SOUTH CHARLESTON – The Morgantown High School softball team is a state champion for the first time ever.
The fourth-seeded Mohigans defeated crosstown rival University in the Class AAAA state championship 8-0 in six innings at Little Creek Park in South Charleston on Thursday afternoon to claim the title.
MHS tallied 11 hits from seven batters in the game. Kayleigh White led the way, going 3 for 4 with a triple, two runs, and two RBI. Carper Messerly and Grace Robinson also notched a triple during the contest.
The Hawks earned five hits in the contest, but none came for extra bases as Wisman and the MHS defense kept their opponents in check the entire afternoon.
“This is incredible,” MHS head coach Lorri Lipscomb said. “This is the goal every team works toward every single season. We knew this group was special all year. These seniors are so special, and we put everything together at the right time to make a run.”
Just as it had done all week, MHS didn’t allow a single run to the Hawks in the finale. In fact, the Mohigans didn’t allow a single opponent to cross the plate in four games of the 2026 state tournament.
The combination of senior starting pitcher Maddie Wisman and an outstanding defensive performance behind her in all four games saw MHS through to the state championship trophy with four consecutive wins.
MHS defeated Hurricane 1-0 to begin the tournament on Tuesday, before upsetting No. 1 Cabell Midland 3-0 on Wednesday morning. Then the Mohigans downed No. 3 George Washington on Wednesday evening to advance to Thursday’s championship, where they ultimately took home a state title.
“This took the whole entire team to accomplish,” Wisman said. “Everybody contributed from bottom to top. At the plate, defensively, as a teammate, everywhere. I came into this game very confident knowing we were coming out of the winners bracket. We grew in confidence after every single game, and we were able to carry momentum over. We were in the driver’s seat basically the whole tournament, and I know that everybody behind me wanted it just as much as I did.”
MHS scored in five out of the six innings of play, starting with a pair of runs on the board in the top of the first before UHS had the chance to come to bat.
Messerly’s triple in the second inning extended the lead to three runs, and the Mohigans added two more in the fourth as Wisman continued to earn outs on the other side of innings.
The sixth run for MHS came in the fifth inning, and after three consecutive outs earned by Wisman, her offense added two more in the sixth on a triple by White and a sacrifice fly by Wisman.
“We were resilient; it wasn’t easy playing in the losers bracket,” UHS head coach Mindy Parks said. “I thought we had what it took to do it, but credit to Morgantown, everything went right for them this week, and that’s what it takes to get this done. Two years ago we came down here, and everything went right for us, and we took home the title. This time it was their turn. I love our girls and the memories we’ve made together.”
That pushed the eighth run over the plate, enacting the 8-run mercy rule, and giving UHS just three more outs in the sixth inning to find its first run to extend the game.
But Wisman continued her dominant week and sat down the UHS batters 1-2-3 to deliver her team its first-ever state softball championship.
“The love these girls have for each other is unmatched, and I truly think that made a difference this week,” Lipscomb said. “This week they were playing for each other, and even our dugout energy was great. It was a total team effort.”
Maddie Wisman was named the Class AAAA Tournament MVP.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 8, University 0 F/6
MHS 210 212 X – 8 11 0
UHS 000 000 X – 0 5 1
Morgantown – Messerly 4221 White 4232 Wisman 2111 Street 4010 Smith 4000 Mallow 3012 G. Robinson 3110 Stone 3121 B. Robinson 2100 TOTALS 29 8 11 7
3B: Messerly, G. Robinson, White
University – Campbell 3000 Shaver 3000 Lehosit 3020 Masoner 1000 Brown 3010 Elza 3010 Casino 3000 Voithofer 2000 Cox 2010 TOTALS 23 0 5 0
W: Wisman 6.0ip 5h 0er 2bb 3l
L: Lehosit 5.0ip 9h 6r (4er) 2bb 7k
