By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
These are not the little Wolverines who could. They are the mighty Wolverines who did.
Against all odds, through adversity and attrition, and despite those who had written them off, the Woodruff baseball team stunned the state by winning their district championship in the Class 3A playoffs, 4-2, over St. Joseph Catholic.
“Man, this is hard to even explain,” said an emotional Woodruff head coach, Wesley Brown. “I told them from the beginning of the year that this team could win and win big if they bought into the system we were trying to do.”
For the Wolverines, who finished fourth in their region and were mostly an afterthought among a stacked field of postseason teams, it has been a meteoric finish to a season fraught with challenges. Nobody expected it, except the players themselves.
“We’ve battled through some hard games this year and had some ups and downs,” explained second baseman Luke Cooper. “These guys have put in bunches of hours every week, trying to get better. Not a lot of people had any faith in us, but God did.”
Momentum Built Before the Playoffs
The signs were there all along, though.
Woodruff won five of its final six regular-season games going into the playoffs, including a three-game sweep of conference rival Union County. The 11th overall seed out of 16 teams in the upper-state bracket, the Wolverines were paired in a four-team district with St. Joseph, Palmetto, and Crescent, the last of which was the third overall seed.
Woodruff defeated St. Joseph 6-2 in the first game of the district round, scoring four times in the seventh inning to break open a 2-2 game. Then, the Wolverines stymied Palmetto 5-1, earning a place in the championship behind a complete game masterpiece by freshman pitcher Zeke Dickard.
Crescent, meanwhile, was eliminated, and with St. Joseph dispatching Palmetto, the Knights earned their way back to face Woodruff again, needing to win twice. The Wolverines only needed to win once.
St. Joseph took game one, an extra-inning thriller that the Knights won 6-5. Game two, though, would leave little doubt.
Wolverines Deliver Championship Performance
The Wolverines scored all four of their runs in the third inning.
Cayden Owings walked to lead off the frame, stole second, and was driven home on a base hit by Kaden Henderson. A wild pitch scored the second run before senior first baseman Jackson Richard delivered what would ultimately be the deciding blow with a two-run single.
“Every day we came out here and worked on the small things,” said Richard. “We’re not a home run-hitting team, but we try to hit line drives, we bunt the ball, do everything we can to get on base. We can take whatever we need.”
It was all Kayden Barnaby would need on the mound.
Woodruff’s sensational senior shortstop, who had to give up pitching late in the season due to a lack of defensive depth, was called upon to finish off the upset. He delivered and then some, tossing a complete game while allowing just five hits and two unearned runs.
“I wasn’t sure we were going to get to this spot at the beginning of the season,” Barnaby admitted. “Playing (St. Joseph), I knew we could beat them, and we did the first time. When they told me I was pitching in game two, I knew I would go out there and dominate. I’ve never seen the team play this hard before. This is validation for us and everything we have worked for.”
Unsung Heroes and a Championship Mindset
Third baseman Brody Wood put away the final out on a high pop-up, touching off a raucous celebration by the Wolverines’ players, coaches, and fans — a joyous scene for a team that spent most of the season with a losing record. All that, in the moment, was a distant memory.
Unsung heroes abound for Woodruff baseball.
Among them, freshman catcher Lane Prince has played every single game for Woodruff behind the plate. He has been hit, battered, and fought through injury while never wavering, personifying the Wolverines’ never-say-die attitude among a roster of young men who simply never believe they are out of a game.
“You have to prepare seasons and seasons before,” Prince said. “It starts at school in the morning and comes all the way to the game. Getting your mind right is the number one priority. This is crazy. I never thought I would be in this situation. I’m speechless.”
Wolverines Continue Upper-State Playoff Journey
The win marked Woodruff’s first district championship in baseball in over a decade, earned by perhaps the unlikeliest team to accomplish the feat.
The road only gets harder from here, though.
The Wolverines face formidable Southside Christian, the defending 3A state champions, in game one of the upper-state round, which makes up the final four teams left standing.
Tough, but absolutely doable, when you ask any member of the 2026 Woodruff baseball team.
After all, big hearts and an unmatched will to win have carried them this far. Why not a little further?
“I’ve just got that taste of a championship in my mouth,” stated Richard. “It’s hard to say because the last few years we have been good, but with this team, it was the least expected. It’s all an emotional feeling. We won a district championship, and being honest, I think we have enough grit and effort to keep winning.”
For Coach Brown, defying the odds he was given when accepting the head coaching position at Woodruff only adds to the satisfaction of what his team is accomplishing.
“It’s sweet, man,” he added. “When I took this job four years ago, people told me you can’t win at Woodruff. Well, we have, and it means the world to me to have a bunch of kids that have bought into what we’re trying to do.”
