John Marshall Seeks Third State Softball Championship In Program History

Monarchs Make Debut Wednesday In Class AAA vs. Cabell Midland

CHARLESTON -- John Marshall will be seeking its third W.Va. Class AAA state softball title when the Monarchs begin play Wednesday morning against Cabell Midland at Little Creek.

The Monarchs (27-4) finished the season ranked fourth in the W.Va. coaches poll, while the Knights (21-5) were second.

"Cabell Midland is a good team with some very good wins. We have seen them a few times on video," veteran John Marshall head coach Ed West said. "They come from a strong Region 4 and will be a strong opponent. They also have a few losses which tells me that they can be beat. I am looking forward to a good game."

John Marshall advanced with sectional wins over Morgantown and a sweep of University in the regional final.

The regional championship win over the Hawks was No. 350 for West in his 14 seasons.

"It was one of the milestones I was hoping to reach this year. I knew coming into the season that I needed 27 wins," West noted. "I was happy to get there and I am very proud of this team for performing to that level and winning the 27th game in the regional final.

"I knew coming in that we had the potential to be good, but you never know how the team will respond," West said about this season. "This team has played up to the hype and performed at a high level with confidence and pride.

"We have some young talented players on our team that received some good leadership from our team captains and leaders in Kadence Pettit, Paytyn Tucker and Ava Blake."

The Monarchs won state titles in 1998 and 2012, the first under Pancho Flores and the other under West. They have been state runner ups on four occasions: 2011, 2017, 2018 and last season.

"I thought about retiring last year, but I decided to come back. I told the girls we had some unfinished business in Charleston and they agreed and set their sights on getting back there this year and finishing the job.

"We are 27-4. We came up short in the OVCA Class 5A final when we lost to Steubenville, a team we beat earlier," West recalled. "That loss motivated us to refocus and get ready for sectional and regional.

Blake, a junior shortstop who has verbally committed to Marshall University, is the Monarchs leading hitter with .451 avg. Her 14 home runs are a single-season program record and she has recorded 41 RBI.

Pettit has shined in the circle. The right has a 1.24 ERA and 208 Ks. Junior AC Cumberledge is the No. 2 ace. The team ERA is 1.52.

John Marshall is batting .348 as a team and has compiled a team fielding percentage of .948 and team ERA 1.52.

Freshman Masyn Inclan is the catcher, with Cumberledge playing first. Freshman Kaylee White is at second with junior Carlee Yoho at third. Tucker mans left, junior Reese Ward is in center and right field has been played by sophomore Tori Finley and freshman Nia Miller. Sophomores Alexis Thayer and Carlie Keyser have seen action as the designated hitter, while Kaylee Stauffer has played second and is used as a courtesy runner.

West's coaching staff is veteran, as well.

"Most of our coaches have been with me at least 10 years. Eric Booth has been with me for 21 years. He is my right hand man and helps me in so many ways. He coaches first base and helps me in decision making," West said. "Rod Swoger has been with me 16 years and does a great job working with our pitchers. Rob Blake has been with us for 10 years. He coaches the JV team and does a great job as our hitting coach. Taylor Gray is a former JM player and the new kid on the block of our coaching staff. She replaced longtime assistant Denny Phillips. She works with the JV team and our outfielders."