SOUTH CHARLESTON – When the Morgantown High School softball team needed them the most, a pair of seniors stepped up to deliver clutch performances to earn a victory in the program’s first appearance at the state tournament.
Senior duo Maddie Wisman and Kira Smith provided what the Mohigans needed against No. 5 Hurricane on Tuesday in a 1-0 win in the opening round of the 2026 Class AAAA state softball tournament at Little Creek Park in South Charleston.
Wisman pitched a complete-game shutout against Hurricane, allowing only three hits, two walks, and striking out nine batters in 109 pitches.
“Maddie is just Maddie,” MHS head coach Lorri Lipscomb said. “She has great composure, and all I have to do is simply remind her to command the circle and go do what she does best.”
Smith, her catcher, hit an RBI single in the fourth inning that provided the difference in the one-run contest. Wisman scored the go-ahead run after doubling earlier in the frame.
Hurricane starter Kate Justice also had a strong outing, tossing 15 strikeouts in six innings, but Smith’s run-scoring knock saw MHS through to the winner’s bracket as the offense for the Redskins never truly threatened to tally a run.
“We had a great mindset going into this game,” Lipscomb said. “And of course, Maddie was great.
MHS will continue on to battle top-seeded Cabell Midland on Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. The Knights defeated Jefferson 9-0 in Game 1 of the tournament.
