Webster County Explodes Past Greater Beckley for Historic Win

There are no alcoholic beverages sold at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley.

That fact did not prevent Saturday afternoon from being Miller time.

Ryder Miller's time that is.

In the biggest game of his high school career, the junior second baseman went 4-for-4 with six runs batted in, leading Webster County to a 15-4 victory over Greater Beckley Christian in five innings.

The win secured the Class A Region 3 Baseball title and garnered the Highlanders their first-ever trip to the State Baseball Tournament in the 51-year history of the school.

Webster County will open state tournament play in the Thursday morning session at GoMart Park in Charleston with the time and opponent still to be determined.

"I am just super proud of my guys. The expectations early in the year was to win a few games," first year head coach Jerry Skidmore said. "We didn't have any last year. I knew stepping in that I would have some good kids, but I didn't think they were this good."

Both teams threatened in the first inning, but both squads came up empty.

Webster County moved a runner to third with two outs before a ground ball out ended its threat. Greater Beckley had a more promising opportunity with runners at second and third with just one away.

"It was just really theirs all day. Every ball found a hole," Greater Beckley head coach Blain Smith. "We didn't push those two runs home in the first inning and got the two strikeouts. We just didn't make contact."

Although the Crusaders had missed on a golden opportunity, it didn't appear fatal. However, when their pitcher struggled to find the strike zone in the top of the second inning, the game quickly unraveled for the home team.

"We started off slow in the first as they did, but I knew it was going to come down to pitching today. I knew we had a little bit better pitching than they did after seeing what they had the first two games," Skidmore said. "I am just proud of my team. We came through in the clutch today. The second inning we had a great inning with the nine runs. We were patient at the plate. It ended up being the big inning that changed the outcome of the game."

Three walks and a single gave Webster County a 1-0 lead before a wild pitch doubled the advantage. With first base now open, Greater Beckley elected to intentionally walk Maddox Brown to set up a force at every base.

Following a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Miller stepped in for his first swings of the day.

Miller then launched a drive into the right-center gap clearing the bases for a 5-0 lead and the Highlanders never looked back. The junior second baseman was a thorn in the side of the Crusaders all day, hitting two triples and a double, single-handily outscoring the home team.

"Ryder Miller is awesome. I put him in the three-spot, but we have bounced him around all year long," Skidmore said. "As of late, he has been hitting the ball. He is hitting the thunder out of it. I couldn't ask for more out of that kid."

RBI-singles from Isaac Snyder and junior Daniel Gaye along with a two-RBI double from senior Grayden Channell capped the nine-run outburst. Channell was 3-for-3 on the day with a double and two RBI. As a unit, the visitors accumulated 13 total hits.

While the Webster County offense was making big strides, Greater Beckley was being stymied by the Highlander starting pitcher on the other side.

"My No. 2 guy, Joston Lewis had a great game today and kept us right where we needed to be. Our bats came alive, so all he had to do was throw strikes," Skidmore said. "He gave up a few (runs) here and there, but we knew that was going to happen. I thought we would come out ahead today because I knew their pitching wasn't as good as ours."

Over his five innings of work, Lewis scattered seven hits, allowed only two earned runs and struck-out nine.

"Baseball is a game where anything can happen. I would say we probably needed to find a way to win yesterday, but we didn't," Smith said. "They found a way. That kid threw just enough strikes and they made enough plays. A nine-run inning is kind of tough to overcome. That's baseball."