Some say the best high school softball in the state is played right here in Logan County.

Ask anyone associated with the sport in Man, Logan or Chapmanville and they would probably tell you the same thing.

For the second straight year, all three county softball teams advanced to the state tournament.

Man, the two-time defending Class A state champs, moved on with Thursday night’s 9-2 win at Buffalo in the Region 4 title game.

Chapmanville, the defending Class AA state champs, made it back with last night’s 4-0 victory at Herbert Hoover in the 2A Region 4 final.

Logan also advanced to the state tourney with Thursday nigh’ts 6-0 win at Nicholas County in the Class AAA Region 3 championship game.

The Lady Billies, Lady Cats and Lady Tigers have won a combined 11 state championships in their history.

The state tournament is scheduled to be played next Wednesday and Thursday at Vienna.

Chapmanville coach Ronnie Ooten, now in is 30th year, said he’s not surprised by the success of girls’ softball in Logan County.

He’s seen the talent level in the area rank with the best in the state for three decades.

“All you have to do is sit back and watch. It’s like this year in and year out. It’s every year,” he said. “It seems like these teams just reload down here. There are a lot of good feeder programs and middle school programs (in Logan County).”

———

For more on the Man, Logan and Chapmanville girls see the sports section