SOUTH CHARLESTON- After a day one split that included their first ever victory in the state tournament, the Greenbrier West Lady Cavaliers softball team had a win-or-go-home opportunity on Thursday morning in a rematch with the Wahama White Falcons for a right to enter the state title game.
In what was a valiant, back-and-forth effort, it was the Cavaliers who were forced to go home after an 11-6 setback that ended their 2025 campaign.
Much like game one, Greenbrier West jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning when Maddie Fields singled home Brilee Redden who had also gotten on base via single. A base hit from Preslee Treadway kept the frame going and she would eventually score on a sacrifice fly from Brooklyn Adkins.
But the White Falcons never let West keep the momentum in either game the two played in the tourney.
Zoie Mayes laced a run scoring double that brought home Elissa Hoffman and two batters later, Audrey Reynolds singled and scored Mayes. Finally, Fiona VanMatre ripped an RBI double that gave Wahama a 3-2 lead after two.
The Falcons added a run in the third that put them up 4-3, but a Cavalier answer was in the works.
West trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with on an Adkins RBI single that plated Brooke Patterson. But with runners on second and third and just one out, the Cavs lined into a critical double play that ended the inning and slowed the momentum which could have resulted in more runs.
Wahama scored on a couple West errors in the fourth as they took a 6-3 lead, and the game looked as if it was slipping away from the girls on the western end of Greenbrier County.
But in the fifth, the Cavs put two more runs on the board. Redden led off with a single and Fields tripled her home. Redden would then score on a Treadway groundout and just like that, it was 6-5 after five.
But unfortunately, that was it for the beloved Lady Cavaliers.
Wahama put up three runs in the sixth and added two more in the seventh just for good measure and they punched their ticket to the state championship against Pendleton County.
Fields led West in her final game with a 3-4 day, two runs, and two RBIs. She was also selected to the all-tournament team. Redden, also an all-tournament selection, was 3-4 with two runs scored. Adkins had two hits and three RBIs and Treadway and Ava Price each went 1-2.
Treadway, one of the most, if not the most, decorated athletes in Greenbrier West history, played her last game as well.
VanMatre was a perfect 4-4 for Wahama.
**NOTE** Wahama lost on Thursday afternoon to Pendleton Co. as Pendleton Co. wrapped up the state championship.
