It’s back to the state tournament for the Logan High School softball team.

The Class AAA No. 5-ranked Lady Cats secured their fourth straight trip to Vienna after blanking homestanding Greenbrier East, 7-0, on Thursday night in the 3A Region 3 championship game at the Greenbrier East High School softball field in Fairlea, W.Va.

Logan senior pitcher Morgan Aguirre tossed a one-hit shutout as the Lady Cats moved on to play in next week’s Class AAA state tournament.

Logan, which improved to 27-5 on the season and won its fourth regional championship in as many years, is scheduled to open state play next Wednesday at noon against Region 4 champion Parkersburg South (22-12). The Patriots knocked off Cabell Midland, 3-1, last night to win their regional crown. The Knights finished with a 29-5 mark.

Greenbrier East closed out at 19-9 on the season. The Spartans also lost to the Lady Cats, 4-0 in the 2009 regional final at Logan.

Aguirre led Logan to victory last night as she fired all seven innings and gave up just a single in the fourth inning. She struck out seven and walked none. The right-hander 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.

Aguirre had fired a one-hit shutout, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning, in a 1-0 win over South Charleston to capture the sectional crown last week.

At the plate, Aguirre was 2-for-3 to lead Logan against the Spartans. Lara Sedlock, who hit .395 with 41 RBI on the season, was also 2-for-3 at the plate.

Emily Vinson, Antonia Hill, Katie Chryssofos and Taylor Norman all added hits for Logan.

The Lady Cats plated three runs in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead.

It was all Logan would need.

LHS went on to add two runs in the second, one in the third and one in the fifth.

Brooke Bailey was the losing pitcher for Greenbrier East.

Logan now shifts its focus to the state tournament next week.

It’s a venue the Lady Cats know well.

For Logan’s seniors, it’s the fourth straight May they have played at Vienna.

Logan would like to make a better show this time, however.

Last year, the Lady Cats went 1-2 to get ousted from the double-elimination tournament. Logan began with a 5-3 win over John Marshall, then lost 2-0 to Lincoln County. Logan met John Marshall again on the second day of the tourney and were ousted 6-2 by the Monarchs.

Logan went 2-2 in the state tourney in 2010 and 1-2 in 2009.

In other Class AAA regional tourney action from around the state on Thursday, John Marshall beat East Fairmont (8-0) and Robert C. Byrd downed Musselman (3-2) to reach the state tourney. The two teams are slated to meet on Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the opening round.

John Marshall is 32-3 on the season while RCB stands at 22-13.

Second-round contests are set for 5 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, an elimination game is slated for 10 a.m. with the state finals set for 2:30 p.m.

Logan had advanced with a 9-1 regional semifinal win last week at home over Riverside.

In the Class AA state tourney field, Ritchie County plays Keyser and Wayne takes on Shady Spring on Wednesday in first-round games. Wayne, which eliminated Chapmanville, 8-3, in last week’s regional semifinals, won 4-3 at Herbert Hoover in last night’s region finals at Falling Rock. It’s Wayne’s first trip to the state tourney since the 1980s.

In the Class A state field, Fayetteville plays Buffalo and St. Marys takes on Moorefield in opening round contests.