MORGANTOWN — After a dominant tournament run on their way to Monday’s W.Va. American Legion State Championship stage, Wheeling Post 1 did not blink with a chance for the title on the line against Beckley Post 32. Post 1 came away with a 6-0 victory, and with the championship trophy in back-to-back years.

Unbeaten through four games, Post 1 would’ve had to lose two straight to bow out of the tournament in a double-elimination format, but a complete-game shutout from Seth Cover and three RBI from tournament MVP Chris Upton helped keep Wheeling undefeated in the state tournament all the way through the finish line.

“These kids just continue to battle,” Jon-Michael Brunner, coach of Post 1 who has moved into more of a “general manager” role this year while caring for his two-month old son, said after Monday’s game. “They were tested all season, coming into the week we know we’re going to have to win five games.”

Wheeling defeated Morgantown Post 2 to secure the title last season.

“Last year we came from the losers’ track and had to battle back,” Brunner said. “So the message today was essentially the same, you know, we’ve been in Beckley’s position where we have to compete and take advantage of mishaps. I thought the kids responded. Offensively, we cooled off a little bit. But you know, like we say, good teams will find ways to win. And they did that.”

With the victory, Wheeling moves onto the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament, set to take place in the same venue as last year, Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Maryland.

With many returning players from last year’s state championship squad to this year’s, Brunner is excited for his team to head east again.

“Those guys were excited about being able to go back to the regional obviously, and it’s a lot of guys that understand the competition at the regional level. We had two wins last year early on, and then we lost two straight to get eliminated. But guys like Jaxon [Murray], Zade [Billings], Rocco [Digiandomenico, Ryland [Robb], Tucker [Doty], you know, there’s some guys there who are even better, who are veterans now, and they understand the situation. I just love the way these guys are attacking the game and their mindset right now. They’re clicking on all cylinders.”

Post 1 posted one run in the third and fourth innings, with Zade Billings and Chris Upton collecting RBI, before scoring four runs in the sixth inning to pull away. In that frame, Brady Ernest hit a solo home run over the center field fence, Upton drove in two more with a double, and Billings brought in a run with a bases-loaded walk.

After delivering the walk-off hit in extra innings in Sunday’s semifinal, Upton had another big day on Monday. The soon-to-be Linsly junior was named tournament MVP for his efforts.

“Chris is just a great kid,” Brunner began. “He shows up every day to get better, whether that’s during the season or in the offseason. He’s consistently working on his game, asking good questions, putting in the extra work that not only builds his confidence, but builds the confidence of his teammates. I don’t think there was a single person in the stands that didn’t expect Chris to come through today, or didn’t expect him to come through yesterday.

He’s really kind of made a name for himself in the state with his play over the last six weeks of the season there. But I couldn’t be more proud of him, and it’s a testament to his hard work and his determination to get better. And like I said, I think obviously he wanted to get better himself, but he wants to compete and be the guy to make the play for his teammates.”

Cover’s complete-game shutout came with three strikeouts, the recent Wheeling Central graduate limiting Beckley to three hits– all singles– and three walks.

It was a continuation of a solid pitching streak as a team for Post 1. Across the five tournament games, Wheeling allowed one run or less in four of their five games, including shutting out Beckley and Charleston.

“[Pitching coach] Dustin [Henry] does an unbelievable job with the guys,” Brunner said. “He understands the sequence. He understands how to get those guys to perform at a high level. And then, just defensively, the team was incredible. Solid baseball, really fundamentally sound baseball all week. And, you know, obviously it showed.”

Brunner said that the coaching credit belonged to his staff– Henry, Scott Castilow, Dom Gorence, Cam White and Nick Tsoras.

“You get to coach with your best friends,” Brunner said. “So it really makes for a fun season and a tight knit group. And I honestly think that’s why we have success, because we’re all good friends. I mean, that’s what the kids see, and that’s what they do. Those guys should get the love because they do more than I do.”

The Mid-Atlantic Regional is set to begin August 6.

“Pitching this week was outstanding, big hits by very clutch players, you know, Chris, Brady, Billick, Zade, I mean, you name it,” Brunner said. “Those guys came through. Just extremely proud of the way they played. The message all year’s really just been, play for something that’s bigger than yourself. And those kids really played for Wheeling. They played for our program, and played for all the guys that came before.”