SOUTH CHARLESTON — The Oak Glen softball team’s third-straight Class AA state tournament appearance came to a close on Thursday morning with a 14-5 loss to five-time defending state champion Herbert Hoover in an elimination game.

The Golden Bears close the season at 26-11 after winning their third-consecutive OVAC Class 4A, WVSSAC Region 1, Section 1 and Region 1 Championships.

It was the end of the road for an Oak Glen senior group consisting of twins Sydney and Sarah Brown, Dez Carter, Olivia Munoz, Lizzie Kell and Madi Balch that went 83-18 (82 percent winning percentage) during a three-year run that included trips to the state tournament in each season they played (their freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020).

The group, five of the six having played together since the 8U program, will go down as one of the school’s most successful.

“They were named the ‘Rising Stars’ a name they hold dear to their heart and they proved to be very much so garnering wins along they way, with Dez Carter moving to Oak Glen in her eighth grade year, she became acquainted with new teammates and they made a special run in high school softball,” Oak Glen head coach Sherrie Garner said of the senior class. “Along the way with the adjoining groups and classes of teammates in three years, this class leaves a legacy becoming what I’d strongly say is the winningest group in Oak Glen softball history.

“They are a group that loves to play the game and have been a model for many young girls to continue to pursue a passion for the game.”

Munoz was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and plated five in the third to lead 7-1, but Oak Glen battled back to within 7-3 with a two-run fifth.

Herbert Hoover, however, plated seven in the sixth to pull away, though Oak Glen added two more in the bottom half to go down battling.

Kayla Wright had a double and two RBIs, Sarah Brown went 4 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, Munoz had a pair of base hits, as did Macy Hartung, and Sydney Brown and Dez Carter each tallied a base hit.

Sophomore Maddie Murray had a pair of strikeouts in going the distance in the circle pitching in place of the injured Kell, who was struck with a ball in the opening game Wednesday and missed the rest of the tournament.

After defeating the Golden Bears, Herbert Hoover’s title reign did come to an end at the hands of Winfield in Game 1 of the final. Winfield, which topped Oak Glen on Wednesday in the tournament opener, clinched the title with a 3-0 victory.

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