ASHLAND — The Ashland softball team couldn’t have planned a better start to the 64th District softball championship game against Boyd County on Wednesday evening.

HUNTINGTON — Austin O’Malley recognized the grass on the other side isn’t always the shade of Kelly green.

IRONTON — A Mississippi kid moved to Ohio and earned a scholarship from Wisconsin.

Luke Edwards is doing Tim Christy proud.

WINFIELD — At next week’s state tournament, opponents of Winfield better have Georgia on their mind.

The Class AAA state track and field meet is set to begin Thursday at University of Charleston Stadium and Hurricane and Huntington bring a lot of talent to the track.

ONA — The Cabell Midland Knights have shown consistency in many areas on the baseball diamond this season, but their coach wants to see improvement in one key aspect of the game as they prepare for regional play next week.

CANNONSBURG, Ky. — Boyd County won its fifth consecutive 64th District high school baseball championship Tuesday with a 6-2 victory over Ashland.

LICK CREEK, W.Va. — Winfield got a gutsy performance from junior hurler Maci Boggess and the Generals took swept the series over Scott in Class AA Region 4 play to secure a spot in the state softball tournament with a 6-4 win on Tuesday at Lick Creek Park in Danville.

MAN, W.Va. — The best-of-three series between Man and Wahama in the Class A Region IV Final was fully expected to be a pitcher’s duel as two of the best pitchers in the entire state were facing off in All-Staters Morgan Cooper and Mikie Lieving.

RIPLEY, W.Va. — Prior to Tuesday night’s second game in the Class AAA Region 4 series at Ripley, Lincoln County coach Tommy Barrett spoke of his team’s recent hitting swoon.

ONA — Logan and Cabell Midland’s baseball teams each won their sectional tournaments and will play in next week’s regionals, but in an attempt to keep themselves sharp, they met in Ona Tuesday evening.

HUNTINGTON — The schedule indicated Marshall University was to play a baseball game Tuesday, but the Thundering Herd’s head coach said his players must not have known it.

HUNTINGTON — Marshall softball standout Mya Stevenson, who broke the program’s all-time home run record last week, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Marshall Athletics confirmed Tuesday.

CANNONSBURG, Ky. — Ashland scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to overcome an early deficit and beat Fairview 14-4 in the 64th District high school baseball tournament Monday at Addington Field.

Lincoln County took advantage of four Ripley errors and used a two-run sixth inning to provide cushion in a 6-3 win over the Vikings in game one of the best-of-3 series in the Class AAA, Region IV softball final on Monday night in Hamlin.

CHARLESTON — Hurricane senior Lexi Smolder ended her high school tennis career the same way she started it — with a state championship.

CHESAPEAKE, Ohio — Steven Ater led Wheelersburg’s boys basketball team to a 64-47 victory over Chesapeake in a Division III district final in March.

ROME TOWNSHIP, Ohio — One error against a team on a 12-game winning streak can cost a club a game, but making seven dooms any chance for victory.

FLATWOODS, Ky. — Russell High School’s boys and girls won Eastern Kentucky Conference track and field championships Saturday at Henry R. Evans Stadium.

Welcome to “Second Guess” Tuesday.

As has been the case all season, Winfield’s track team enters the Class AA state meet with a full head of steam.

After putting an 11-year sectional drought to rest, Winfield now sets its sight on even more ancient history.

HUNTINGTON — Another former Marshall football player has now signed with a team in the National Football League.

HUNTINGTON — Huntington High pitcher/shortstop Braden Shepherd and catcher Eli Shouldis signed Friday to play baseball at Marietta College.

ONA — Cabell Midland High School assistant baseball coach Russ Gaskins grinned as he assessed the Knights’ postseason.

ONA — Chandler Schmidt’s opponents likely will be happy to bid him bon voyage.

The cost of doing business in major college athletics has sky-rocketed during the last five years.

ROME TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Chesapeake’s girls and Ironton’s boys won Ohio Valley Conference middle school track championships Thursday at Fairland’s Jim Mayo Memorial Stadium.

LOGAN, W.Va. — For the second consecutive game, No. 1 seed Logan jumped ahead of No. 3 seed Scott and never looked back as the Wildcats held off a late Skyhawk rally to win 6-4 and claim the Class AA Region 4 Section 2 championship at Logan High on Saturday.

ST. ALBANS, W.Va. — It wasn’t enough for George Washington to simply wrap up its first sectional baseball championship in 14 years. No, the Patriots had to pull it off in dramatic, memorable fashion.

CHARLESTON — The Hurricane girls tennis team needed a big day on the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts in Kanawha City in order to claim its first-ever Class AAA team tennis title.

Every spring, I dedicate a column to the encounters with wildlife during this active-wildlife-encounter time of year in the Mountain State. Whether you live downtown in an urban area or in a way-off-the-grid rural setting, wildlife encounters are very common in the spring and should be discu…

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — Fairland jumped to a 5-1 lead and held on to clinch outright the its second Ohio Valley Conference high school baseball championship in three season on Friday.

ONA — In a high school baseball game that featured 18 runs, 16 hits, 10 walks and four hit batters, defense saved the day.

HURRICANE — Ripley was able to fend off the first wave from Hurricane, but the second one capsized the Vikings’ upset bid for good.

HURRICANE — Ripley was able to fend off the first wave from Hurricane, but the second one capsized the Vikings’ upset bid for good.

Remember Chris Henry?

CHARLESTON — Out of all of the semifinal matches played at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts in Kanawha City, two sibling groups stole the show.

Marshall's softball team fell behind early and saw a rally fall short as its run at the Conference USA Softball Tournament came to an end with a 9-5 loss to Western Kentucky on Friday at Lovelace Stadium in Denton, Texas.

Huntington's girls defended their Class AAA, Region IV track title on Thursday while the Highlanders also took top honors on the boys side at Stadium Field in Parkersburg.

FLATWOODS, Ky. — Boyd County scored six runs in the second inning on their way to a 14-3 victory over Russell Thursday night in high school softball.

ONA — Logan Lingenfelter was disappointed with his pitching on Wednesday, so he made up for it with his hitting on Thursday.

IRONTON — Led by Kegan Moore’s pitching and hitting, the host Ironton Fighting Tigers captured the Division III sectional championship Thursday with a 10-0 five-inning victory over New Lexington.

ONA — Ona Speedway is set to open its 2022 season Saturday.

Just a handful of days ago, Winfield’s prospective journey to a Class AA Region 4 Section 1 softball title was upstream to say the least.

Alex Easthom could only watch as his summer golf plans and most of his possessions went up in flames.

There was an element of youth for some schools on the first day of the West Virginia state tennis tournament and Hurricane freshman Jacob Smolder showed out in his first time on the state’s biggest tennis stage.

ROME TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Alex Rogers hit a grand slam and Niko Kiritsy a three-run home run as Fairland (15-5) beat Rock Hill 15-1 to clinch at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference high school baseball championship on Wednesday.

ONA — For the majority of the night, it felt like the Cabell Midland baseball team was on the cusp of pulling itself back in the game, but never could.

Lincoln County pitcher Ryleigh Shull allowed just three hits and had a momentum-swinging defensive play in the third inning to lead the Panthers past Cabell Midland in a 2-0 win in the Class AAA, Region IV, Section 1 softball championship on Wednesday night.

Marshall senior Aly Harrell blasted two home runs, including the go-ahead home run in the fourth inning, to lead the Thundering Herd to a 6-4 win over Florida Atlantic in the Conference USA Softball Tournament opener at Lovelace Stadium in Denton, Texas, on Wednesday night.

HURRICANE — Brian Sutphin’s Hurricane baseball team earned a spot in the Class AAA, Region IV, Section 2 championship game on Wednesday with a 10-0, six-inning win over Ripley at Lola Meeks Field.

An energized Winfield softball team kept the momentum rolling as the Generals used strong hitting and overpowering pitching to defeat No. 1 seed Nitro 10-1 in front of a large crowd at Nitro Wednesday night, forcing a rematch showdown for the Class AA Region 4 Section 1 crown.

RIPLEY — A night after overcoming a four-run deficit to stave off elimination, an early two-run hole in a winner-take-all sectional tilt on Wednesday wasn’t about to spook a young Ripley softball team.

It seemed fairly simply, initially.

WINFIELD — The last three weeks have been frustrating for Winfield senior sprinter Allie Germann, one of the state’s most accomplished track athletes.