WHEELING — Wheeling Post 1 started its American Legion baseball summer in Shelby, N.C. and has plans to end it there.

Post 1 played five games at Keeter Stadium to begin the season. It is five wins away from making the trip again, this time for the World Series, which is scheduled Aug. 14-19.

“Our motto all year has been, ‘we started the season in Shelby,

Wheeling (31-7) will open Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament play on Wednesday morning at 9:30 on the artificial surface at Joe Cannon Stadium in Ridge, Md. The back-to-back W.Va. state champions will meet New Jersey state champion Cherry Hill (20-1).

“They beat a very good Brooklawn team that made it to the regional last year,” Post 1 assistant coach Nick Tsoras said of the opponent. “They have a couple of NCAA Division I recruits, so they’ll be tough.”

A loss would put Post 1 in win-or-go home mode with a 9:30 a.m. consolation game on Thursday. With a win, Post 1 would play at 4:30 p.m.

The team is no stranger to the Mid-Atlantic Regional as their 19 W.Va. state titles will attest. They were there last summer, going 2-0 before suffering consecutive losses to end a fine season. That experience should help them this year.

“I think that is huge for us,” stressed Gorence. “Having a few guys back from last year will help. It won’t be foreign territory for us this time around. Last year was exciting for the guys to be there, this year they know what to expect as far as the atmosphere and environment.”

Six returning players saw some action last summer. They are Rocco Digiandomenico, Ryland Robb, Jaxon Murray, Zade Billings, Braxton Billick and Henry Anderson.

The potent Wheeling offense has a collective .393 batting average. Post 1 has banged out 384 hits (an average of 10 per game), with 100 doubles, 19 triples and 17 home runs.

They have driven in 313 runs and scored 370.

Justin Upton leads off. The speedy left fielder will be a junior at Linsly in the fall. He bats .470 with 47 hits (second on the team) and has scored a team-leading 47 runs. He also leads the team in stolen bases (21) and has knocked in 24 runs.

“He’s the proto-typical lead off batter,” Gorence said. “He’ll do whatever it takes to get on base.”

Upton was voted MVP of the W.Va. state tournament.

Seth Cover, who plays second base when not pitching, bats second. The recent Wheeling Central grad hits at a .424 clip with 42 hits and 46 runs scored (2nd). He leads the team with 15 hit-by-pitches and has driven in 33 runs.

Batting third is Murray, the shortstop who will be a senior at Linsly. He leads the team in hitting (.518), doubles (13), triples (8) and runs scored (51). He has three home runs, 45 runs scored and has stolen 12 bases.

Billings, who graduated from Tyler Consolidated in 2024, enjoyed his second season with Post 1 as its cleanup hitter and strong-armed catcher. He batted .356 this summer with Post 1. He has 32 hits, of which nine are doubles. He drove in 28 runs and scored 25. He has been hit with a pitch 10 times and swiped 11 bases.

Batting fifth is first baseman Digiandomenico, a recent Wheeling Park grad. A .388 hitter, he has 33 hits, with 11 being doubles. He has 31 RBI and scored 25 runs.

Third baseman and Brooke alum Anderson bats .338 with seven doubles and four home runs among his two dozen hits. He has knocked in 33 runs and scored 21.

Brady Ernest, a junior-to-be at Wheeling Central, bats seventh and plays right field. He hits at a .448 clip with 26 hits (9 doubles, 3 home runs) and 12 RBI. He scored 20 runs.

Batting eighth is Jake Brown, another recent Wheeling Central grad. He plays second base and bats .405 with 15 hits in limited action. However, he has seven doubles, 15 runs scored and eight RBI.

Billick rounds out the order and plays a steady center field. He hit .397 with 29 hits, five being doubles. He drove in 16 runs and scored two dozen times.

“I think we’re playing our best baseball right now in all three facets of the game,” Gorence added. “If we don’t beat ourselves, I think we can beat anyone in the regional.”

Wheeling has compiled a 4.08 team ERA and has made just 38 errors. It has also stolen 80 bases and has a very fine 86.02 percent when stealing.

Cover will get the ball against Cherry Hill. The righty is 5-0 in eight starts on the hill. He has worked a team-high 37 innings, with 30 strikeouts and 19 walks. He has allowed 15 runs (all earned) and compiled a 2.84 ERA.

Reese Davis, a senior-to-be at Tyler Consolidated, is 6-1 on the mound, with 31 strikeouts and 19 walks. His ERA is 2.03. Wheeling Park grad Ryland Robb checks in with a 4-1 record and a 2.44 ERA. Tucker Doty, who will be a senior at Linsly, has a team-best five saves. Brown has logged three.

Other members of the Post 1 roster are Wheeling Park junior Erik Blazier; Linsly’s Dom Fato, Jack Selmon and Donavan Jones. Selmon, who is tied with Anderson for the team lead in home runs, is a redshirt freshman at Wheeling University. He is currently injured as he awaits an MRI on his knee.

Wheeling went 4-0 in the state tournament on Dale Miller Field inside Morgantown’s Mylan Park. They defeated Clarksburg (8-1), Beckley (12-5), Charleston (5-0) and Berkeley (2-1, 10 innings).

Cherry Hill went 3-0 in the New Jersey State Tournament. Post 372 defeated Whitehouse Post 28 by a 4-3 count before taking down perennial state power Brooklawn, 7-4. It then downed Brooklawn, 6-5 for its first-ever state title.

Anthony Alessandroni provided the winning margin in the title tilt with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. He will attend Rutgers University-Camden. The winning pitcher with two scoreless innings of relief was Ricky Orlandini who will play at Atlantic Cape Community College.

Other teams entered in the double-elimination event are Delaware state champion (New Castle Post 30); Virginia state champion (Chesapeake Post 280); Maryland state champion (Cecil County Post 194); Pennsylvania state champion (Hazelton Post 76); Pennsylvania state runner up (Bristol Post 382); and host Ridge (Md.) Post 255.