Photo | Paul Adkins

Lady Cats’ senior Emily Allred takes a cut in action at the Class AAA state tournament

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VIENNA — The senior class of the Logan High School softball team had hopes of leaving LHS with a state championship trophy.

It didn’t work out that way, however, as Logan went 1-2 in this week’s Class AAA state tournament at Vienna’s Jackson Memorial Park to finish third for the second straight year.

Logan’s seniors — Taylor Norman, Morgan Aguirre, Emily Vinson, Lara Sedlock, Emily Allred and Katie Chryssofos — can hang their heads high, however.

The senior class made history by playing on Logan teams that made it to the state tournament in four straight seasons.

That’s right.

Since their freshman years, Logan’s seniors made it to the state tourney every year, winning four straight sectional and regional titles.

Despite Logan’s 6-0 loss to Parkersburg South on Thursday to get eliminated from the state tournament, the seniors’ accomplishment was not lost on Lady Cats’ head coach Randy Robinette and his staff, who addressed the team in the right field grass following the loss.

In four seasons, Logan’s senior class played on teams that went 112-23 — a winning percentage of .830. The hitch, though, was the state tourney, where the Lady Cats were just 5-8 in the last four years.

“They went four in a row to the state tournament and they’ve done a good job,” Robinette said. “I wanted so much for them to have a state championship but we just fell short.”

All six players made a huge impact with the Logan program.

Aguirre and Norman were steady pitchers and third basemen for Logan.

Aguirre had pitched Logan to the state tourney with three straight one-hit performances in post-season wins over South Charleston, Riverside and Greenbrier East in the regional finals. The right-hander Aguirre had an outstanding season as she was 13-4 in the circle heading into the regional final with a 1.53 ERA and 158 strikeouts. At the plate, Aguirre hit .449 with five home runs, 31 RBI, 15 doubles and 44 hits.

Chryssofos, Logan’s catcher, hit .376 this year with 10 homers, 38 RBI and 35 total hits. She hit another homer in the state tourney — a three-run shot — as she slugged 33 home runs in her last three seasons.

Norman was 10-1 within the circle this season with a 1.28 ERA and 72 strikeouts. She hit a team-best .485 with 16 RBI and 32 hits. She was 1-1 on the mound at state, giving her an impressive 11-2 mark for the season.

Sedlock, Logan’s senior first baseman, had another fine season for the Lady Cats this spring as she hit .395 with 41 RBI and 47 total hits to lead the team.

Vinson, the starting centerfielder, batted .233 for the Lady Cats this season and played well defensively. She moved from right field to center in the early part of the season and hit a memorable home run during a game this season at Logan.

Robinette said only Norman and Aguirre have indicated they might want to play on the collegiate level.

“Taylor wants to play somewhere and she’ll end up going somewhere for sure,” Robinette said. “Lara could but I think that she’s just going to go to school at Marshall. Katie is going to Southern I think. Morgan I think has made up her mind that she wants to go to UC. We’ll just see what happens.”

Junior Rachelle Toppings led Logan in the state tourney at the plate as she was 4-for-11. Chryssofos was 3-for-9 with a double and three-run homer in the three games. Both were named all-tournament.

Sedlock was 3-for-9, while Vinson was 3-for-7.

Norman went 2-for-10 with three RBI, while Aguirre was 2-for-9 with a double and two RBI.

Antonia Hill, a junior outfielder, was 2-for-8 at the plate. Sophomore second baseman Shelby Hale was 1-for-5. Junior outfielder Shana Hall was 1-for-9. Allred was 0-for-1.

Within the circle, Norman was 1-1 as she pitched 11.2 innings and allowed three runs and 14 hits with 11 strikeouts, two walks and a hit batter.

Aguirre was 0-1, pitching 7.1 innings and yielding 11 runs and 11 hits with four strikeouts, two walks and a hit batter.

For the Logan softball program, 2013 looks to be just as bright as several returning players and newcomers will dot the roster.

Logan is reportedly moving into a new Class AAA sectional next year with powerhouse Lincoln County. The Lady Cats were joined with George Washington and South Charleston since moving up from 2A in 2009.

“We’ll move on. We’ve got a nice group of eight, nine, 10 and 11th-graders coming back,” Robinette said. “We’ll work with them through travel ball and the three-week period and reload for next year. The group that’s coming is good and this group coming back is good so the future is bright for us.”