PARKERSBURG -- Kayla Stinson had plenty of motivation to quickly get seven outs in the continuation of the Class AAA, Region IV championship against St. Albans.
She had a 2 p.m. hair appointment for Huntington's Prom which was later Saturday evening.
Stinson struck out four of the first five batters she faced after play resumed at 11 a.m. and she needed just 26 minutes to complete the no-hitter she started 40 hours earlier in the Highlanders' 6-1 victory over the Red Dragons at Jackson Park in Vienna.
"We were just thinking get the first out of every inning and get it over with so we can go have fun," Stinson said.
Now, the Highlanders will head to another big dance next week - the West Virginia state softball championships. The state tournament will also be held at Jackson Park on Wednesday and Thursday.
Even though it was Prom day, the softball portion of Saturday's schedule was fairly quiet, which was fine for Huntington coach Darren Woody, who said no news was good news with his team coming in with a 5-1 lead.
"I think they came in focused," Woody said. "I told them coming in, 'This is our's to win. Don't let them take it away.'"
The only offense on Saturday came in the seventh inning when Brittney Napier worked, stole second and scored on Ashley Byrd's single to right field. Byrd finished 2-for-2 and reached base in all four plate appearances.
The game resumed with St. Albans batting with two outs and a runner on second, but Stinson quickly ended the potential threat by striking out pinch-hitter Carly Holmes.
In the win against Huntington in Sluggerfest, the Red Dragons touched Stinson up for four runs in the sixth inning, but there would not be any such comeback on this morning.
The closest thing the Red Dragons came to a hit was on a blooper by Samantha Snodgrass with two outs in the sixth inning. However, Kiara Chappelle made a diving catch over her shoulder to keep Stinson's no-hitter in tact.
"Before the game, I'd have told you we'd have gotten a rally going," St. Albans coach Greg Garber said. "It just didn't work out."
It was the second-straight game that St. Albans had been no-hit by the opposition, although the first came in a 2-0 win over Ripley.
Trysten Gue's three-run home run on Thursday proved to be the back-breaker while Chappelle went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tressa Riley also collected a pair of hits for Huntington (23-5).
St. Albans finished its season at 28-2 with both losses coming to the Highlanders.
Huntington will start its quest for back-to-back state championships on Wednesday when they take on Robert C. Byrd at Jackson Park. That game is scheduled for 30 minutes following completion of the first Class AAA game which starts at 10:30 a.m.
HUNTINGTON 001 040 1 -- 6 9 0
ST. ALBANS 000 010 0 -- 1 0 2
Stinson and Gue. Boles and Carter. Hitting: (HH) Gue HR, 3 RBI; Chappelle 2-4, 2B, RBI; Byrd 2-2, RBI. (SA) Carter 2 BB, R.
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