Warriors Win Sectional Baseball Championship

Dunmore, WV – The Pocahontas Warriors are the 2012 West Virginia Class A Region 3 Section 1 baseball champions. The scrappy Warriors defeated rival Richwood 11-2 on Saturday to seize the sectional crown. The Warriors defeated Richwood 9-3 in game one of the sectional playoffs on May 4.

Shortstop Steve Halterman drove in three runs with a home run and a double. Second baseman Wesley Felton was 3-4 with two RBIs and outfielder Dillon Hovorka had two RBIs on two singles. Spencer McCoy, Cory Robertson and Dalton Walker each added an RBI apiece. Sophomore Brandon Hamons, who threw a no-hitter in the sectionals last season, struck out 13 and walked just one batter for a complete game and the win. Hamons set a school record with his fifth win of the season.
The pitcher says his curve ball and sinker have giving batters fits.

“Well, the curve ball is really working because it’s backing them out of the box,” he said. “They think it’s going to hit them, then it’s breaking over the plate. The 12-6, it’s breaking down in the dirt and they’re swinging at it.”

Coach Jim McCoy says Halterman, with a .696 batting average, has been the team’s dynamo.

“The Halterman kid’s probably been the best hitter and best defensive player – probably – that’s ever played up here at the high school,” he said. “He’s just a tremendous leader. He doesn’t say much, but with his presence here, he just keeps everybody together.”

The coach says Hovorka and Walker are among the best outfielders in the state.

“We’ve probably got two of the best defensive players in the outfield with Hovorka and the Walker kid,” he said. “They probably are two of the best outfielders in the State of West Virginia in single-A baseball, in my opinion.”

The Warriors will play the Valley-Fayette Greyhounds in a one-game regional championship during the week of May 21. The Greyhounds have a 23-8 overall record and defeated PCHS in the regional championship game last year.

Sophomore Wes Felton says the team is confident going into the regional championship game.

“We just seem to be a whole lot more confident,” he said. “We’re hitting the ball better, fielding the ball better and we’re just more confident in ourselves. If we make an error, we get back up. We don’t let it faze us. We’re really confident about it. We’re not letting anything get us down. We’re going into it with our heads high.”

With the victory over Richwood, the Warriors improved to 15-10 overall, the best record in school history.