Wyoming East Baseball Heads Back to Charleston

State tournament droughts are not very common at Wyoming East High School.

However, the baseball team had been traversing a 13-year hiatus from the Capitol City since it won its only hardball title back in 2012.

Tonight, Ron "Chief" Mayhew is smiling.

The beloved coach, who passed away in January, 2024, led the Warriors to that elusive title, with current head coach, Kevin Hedinger, then an assistant, by his side.

Thursday night, after battling weather delays for two days, Hedinger and his current players did their former leader proud by winning the Class AA Region 3 title with a 4-2 victory over James Monroe.

Wyoming East will now play Thursday in the evening session at GoMart Park. The opponent and exact time is still to be determined.

The Warriors entered Thursday's clash with a one-game lead in the best-of-3 series following a win Monday night in New Richmond.

Following two days of postponements due to rain and poor field conditions at James Monroe, Wyoming East (25-7) took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

However, the Warriors tempted fate when they failed to score in the first inning after loading the bases with just one out.

Another golden opportunity slid by the boards in the third inning when Braxton Morgan walked and worked his way to third base, also with one out, but could not score.

The concern appeared to mount when Kadyn Hines launched a two-run bomb in the bottom of the frame, giving the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.

Wyoming East starter Jarred Phillips never flinched and neither did his teammates.

Jake Stewart opened the fourth inning with a single and Talan Muscari followed with another base knock. Senior Zach Hunt then tied the game with a ringing double, scoring Stewart before Muscari raced home on a throwing error on a pick-off attempt.

Braxton Morgan's fielder's choice plated Hunt and Phillips did the rest.

Over the final four innings, Phillips allowed just two singles. One came with two outs before a pop out ended the inning. The second was a lead-off single, but that threat was erased quickly when the runner was picked off first base by Hunt from behind the plate.

Over his seven innings of work, Phillips only allowed four total hits, the two earned runs, while striking out 13 Mavericks. The junior right-hander used 101 pitches Thursday with 70 going for strikes.