VIENNA — Most softball pundits and even casual fans expected the Chapmanville Regional High School softball team to run the table this week at the state tournament.

The Lady Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the state and clearly looked to be the best team in the Class AA field.

With Andi Williamson mowing down batter after batter a Chapmanville collapse seemed unlikely.

The only question that remained in Thursday afternoon’s Class AA state title game with Independence was if the game itself would be completed.

Dark clouds loomed over the horizon at Vienna’s Jackson Memorial Park in the waning moments of the game.

But Chapmanville was able to get the game in and beat the Patriots, 2-0, to claim the Double-A state crown. It was Chapmanville’s first state title in two years and fourth overall with the other two coming in 1999 and 2004.

Upset-minded Independence had to beat Chapmanville twice in order to take the crown against the Lady Tigers which had already scored a 5-0 win over the Patriots on Wednesday and a 1-0 victory over No. 2 Point Pleasant on Thursday morning. However, the Lady Tigers finished off Independence in one game and celebrated the state title with a victory jog and dance around the infield as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the distance.

Chapmanville closed out the season with a 31-3 mark and staked its claim as possibly the best Lady Tigers’ team ever.

Williamson, maybe the best pitcher in the Chapmanville’s program’s 29-year history, won on the mound for the third time at state as she tossed a one-hitter in the finals.

Williamson put up some impressive stats in Chapmanville’s three state tourney wins. The University of Tennessee recruit fired 21 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and five walks to go along with her 41 strikeouts. For the season, Williamson tossed 153 innings and gave up just two earned runs for a mind-boggling ERA of 0.01. She allowed just 21 hits and 15 walks and fanned 356.

Williamson improved to 22-1 on the season and allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out 12 Independence batters.

For the Lady Tigers, it was the icing on the cake and the culmination of a year worth of hard work.

Chapmanville endured a tough season a year ago when the Lady Tigers, then the Class AA defending state champs, were ousted by Scott in the sectional tourney at Logan.

“This team right here had the best talent than any team that I’ve played with,” Williamson said. “Every team that I have played on always gives 110 percent and these girls always gave 110 percent. We’ve worked so hard. Me and my catcher Poppy (Ramey) have worked together since Day One. Now it’s great to end our careers with the state championship. I worked really hard in the off season and the team has really helped me this whole season backing me up. They always kept me up when I was down. Without them I don’t know where I would be right now. They really helped me throughout this and God also helped me through this. Without God I would be nothing.”

Williamson ended the game by striking out Corey Moles.

“That’s what I was hoping for. The one before that got away from me because I was throwing so hard,” she said.

Thursday’s state title game was the last prep contest for Chapmanville’s senior class, which includes: Williamson, centerfielder Beth Baldwin, right fielder Lauren McCann, catcher Poppy Ramey, first baseman Tiffini Hale and reserve Anna Butcher.

Ramey has been Williamson’s battery mate for the last three years at Chapmanville and for the fourth overall. The two, along with McCann, played on Harts High School’s Class A state runner-up team of 2006.

“This was my second one in my senior year and this was the exclamation mark,” Ramey said. “I’m so excited I just don’t know what to say really.”

Ramey said the Lady Tigers were very confident about winning the state title before leaving for Vienna.

“I don’t want to sound cocky but I expected this. That’s why I’m not crying. I expected to win. We’re the best team in the state,” she said. “We’re relieved. Our whole team played together this year. Last year was a bad story but this year was great. The second time winning it feels just as good as the first time.”

Ramey is also headed to play collegiate ball at Division II West Virginia State. She said she will miss catching for Williamson.

“We’re like peanut butter and jelly,” Ramey said. “I know her pitches like the back of my hand. It will be really hard getting to know another pitcher but I could get used to it.”

Thursday’s title game with the Patriots was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth.

Ramey walked, went to second on Baldwin’s sacrifice bunt and scored when she stole third and raced home on an Independence throwing error.

Chapmanville added an insurance run in the top of the seventh as Baldwin singled and later scored on freshman shortstop Allison Evans’ sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0.

Evans, whose twin sister Jenna starts at second base for the Lady Tigers, said it has been fun playing with such a talented team this spring. Both Evans sisters played outstanding this season for Chapmanville and gave the Lady Tigers a steady one-two punch in the middle infield.

“I had to work 10 times harder but it has been really fun,” Allison Evans said. “The girls have been great and they played great and I love them all to death. I’ve had a blast this year. It’s been fun and I’m going to miss the (senior) girls. We’ve worked really hard and we proved ourselves. I pitched a few games this year. I think that if we work hard enough we can come back next year. We’re going to have to replace some very big spots. We’re going to be young but I think that if we work we could have a chance.”

Junior third baseman Bre Thomas said it was a reward and also a relief to win the state title. Thomas, who was Chapmanville’s freshman starting third baseman on the 2007 Class AA state championship team, was named to the all-tournament team along with Williamson, Ramey and Allison Evans.

“It feels great. We’ve worked really hard for this,” Thomas said. “We hope to be back next year.”

Chapmanville 29-year coach Ronnie Ooten — the only softball coach the Chapmanville program has ever had — said this year’s team played some outstanding ball.

“We had a super time with these kids,” Ooten said. “Andi, Poppy, Tiffini and all of these girls from down at Harts could have went anywhere. They could have went to any school in the state and played and they know that. I just felt blessed to have them. They came down and played for us. That two-some (Ramey and Williamson) is going to be hard to replace.”

Ooten said his team turned around from a mini slump in late May when CRHS lost three out of four games. Williamson missed three of those games with tendonitis in her throwing arm.

“We lost to Sissonville. They played hard and we didn’t,” he said. “We also got beat on the (balk) call by Logan. We also lost to Point Pleasant when Andi was out two or three days. We were a target. Although we weren’t the state champs or the state runner-ups from last year, we were a target. We always have a target on us at Chapmanville. Everyone wants to get us.”

Williamson said she’s looking forward to pitching for the Lady Vols last season. To date, she’s the only Chapmanville softball player to sign with a major Division I college.

“I’m very, very excited. That had been my goal ever since I was 7 years old,” Williamson said. “That’s been my dream forever. Hopefully, I can go there and excel. I will have to bring it up a whole notch to pitch at the college level.”

Ramey said Logan County has fantastic softball programs with Chapmanville, Man and Logan. All three county schools made it to Vienna. Man eventually captured the Class A state crown on Thursday night with a rain-delayed 17-9 victory over Cameron in the championship game. It was the second straight state title for Man. Logan went 1-2 in the 3A tourney and was eliminated by Hedgesville, 7-5, on Thursday afternoon.

“Logan County softball is awesome,” Ramey said. “Man won it and it would had been nice if all of us could have taken it home.”

Independence closed out the season with a 24-6 mark.

Kelsey Whitt (18-5) was the losing pitcher. She fanned four and walked three in six innings of work.

Kayla Saunders had the only hit off Williamson — a leadoff double in the fourth.

Chapmanville 1, Point Pleasant 0

VIENNA — Chapmanville advanced to the state finals with a 1-0 victory on Thursday morning over Point Pleasant in a winner’s bracket contest.

The Lady Tigers scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning as right fielder Lauren McCann drew a bases loaded walk to force in Bre Thomas from third.

Andi Williamson pitched a complete game one-hitter with 14 strikeouts and no walks over seven innings.

Chapmanville had just three hits off Point Pleasant starter Tessa Wyant, who tossed six innings and gave up four walks while fanning five and hitting two batters.

Beth Baldwin, Lauren Shumate and Jenna Evans had Chapmanville’s hits.

Point Pleasant’s lone hit of the ballgame was a single by first baseman Emily Jones.

The game was a continuation of Wednesday night’s scheduled contest which was suspended by rain in the sixth inning with nothing on the board.

Lady Tigers Notebook

n Named to the Class AA all-tournament team were: Chapmanville’s Andi Williamson, Poppy Ramey, Bre Thomas and Allison Evans; Lincoln’s Cori Weaver; Point Pleasant’s Tessa Wyant and Anna Sommer; and Independence’s Kelsey Whitt, Beth Huffman and Kayla Saunders.

n In a bit of irony, it was Chapmanville which beat the same Independence school by the same 2-0 score in the Class AA state championship game 10 years ago in late May 1999 at Summersville. In that one, then Chapmanville freshman pitcher Jenni McNeely tossed a shutout and struck out 19 batters to lead the Lady Tigers to victory.

Chapmanville improved to 12-0 in the state tournament in its last four appearances (1999, 2004, 2007 and 2009).

Chapmanville first-year assistant coach Jaci Collins was the ace pitcher on the Lady Tigers’ 2004 Class AA state championship team. The Lady Tigers beat Shady Spring, 2-1, in the ‘04 state title game on the strength of catcher Katie Parsley’s solo home run to left field over the 190-foot sign at Vienna.

The Lady Tigers ended up the season with seven straight post-season shutouts and 10 overall – all pitched by Williamson.

Chapmanville dropped its only three games of the season over a stretch of four games in late May, falling to Logan (1-0) and Sissonville (1-0) and Point Pleasant (3-1) — all at home. Chapmanville then won its last 11, starting off with a home sweep over Herbert Hoover in a doubleheader on April 27 by the scores of 5-3 and 7-0.

n Chapmanville’s Andi Williamson, Poppy Ramey and Lauren McCann closed out their prep careers with three trips to the state tournament in four years.

The trio were freshmen members of the Harts High School team in 2006 which lost to Wheeling Central, 1-0, in the state title game.

HHS closed its doors at the end of the 2005-06 school year.

Many people were looking for Point Pleasant to have a rematch with Chapmanville in the championship round but the Lady Knights were upset 9-4 by Independence in Thursday’s elimination game.

Look for more Chapmanville players’ reaction to the state championship in Sunday’s sports section.