Zack Klemme

IRONTON -- The Fighting Tigers were more like anacondas.

Two years ago, when Boyd County came within an inning of the KHSAA state softball tournament semifinals, Ashland coach Scott Ingram tipped his cap to his rival and suggested that

When Lawrence County lost six of its final 10 regular-season softball games, the Bulldogs stayed the course.

In an era of considerable change in West Virginia high school sports, one constant continues Tuesday morning.

Timberrrrrrrrr!

Mark Kellogg noted with a laugh that “no one asked my opinion” before the NCAA added eight teams to its Division I basketball tournament fields beginning in 2027.

Marshall was set to host Virginia Tech in its baseball home finale at Jack Cook Field on Tuesday, but the Hokies canceled the date on Monday without publicly citing a reason. It wasn’t the weather, which reached the high 70s with no precipitation Tuesday. That lent itself to speculation that Virginia Tech had called it off as part of a trend across college baseball in which teams cancel games in order to protect their RPI.

CANNONSBURG, Ky. -- Even if the biggest name of the Tri-State Softball Showcase backed out at the proverbial 11th hour, the 10th version of the highly regarded annual mainstay still had plenty of firepower. South Warren – undefeated at 31-0, a unanimous No. 1 in the Kentucky coaches poll and third in the national coaches rankings – needed to slim down its schedule to make sure it didn’t surpass the legal number of contests before postseason play. So the Spartans stayed home last weekend.

Jacob Spurlock has hit more 3-pointers than every high school boys basketball player in Kentucky history except one. Even with that litany – shoot, swish, repeat; 618 times ripping the twine from the perimeter and counting – two down the stretch of his last ride with the Lions stand out. Boyd County’s senior sharpshooter drained a long transition triple on the Lions’ first possession of overtime against George Washington on Feb. 18. That shot gave Spurlock the 16th Region career scoring record – the latest of a long list of school and region marks to beat. The Youngstown State signee followed it eight days later with the step-back trey that lifted the Lions ahead of Ashland in the waning seconds of the 64th District tournament final. Another goal met. And, though there are no insignificant wins for Boyd County, not when it comes to the Tomcats, that wasn’t the one the Lions – and Spurlock – really want.

There are some things Tolsia’s girls basketball team can control and some it can’t. The Rebels’ lack of especially tall players falls in the first category. “I wish I had a pill I could stretch them out a foot or so,” Tolsia coach Ric Morrone cracked after a recent game, “but that’s not the case.” What the Rebels do about it fits in the second category. Tolsia has compensated for lack of height with defensive intensity, which has paved the way for a 12-win-and-counting campaign entering the postseason.