From Staff, Wire Reports
(June 18)
CHARLESTON -- Jeff Pethtel and Nate Gladwell, who led Liberty to the Class AA state championship, have been selected to the all-state first team by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.Pethtel helped the 28-6 Mountaineers to their first state title in any sport by batting .397 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs. He also went 5-1 on the mound with 53 strikeouts in 47 innings.
Gladwell, who belted the game-winning home run against Chapmanville -- a 400-foot blast off the top of Watt Powell Park's left-field scoreboard -- hit .438 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs. He was Liberty's starting catcher.
Grafton infielder Bryan Gillespie and Magnolia utility player Derek Cisar are also on the first team.
Gillespie, a senior shortstop, hit .507 with one home run, 22 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He also doubled eight times with eight triples.
Cisar, a junior pitcher-infielder, batted .519 with three home runs, 29 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. On the mound, he was 7-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 49 innings.
Chapmanville's Doug Dingess is also on the first team. He hurled a no-hitter against Pineville in the Class AA semifinals.
But the senior left-hander could only watch two days later as Chapmanville fell to Liberty-Harrison, 6-5, in the AA final.
Dingess will continue his pitching career at Marshall University next season. And his resume will include first-team captain of the West Virginia Class AA All-State team.
Dingess, along with senior catcher Pete Fala, are state runner-up Chapmanville's two first-team picks.
Dingess posted a 10-1 record this season for the 26-4 Tigers. He struck out 124 batters in 67 innings and fashioned a 1.49 ERA.
Dingess fanned 18 batters and walked seven in his state-tournament no-hitter. Only two balls were put in play by Pineville batters.
Dingess finished his prep career with 22 victories, three no-hitters and a school-record 20-strikeout game.
Fala, who's headed to the University of Charleston, batted .420 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.
He threw out 22 of the 25 runners who attempted to steal a base this season.
Other first-team utility choices are Berkeley Springs' Jason Rhea and Man's Zack Tomblin.
Rhea, a senior catcher, batted .486 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs and 11 doubles. Rhea gunned down 12 of 19 runners who attempted to steal this season.
Tomblin, a senior catcher, batted .522 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs. He also had 10 doubles.
Joining Pethtel and Gillespie in the infield are Scott's Beetle Workman, Sissonville's Travis Miller and Keyser's Jake Ellifritz.
Workman, a senior second baseman, hit .500 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and 11 doubles. Workman holds Scott's school record for highest career batting average.
Miller, a senior third baseman, hit .372 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs.
Ellifritz, a senior first baseman-pitcher, batted .507 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs. On the mound, he was 5-3.
Joining Dingess as first-team pitchers are Winfield's Joey Searls and Ravenswood's Brian Archer.
Searls, a senior right-hander, set a new school record at Winfield for career victories with 34. This season he was 11-4 with a 2.41 ERA. Searls struck out 115 in 86 innings and posted two saves. With the bat, Searls hit .358 with two home runs and 34 RBIs.
Archer, a junior right-hander, posted a 5-1 mark with 78 strikeouts in 48 innings. His ERA was 1.60. Archer was just as good in the field, where he played shortstop when he wasn't pitching. Archer batted .429 with 30 RBIs.
and 16 stolen bases.
South Harrison's Ben Hall was selected to the second team.