MORGANTOWN – The 2026 Morgantown High School softball team has done something no other team has done in the history of the program.
A 3-1 victory over Jefferson on a cool Thursday night on ISS Field at Mylan Park allowed MHS to punch its ticket for its first appearance in the state softball tournament.
Morgantown will travel to Little Creek Park in South Charleston for the WVSSAC Class AAAA state softball tournament June 2-4. Jefferson will await the winner of Hedgesville and Musselman.
“This is amazing,” MHS head coach Lorri Lipscomb said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group, especially this group of seniors. They deserve this. This team has been locked in this season, and they have grit.”
The Mohigans were ice cold on offense for the first five innings of the contest, as MHS senior Maddie Wisman and Jefferson freshman Piper Hunt dueled in the circle.
The Cougars held a 1-0 lead after Hunt belted a solo home run in the third inning, until MHS (21-10) came alive in the bottom half of the sixth inning, scoring all three of its runs and snatching the momentum late in the contest.
“We were flat, we weren’t hitting the ball well, we got down,” Lipscomb said. “We put the pressure back on them in that sixth inning as we talked about last game (against Wheeling Park), and it made all the difference.”
MHS got started in the difference-making sixth inning with a double down the left field line by senior Kira Smith.
Hunt earned a strikeout for Jefferson before allowing pinch runner Lillie Evanoff to advance to third on a wild pitch during the next at-bat.
That prompted a pitching change for the Cougars after six scoreless innings from Hunt, who made way for Jersey Rummel in the circle.
That’s when MHS senior Maddie Stone stepped up for her team and lined a single to right field, bringing in two runs and giving the Mohigans a 2-1 lead.
She advanced to third during the play and eventually scored the third run on another wild pitch.
MHS shut the door in the seventh with three outs to seal the deal.
“This means everything to us,” Wisman said. “These girls are my best friends, and this group has grown together so much over the years, and grown up with them. This group has what it takes to win games, and I’m excited to see what we can do with this opportunity.”
Box score
Morgantown 3, Jefferson 1
JEFF 001 000 0 – 1 3 0
MORG 000 003 X – 3 4 1
Morgantown (21-10) – Messerly 3000 White 3010 Wisman 1000 Street 3000 Smith 3010 Mallow 2000 G. Robinson 1100 Stone 3122 B. Robinson 3000 TOTALS 22 3 4 2
2B: Smith
Jefferson (12-17) – Martin 2000 Clark 3000 Rummel 3010 Phillips 2000 Abe 2000 Smith 2000 Darr 3000 Shaver 3010 Hunt 3111 TOTALS 23 1 3 1
HR: Hunt
W: Wisman 7.0ip 3h 1er 2bb 9k
L: Hunt 5.1ip 3h 2er 6bb 4k
