MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown shortstop Quincy Thornton gave it a ride in the bottom of the 7th inning, but a basket catch by Parkersburg South sealed the Mohigans first loss of 2021, 10-5 on Tuesday night at Mylan Park.
MHS came in to the game unbeaten at 8-0 and just beat the Patriots on the road Monday in blowout fashion at 13-5, but early sloppy mistakes in the field and pitching woes late cost the Mohigans their unblemished mark.
“We had too many errors and it doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at … high school, college, whatever … you can’t do that and expect to win,” head coach Pat Sherald said. “I really like our club, they just got us today.”
Parkersburg South scored three runs in the first two innings, but MHS answered each time, holding a 4-3 lead through the 4th inning. The Patriots offense eventually woke up, scoring six runs in the final three innings and the Mohigans were unable to rally, thanks in large part to PSHS starting pitcher Grant Hussey, who tossed six innings and allowed just three earned runs on six hits.
“Hussey was really good against our guys and all together, they put up some good at bats,” Sherald said. “They were very well coached.”
The Mohigans had to piece together their pitching staff with a busy week ahead. Due to pitch-count rules and regulations, they needed to be selective with who pitched when, sending six arms to the mound in a predetermined game plan.
“We’re supposed to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the Bridgeport tournament and hopefully OVACs if we make it,” Sherald said. “We wanted to get our pitchers back in line. Next week is a tough week, too, and I don’t want to look too far ahead, but if we win OVACs, we’ll play in the championship, along with games against Bridgeport and Wheeling Park.”
An added benefit to this ideology is it gets pitchers extra work and doesn’t over-extend certain arms this early in the season, which early on, has been a successful run for MHS, even with Tuesday’s exception.
The Mohigans are ranked No. 1 in MetroNews’ Power Rankings for Class AAA, and dealing with high expectations is something Sherald is hoping to rein in with a young group.
“Nobody wants to be No. 1 in the first week of the season, everyone wants to be No. 1 in the last week of the season,” Sherald said. “That’s our expectation and I’ve been pleased with how they’ve stayed focused and how they’ve handled a little bit of early success.”
Ryan Fluharty led MHS with three hit and two RBIs, while Ty Galusky had the only other run driven in.
MHS (8-1) will play at Waynesburg (Pa.) on Thursday.
A different Senior Night
With the cancellation on the 2020 season due to COVID-19, the Mohigans honored last year’s seniors before the game, along with their families: Carter Patrick, Joseph Yanchak, Charlie Kerzak, Preston Fox and Maxwell Gage.
PARKERSBURG SOUTH
Menarchek 4 3 1 0; Hussey 3 1 1 0; Corley 5 1 2 0; Reeves 4 2 1 1; Kinzer 4 0 2 4; Wiggins 4 0 1 1; Starkey 4 1 2 3; Schuler 4 0 2 1; McPeek 4 1 3 0; Hickman 0 1 0 0. Totals: 36 10 15 10.
MORGANTOWN (8-1)
Jamison 4 1 1 0; Fluharty 4 1 3 2; Thornton 3 1 1 0; Brennan 2 0 0 0; Galusky 2 0 1 1; Smith 3 0 0 0; Cottle 3 0 0 0; Colasante 3 0 1 0; Kennell 2 2 0 0. Totals: 26 5 7 3.
PSHS 210 024 1 – 10
MHS 220 000 1 – 5
EXTRA-BASE HITS
PSHS — 2B: Schuler, Starkey 2. MHS — 2B: Colasante, Fluharty, Jamison.
PITCHING
PSHS — Hussey 6ip, 6h, 4r, 3er, 4so, 3bb; Menarchek 1ip, 1h, 1r, 1er, 1so, 1bb.
MHS — Eddy 1ip, 0h, 2r, 0er, 1so, 2bb; Bowers 1ip, 3h, 1r, 1er, 0so, 0bb; Bailey 1ip, 0h, 0r, 0er, 1so, 0bb; Thompson 1ip, 2h, 0r, 0er, 0so, 0bb; Frombach 1.1ip, 7h, 6r, 5er, 0so, 0bb; Fluharty 1.2ip, 3h, 1r, 1er, 3so, 1bb.
