The Mohigans (8-5) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on their way to a 12-0 victory over their rival UHS (6-6) after five innings of play.
MHS left fielder Jeffery Poach hit an RBI double to left in the first inning to open the scoring. He would finish the night going 3-4 at the plate with 3 RBIs to lead the Mohigans. In fact, Poach was only one of five MHS batters to record multiple hits in the game.
The two-run first was followed by five more runs in the top of the second inning as MHS continue to put its foot on the gas.
“I was proud of our team’s effort and focus the entire game,” MHS head coach Pat Sherald said after the game. “We ran the bases well, strung together quality at-bats and played good defense behind Reed.”
On the other side of the ball for the Mohigans, senior pitcher Reed Bailey was keeping the powerful UHS batting lineup at bay. Bailey didn’t even allow a hit from the Hawks until Cody Thomas singled to lead off the bottom of the third. Bailey finished with 63 pitches thrown through 5.0 innings, didn’t allow any runs and only allowed two hits.
“Reed really competed against a solid-hitting UHS team. He had no walks and challenged in the strike zone the entire game,” Sherald said of his senior ace. “It was also great to see Ty Galusky get his first start behind the plate today of the season.”
This win will certainly give MHS reasons to celebrate, but Sherald and his players know that the work doesn’t stop anytime soon and will need to continue to improve.
“We need to continue to throw the ball in the strike zone, make the routine plays and compete in the batters box with 2 strikes in the count,” said Sherald of his team going forward. “We also need to stay healthy. We’ve faced one of the toughest schedules and have faced most teams’ number one pitchers. I’m proud of our progress and effort to date and the way our team competes pitch by pitch.”
UHS and head coach Brad Comport know that this effort doesn’t define the identity of the team.
“We got beat in all phases of the game. We got down early and had trouble getting off of the field with two outs,” Comport said of the game. “Hats off to MHS, they had a great approach at the plate and hit the ball all around the yard. they added on and extended the lead throughout. Combined with their solid pitching and defense, it was tough for us to get momentum and play the style we like. We want to use these types of games as feedback to be better next time out.”
Morgantown will hit the road Friday for two games in the southern part of the state. They face Huntington High at 3:30 P.M., followed by a game against George Washington at 6:45.
UHS will travel on Thursday to play John Marshall before returning home to host Albert Gallatin, both of those game are set for 5:00 P.M.
University 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 2 3
Morgantown 2 5 0 2 3 – 12 12 0
University (6-6)
Latocha 2 0 0 0, Templeton 2 0 0 0, Campbell 2 0 0 0, Forbes 2 0 0 0, Braham 2 0 0 0, Croston 2 0 0 0, Thomas 2 0 1 0, Jansen 2 0 1 0, Edwards 1 0 0 0
Morgantown (8-5)
Kennell 4 2 2 3, Fluharty 4 2 2 2, Jamison 2 3 0 0, Cottle 4 1 1 2, Poach 4 0 3 3, Galusky 2 0 0 0, Whanger 3 0 0 0, Yanchak 2 2 2 0, Mazey 3 2 2 0
2B – MHS: Poach (2), Mazey
HR – MHS: Kennell, Fluharty
SB – MHS: Kennell, Jamison, Fluharty
WP – Reed Bailey 5.0 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 Ks
LP – K Wyatt 3.2 IP 9 H 9 R 6 ER 2 BBs 0 Ks
