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Golden Bears are young and state bound

By JOE CATULLO

Staff Writer

NEW MANCHESTER, W. Va. — Age and inexperience can hurt any softball team after reaching a state tournament the year prior, but Oak Glen embraced the challenge.

The senior-heavy Golden Bears reached the West Virginia Class AA state tourney a year ago but went 0-2 and were the first team eliminated. Coming into this season, they had only three seniors (two after Emma Smith was injured) and three juniors.

The result, however, stayed the same up to this point. Oak Glen (22-8) begins another state run at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in the double-elimination tournament.

“We’re a totally different team. We had a lot of seniors last year and only two this year. It’s hard to compare last year and this year, but I will say we have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Oak Glen coach Morgan Bricker said. “We have to keep staying aggressive and error free defensively. We need to be a little more aggressive, quick and smart on the base paths. I’m not sure if it’s a matter of doing anything differently than last year. They just have to play softball they way they know how.”

The Class AA Region 1 champs begin action with Wyoming East (23-4), the Class AA Regions 3 winners. Oak Glen will serve as the home team and knows the importance of starting off right, though it can survive if Wyoming East starts off with a win.

“I don’t think it’s critical. I don’t think it’s impossible to lose because you have that chance to come all the way back,” Bricker said. “Teams have done it in the past, but I think every team will say it’s definitely an advantage. Win or lose, I know that we will bounce back. This season has shown some heartbreaking losses. We flipped our games in the sectionals and districts, so we had to fight for our lives in the third game, and they did it.”

Seniors Hannah Clunk and Taylor McKay already know what’s to be expected. Anybody on last year’s squad does, but Clunk and McKay are taking over that leadership mentality.

Three underclassmen Bricker is excited about are freshman center fielder Alexa Andrews, sophomore right fielder Hannah Patterson and sophomore catcher Hannah Walker who has two errors in approximately 300 chances behind the plate.

“We are so lucky to have some great freshmen and sophomores,” Bricker said. “We’ve had some really strong classes come through. We have a lot of girls who play travel ball all year round. We have a lot of kids who just love the game, and they put a lot of time into it. We have a lot of kids from October to now, if they weren’t in another sport were conditioning and practicing for this season.”

The road to the state tournament was a little bumpy for the Golden Bears. They won two win-or-go-home tourney games against East Fairmont and Weir before sweeping Petersburg, one of the teams that defeated Oak Glen in the state tournament last year.

Oak Glen opens the tournament with the 9:45 a.m. starting time, which is good and bad. It’s good because the team gets at least a four-hour break win or lose. It’s bad because it is a 9:45 a.m. start.

“It’s just one of those uncontrollable situations,” Bricker said. “We had early morning practice on Saturday to get the experience of getting up early and being as productive as we can. It went well, but they just know they want to go further and win, so we’re going to have to adapt to the situation.”

If the Golden Bears win, they will face the Herbert Hoover/Chapmanville winner in the fourth and final game on Wednesday. If they lose, they will face the loser of that matchup in the third game starting at 4:45 p.m. Chapmanville was the other team to defeat Oak Glen in the state tourney last season.

The Golden Bears leave for Vienna early this morning and go to work from there. Last year they had just enough to reach the state, and it was fun and exciting. This year, just being there is not enough.

“Every single girl on our bench has contributed whether it’s in the field, at the plate, running on the base paths or even from some of the girls who do not get much playing time,” Bricker said. “I think everyone has stepped into the role that they are in. They’re really selfless kids.

“This team has more chemistry than any other team I have coached. They all played together last year with the exception of the freshmen, and most already knew the freshmen. They have really embraced their role as leaders. Our three juniors have also stepped up and worked together. They have really gelled together, which has helped us in these games.”

Game notes

• Oak Glen has some information on Wyoming East but not a lot. It knows about a few kids that can make an impact, especially the pitching staff, and that’s about it at the moment.

“I try to teach my girls not to think a whole lot about the opponent,” Bricker said. “You want to know what to expect, but at the same time you just have to play your game the best you can. Softball’s not like football or basketball where you need to know specific plays. We’re focusing on our game and doing it really well.”

• The Golden Bears have not played since sweeping Petersburg last Tuesday, giving them seven days off. Bricker said her team needed those rest days but want to get on the field as fast as possible.

• Oak Glen defeated Petersburg 5-0 and 3-1.

• Herbert Hoover and Chapmanville will play 30 minutes after Oak Glen and Wyoming East. The losers of both contests play at 4:45 p.m. The winners of the first two matchups play 30 minutes after that.

On Thursday, the winner of the third game and the loser of the fourth square off at 9:45 a.m. Later on at 2:15 p.m., the winner of that game faces the winner of the final game on Wednesday. A seventh and deciding game will occur if necessary.

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