednesday, May 28 at Little Creek Park in South Charleston.

The local Region 3 match-ups include Independence and Herbert Hoover (AAA), Wyoming East and Liberty (AA), along with Mount View and Greenbrier West in Class A.

Each series is a best-of-3 games format.

The Patriots, Warriors and Golden Knights will be on the road for Monday's match-up. Each team will host game two Tuesday. Should game three be needed, the deciding game will return to the game one location.

Herbert Hoover has been a postseason nemesis for Independence in recent history, but those meetings have occurred at the state tournament.

The Huskies are the top-ranked team in Class AAA and took both regular season meeting against the Patriots (23-9) without surrendering a run.

Hannah Shamblin leads Hoover (21-6) in the circle with a 14-2 record and an eye-popping 1.17 ERA. The WV State commit has 106 strikeouts over 113 innings.

Freshman Kaylen Harper leads the hitters, batting .451 and fellow freshman Emma Hanson hits .370.

Independence has two solid arms in Paytin Brehm and Kenzie Pierce and a powerful hitting line-up led by Ava Parks. The sophomore phenom is hitting .536 on the year with 42 runs batted in and 22 extra base hits.

Glenville State commits, Kassidy Bradbury (.433) and Emma Lilly (.471) follow closely. Bradbury has 19 extra base hits and 21 RBI, while Lilly leads the team with 44 RBI and 20 extra base hits.

Liberty (16-8) and Wyoming East (13-9) met twice in the regular season with the Raiders winning both games.

The ladies from Glen Daniel have strong hitting throughout the line-up with five players hitting better than .400.

Katie Mullens (.446) leads the team in the RBI category with 25 and has 19 extra base hits. Stella Brown (.405) follows with 23, while Allie Bowles (.500) has 21 runs batted in.

Freshman catcher Alyssa Scarbro (.487) sets the table for the Raiders and McKinlea Hill hits .427.

Wyoming East has been red-hot since the loss to Liberty in mid-April, winning 10 of its last 11 games. The only loss was to AAAA George Washington.

The wins have come in large part to the strong pitching from Carli Raye and a group of hitters that have found their rhythm at the perfect time of year.

Raye has a 2.67 ERA and is as equally impressive at the dish, hitting .470 with 32 RBI. Catcher Kaydee Shrewsbury is just a tick under .400.

Alivia Monroe and Mak Hatfield have been swinging a solid bat in the postseason, along with Victoria Smith and Kendra Cook.

Greenbrier West (16-8) has been a juggernaut in the postseason with a lethal line-up and one of the best pitchers in the state in Brilee Redden.

Redden has a 2.26 ERA and has 128 strikeouts in just under 87 innings pitched. The junior standout is also a terror at the plate hitting .519 with 27 RBI and 25 extra base hits, including nine home runs.

Brooklyn Adkins leads the Cavaliers with 33 RBI, followed by Preslee Treadway with 27 and Maddie Fields with 24 runs batted in.

Across 24 games, Greenbrier West has 217 hits, has scored 229 runs and smacked 92 extra base hits. Twenty-two swings have gone yard.

Mount View (19-7) has flown under the radar, but the Golden Knights have quietly put together a strong season

Phoebe Dudgeon leads five players hitting .391 or better. Dudgeon (.493) with 37 RBI and 19 extra base hits.

Kayleigh Rose follows closely at .478 and Shiann Carter hits .467. Carter has 30 RBI and Rose has 25. Shianne Belcher (.393) and Kaylee Cook each have 23 runs batted in.

Dudgeon has been the ace in the circle for the Golden Knights with a 15-6 record and a 2.68 ERA. Across 117 innings, Dudgeon has recorded 253 strikeouts.

The state tournament for Class AA and Class A will be played Wednesday and Thursday, May 28-29. Class AAA and Class AAAA will take place Friday and Saturday, May 30-31.

Photo courtesy of Mount View Softball FaceBook page