Top-seeded Wheeling Central Runs Away Late To Beat Wyoming East

Wheeling Central head coach Todd Cover said his team hung its hat on pitching and defense for its success this season.

Thursday evening in the Class AA State Baseball Tournament semifinal against Wyoming East, all the Maroon Knights needed was pitching.

Anchored by a one-hit, 14-strikeout performance from junior fire-baller Brayden Cover, Wheeling Central knocked off the Warriors 10-0 in six innings.

Wheeling Central now advances to the championship game for the first time since 2018. The Maroon Knights last won the state baseball title in 2011.

"Brayden pitched really well for us. His stats may not wow you because he has pitched against all of the best teams we have faced. That is what you want out of your ace," coach Cover said. "He was on today. When he is on, as his dad and his coach, it is just get out of the way, don't talk to him."

For three innings, Wyoming East starter Jaeden Lester was as equally effective for Wyoming East.

"We did some research on the Lester kid, so we knew he was a pretty tough out. A lefty with that kind of (velocity), that kid of movement and a good curve-ball like that, it's going to be tough," Cover said. "We may not have scored much against him, but what we did was run his pitch count up a bit. Once we did that and got to their bullpen, that's when it kind of got out of hand."

In a game where it was clear that the first team that blinked would likely be in trouble, the Warriors blinked in the bottom of the fourth.

With two outs and the bases loaded a ground ball which appeared to be going for the final out of the inning, changed the complexion of the game.

A late play on a force attempt at second base allowed two runs to cross and Cover did the rest.

"We just lost a little bit of focus and didn't make a play. It is what it is and they put pressure on us" Wyoming East head coach Kevin Hedinger said. "We caught the ground ball and didn't get an out. If we would have made a play somewhere we had a fielder standing on a bag it would be have sweet."

The breakthrough runs amped up the momentum for the Maroon Knights.

"I was thinking one run could possibly win it. We have just been aggressive all year," Cover said. "We are an athletic team with pretty good speed on the bases. It was just a heads up play by Andy (Bailer) to come around and score that second run to put some more pressure on them."

"I think it took some of the pressure off," Cover went on to say. "Nerves are half the battle and it's a mental game at this stage. Again, we were facing a really good opponent and a really good pitcher. Once we got that first run or two across, I think we sat back and settled down a little bit."

Although Central padded the lead in the next two innings, Cover never allowed the Warriors to get back into the contest.

"He threw fastballs by us all night and we took a lot of them. I don't know what we were looking for," Hedinger said. "He was throwing it down the middle and we didn't put any contact on it. I have coached a long time and we have never won a game where we hadn't scored any runs."

Cover aided his own cause with two RBI, along with Brady Ernest and Jake Brown who both drove in a pair of runs.

Miken Smyth had the lone hit for the Warriors.