Lincoln High School, which earlier this year celebrated the school's first state championship when its cheerleaders took the Class AA crown, added another Friday.
The Cougars defeated Magnolia, 7-5, for the Class AA state baseball title at Charleston's Watt Powell Park.
"I'm so happy for these players, this school and the fans," fifth-year coach Tom Hunter said. "This is a close-knit group, and the support we got this year was great from these fans. I can't be any more happier for these guys."
Lincoln fans, many of whom flocked to Charleston to see the Cougars, were bursting with pride Friday night.
An impromptu parade from Shinnston to Lumberport took nearly 11Ú2 hours, according to Shinnston Mayor Sam DeMarco.
"The fan support was amazing," DeMarco said. "There was probably 1,500 to 2,000 in Charleston and the rest were waiting on them when they got back.
"All the businesses had signs out ... this was a long time coming. It was a great team and community effort," DeMarco said.
"It was exciting to see a hometown team win," said Tina Bart, whose daughter Kayla will be a junior at Lincoln. "Hometown support was great, with twice as many people showing up to support Lincoln than Magnolia."
Lincoln ended its season 27-3 and got another dominating pitching performance from senior Levi Maxwell. Maxwell gave up five runs on four hits while striking out 11 in seven innings.
Both Maxwell and Thursday's winning pitcher, Wes Osbourn, are headed to West Virginia University next fall to play baseball.
"It's just an incredible feeling," Osbourn said. "We worked so hard for this all year long. I know Levi and I are both going to WVU next year, but this is something I know we'll remember for a long time."
The fans won't let them forget.
"It's been a long time coming and the team was very deserving. They did a great job and had a great year," said Randy Akers, a 1982 Lincoln graduate who listened to the game on the radio.
"Those kids are really good examples of what hard work and dedication will do," said Jimmy Scudere of Enterprise. "They're intense seniors and they stuck through it, and it really helped them out a lot."
"They represented Harrison County and the city really well at the state tournament. Their dedication paid off for them at the baseball mound," said Shinnston resident Frank DeMarco.
Lincoln became the third Harrison County school in five years to win the Class AA state title. Liberty won the championship in 1998, while Bridgeport won the 2000 title.
Maxwell and Osbourn joined teammates Seth Williams and Zak Bart on the all-tournament team.
This story was compiled by reports from Michael Nutter, Pam Kendall and John G. Miller
