The Jefferson High School baseball team celebrate at the WVSSAC 2021 “AAA” Baseball Regional Championship, which they won. David Pennock

ROMNEY — Coming off a 2023 season where it showed a 25-8 overall record, Jefferson High School opened its baseball season with a 12-2 mercy-rule win over Sectional opponent Hampshire High School, on a comfortable Saturday morning in Romney.

It was the 1,400th career win for the school’s only baseball coach, John Lowery, Sr., who began his over half-century of work at the school in the 1973 season.

Jefferson’s 2023 season was completed after a Sectional title but a loss in the Regional, when Hedgesville High School took two games from the Cougars.

Lowery’s teams have won a dozen state championships, the last two coming in 2015 and 2016.

One of the highlights of this season will come on April 4 in South Carolina, when the Cougars will play Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach. Carolina Forest is coached by Wayne Riser, who led Shepherd University baseball teams for 18 years. In his 18 head-coaching years with the Rams, Riser produced a 410-315

overall record. This is his first season coaching in South Carolina at Carolina Forest.

Last year’s Cougars managed to hit only one home run as a team, but still won 25 games.

Cole Lewis led the 2023 team in hitting with a .324 batting average. Lewis returns along with pitcher Riley Morgan. Morgan has been a Jefferson mainstay since his freshman season and batted .315 a year ago. The left-hander had 2-1 record with a 2.50 ERA in 12 appearances in 2023.

Ryan Kelly is a middle infielder/pitcher and finished with a .241 average a year ago. Kelly recorded a 3-0 pitching mark with a 1.93 ERA. Also returning are catcher A.J. Spears (.171 average) and utility player Ty Vickers (.143 average).

Senior Cohen Rutherford got the pitching win against Hampshire. Morgan had a 2-for-3 day at the plate against the Trojans.

Also expected to see considerable playing time this spring are junior outfielder Sam Hefner, junior Connor Williams, junior Cole Smith and junior Brody Roberts.

Jefferson remains in the same Class AAA Sectional as both Hampshire and Washington. The Regional is also identical to what it has been with Martinsburg, Hedgesville, Musselman and Spring Mills comprising the other Sectional.

The Cougars will also take their annual Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach to play a week-long schedule, before returning back to Shenandoah Junction to continue their 2024 season.