MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Ripley senior Dane Petersen silenced Morgantown’s powerful lineup in leading the Vikings to a 3-1 win in the Mon County Classic. Petersen pitched a one-hitter and was helped out by some sterling defensive plays behind him.
Morgantown entered the game with the state’s longest win streak at 17 games. The Mohigans’ last setback came in a 13-3 loss against Hedgesville on March 30th. This was the first loss for the Mohigans (22-3) that was not part of a doubleheader.
Petersen struck out four batters for the Vikings (12-9). Carter Patrick had the lone base hit for the Mohigans with a single in the third inning.
“Once Dane settled in in the second inning and beyond he just started pounding the strike zone with his fastball and his curve ball came around,” said Ripley head coach Shane Casto.
“We haven’t been swinging the bats really well and tonight we definitely didn’t swing the bats well,” said Morgantown head coach Mark McCarty. “But (Petersen) pitched well and the balls we did hit, they made some really nice plays. You have to give them some credit.”
The Mohigans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Caleb Taylor’s sacrifice fly brought Quintin Smith to the plate just three batters into the game.
But the Vikings took the lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Davis Haynes hit a sharp grounder to second base. Morgantown recorded an out but was unable to turn a double play. A throwing error allowed both Ethan Patterson and Joshua Carte to score, giving the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
Ripley tacked on another run in the third inning as Gage Songer scored Petersen with an RBI single. That would be the final run scored in the contest.
“To come up here and make a long trip, play the number three team in the state that had won seventeen games in a row, and get a good win at a big ball park… I think they are starting to believe in themselves,” Casto said.
Colton Matthews took the loss for the Mohigans. He pitched six innings, allowing all three runs — two of those were earned. Matthews struck out four batters while scattering five hits.
Morgantown faces a quick turnaround as they will face Steubenville in the OVAC 5A championship game Saturday morning. “That’s one good thing about baseball… you don’t have time to lick your wounds,” McCarty said. “You just have to jump back on and go play.”
