“For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life.” Excerpt from Chief Logan’s 1774 speech to Lord Dunmore which is inscribed in its entirety on his statue’s plaque at Chief Logan State Park where the West Virginia Major Softball Tournament was held.
It was time for Hatfield-McCoy to move off the trails as McNeill’s Rangers sent a brigade of brave young soldiers to battle on the turf as Moorefield 10-12 Softball team invaded Logan with determination and no fear of the opposing team’s run dominance.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10.
Moorefield entered the state tournament as the District 6 runner-up and wasn’t even in the discussion for being in the state championship with the juggernaut of Lincoln County and Logan towering the competition along with fellow District 6 champion Hedgesville.
“We’re absolutely proud of these girls. They exceeded everybody’s expectations. We weren’t even on the map. I know everybody was walking around saying Lincoln’s got this in the bag. And then for us to knock them off, we proved we’re one of the best teams here. I honestly feel us and Logan were the top two teams in the tournament. I think the brackets played out perfectly,” Moorefield Major Softball coach Jessica Markwood explained to the Logan Banner.
From the poultry capital of West Virginia to Coal Country, Moorefield was ready to fire up the grill for a state tournament dinner. And it was almost winner-winner, chicken dinner feast for a title.
Moorefield has fun at Chief Logan State Park from the games to the team bonfires, swimming pool time, exploring the coal train and seeing the wildlife which included black bears and elk.
There was a special skills completion at the state tournament opening ceremony with Moorefield’s Aubrey Hose recording the highest bunting score of all the designated players and joined by teammate Sara Sherman.. Leila Redman and Anna-Leia Champ
Had a blast in the relay competition.
Moorefield’s Naomi Markwood and Arianna Taylor smashed the balls during the home run derby.
Hedgesville was dispatched from the state tournament in two games, but Moorefield was still hanging on and getting more recognition.
Moorefield had opened the state tournament with a 6-0 shutout setback to Huntington.
Moorefield quickly bounced back in the loser’s bracket of the Mountaineer division with a 7-3 win over Capital Midwestern.
Moorefield had a rematch against Huntington and fell behind early 2-nil, but never lost focus or the determination to keep battling with a rally for a 6-5 win and earning a spot in the state tournament final four as the Mountaineer runner-up.
Moorefield took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the first inning starting with Avelyn Bean scoring on an error.
Moorefield loaded the bases as Darah See and Sara Sherman singled before Kendall Liggett walked.
Aubrey Hose notched an RBI bunt singled Arianna Taylor sent Sherman home on a free pass for the lead.
Moorefield extended the edge to 5-2 in the third inning as Naomi Markwood smashed a double to the fence, then See connected for an RBI single and Sherman created an RBI groundout.
Huntington tied the game in the fourth inning with the help of an error and two singles.
Moorefield loaded the bases in the 6th inning as Markwood and See singled and Liggett received a walk with two outs.
Markwood swiped home for the game winning run during an errant pitch, 6-5.
Man was the Mountaineer division champion.
The Herd division champion was Lincoln County and the runner-up was Logan with those teams advancing to the state championship series final four bracket.
Lincoln County had outscored its opponents 44-1 in the Herd bracket, but that didn’t seem to bother Moorefield as no fear crossed their eyes with Markwood in the circle knowing there was a superb defense ready to play in the state semifinals.
Lincoln County had been undefeated and scored 75 runs during ether improbable trek, that is until being thwarted by Moorefield.
It was a scoreless game through three innings, then Lincoln County collected two runs in the top of the fourth inning with the aid of an error.
Moorefield remained calm and arose to the occasion tying the game in the bottom half the frame.
Moorefield’s Tatum Crites received a walk, then advanced on a groundout by Avelyn Bean.
Laila Redman slapped a sharp grounder which was mishandled by the shortstop throwing off the mark allowing Crites to score and Redman took third base.
Markwood garnered an RBI groundout to tie it up.
In the sixth inning, Hose bunted and reached on a miscue before taking second base on a sacrifice bunt from Arianna Taylor.
Anna-Leia Champ executed another bunt and the throw went askew past first base and Hose was waved home for the game winner, 3-2.
Markwood pitched one strikeout in the win, while Hose added four strikeouts.
Logan coach Lou Green, a former JUCO World Series champion and Los Angeles Angels minor league player, took notice of the stellar small ball that Moorefield displayed and spent all night scouting the players to find the strengths and weaknesses to help his squad take the crown.
Logan amassed 30 runs going into the title bout, but that didn’t create any fear for Moorefield.
Logan Major Softball shutout Moorefield 5-nil for the second straight state championship, but Moorefield gained the notoriety putting our Eastern panhandle on the map.
Moorefield was limited to three hits, including a double by Markwood blasted to the fence.
Markwood allowed seven hits in the championship loss.
Harlea led Logan with eight strikeouts during the title run.
Moorefield had no fear just like Chief Logan and proved adversity could be conquered coming in as the state runner-up and taking home hardware for the first time in over a decade for this division.
“Take a good look at these lovelies, because they’re going to do big things. The young ones in the Final 4 in 2025 are now the leaders of state runner-up in 2026. The 8-10 team members that were slight din 2024 finally got their closure. The pain is real and so are the results. They’re putting in the work and climbing through literal blood, sweat and tears. Failure and success are bed fellows. Good luck, Logan. Thanks for the lessons learned and mad respect for scouting our girls so hard. They never saw us coming, but they’ll remember the name Moorefield. Moorefield took on the big dogs, truly a Cinderella experience. And when Logan coach (Lou Green), a former MLB pitcher for the Angels, says we have a great lefty pitcher and solid defense, it’s something we can hang our hat on,” Moorefield Major Softball coach Jessica Markwood concluded.
