BREAKING NEWS: J.J. Kelly Wins Group A State Baseball Title

RADFORD, Va. – Cody Bentley was one out away from realizing a life-long dream on Saturday afternoon when J.J. Kelly coach David Wyrick visited his pitcher on the mound.

“I just said throw the curveball and get on top of it,” Wyrick said. “I also told him, when you get the third out, you better get down because I’m tackling you.”

Bentley responded by fanning Essex hitter Ryan Lowe and setting off a wild celebration as the Indians posted a 14-9 come-from-behind win over the Trojans in the finals of the Virginia High School League Group A state baseball tournament at Radford University.

After his game-ending strikeout, Bentley threw his glove in the air and fell face down on the ground. His teammates soon formed a big pile on the grass near the mound, while Kelly’s large contingent of fans celebrated in the stands.

“It was amazing,” Bentley said. “It was a dream come true. I’ve been with these guys seven years and it was something I’ve dreamed about my whole life. We believed and we never quit. We gave it all we had.”

It was the ninth state baseball championship in school history for Kelly and the Indians’ first state crown since 1998. Kelly had lost in its two previous trips to the finals.

“It’s like more than I could ever have imagined,” junior Indians infielder Matt Dotson said. “I was the bat boy on the ’98 team and then I was around the two years when they lost [in the state finals] in 2001 and 2002. I just saw how bad it hurt those players to lose in the championship game. I just wanted to get one for us. For this whole community and the whole town.”

Saturday’s title win for Kelly – the first baseball state championship for a Southwest Virginia team since 2001 – featured many heroes.

Dotson had three RBIs and drove in the go-ahead run during Kelly’s five-run sixth inning.

Pitcher Justin Wilson picked up the win in relief, one day after throwing an 86-pitch complete-game in a 15-1 semifinal win over Luray.

Wilson showed no ill effects in the state title game. He worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing a pair of singles and striking out four.

“I wasn’t feeling great, but I wasn’t going to lose,” Wilson said.

Meanwhile, senior catcher Griffin Kopp capped an impressive two-day hitting display. The catcher went 4-for-5 in Friday’s semifinal, and on Saturday posted a 4-for-4 showing. He singled four times, drove in a run and also drew a walk.

“That’s the best stretch I’ve had,” Kopp said. “It came at the right time. But I really don’t care about the hits. I could have went 0-for-15. If we didn’t get the ring, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Bentley (three RBIs) and Zack Clifton (two hits) also keyed Kelly’s hitting attack. The Indians (24-4) combined for 29 runs and 35 hits in their final two games.

However, the championship contest did feature drama.

Essex (22-3) led 9-5 after four innings and the Trojans matched Kelly hit-for-hit early. Essex didn’t keep Kelly down for long, though, and the Region A representatives were hurt by eight errors.

“Those errors were killers,” Essex coach Tim Beamer said. “We never got a leadoff batter out either. They were on base every time.”

It was fitting that Bentley got the final out. The senior shortstop, who actually started Saturday’s game on the mound, has been a part of almost every big Kelly win the last four years.

He worked around a meaningless two-out single in the seventh to secure the Indians’ state championship.

“We knew what we had to do,” Bentley said. “We came back and battled and did it.”

For the five seniors on the Kelly roster, it was the fulfillment of a goal set many years ago.

“It’s just not been our mission since last year,” Kopp said. “We’ve worked for this since we were seven-years-old in Little League.”

J.J. Kelly 300 225 2—14 13 1
Essex 301 500 0—9 11 8
Bentley, Sturgill (3), Wilson (4), Bentley (7) and Kopp. R. Volante, P. Davis (5), Thomas (6), C. Davis (6) and D. Davis. W—Wilson (7-1). L—Thomas. HR—none.

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