MORGANTOWN — Morgantown High’s baseball team may not have had Monday’s contest against Bridgeport circled in red marker on its calendar, but there was definitely a little extra incentive.
After being bounced from the Class AAA regional last season by the Indians, the Mohigans (15-5) picked up their sixth straight win with a 7-1 decision.
“I was proud of how we stayed focused and just competed inning by inning,” MHS head coach Pat Sherald said. “Obviously, (pitcher) Reed Bailey went out and really competed for us pitch to pitch. We had some big base hits, and I thought our guys showed a lot of mental toughness today.”
The Indians (16-4) grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Came Cole led off the game with a single and then scored later in the inning on a single off the bat of Anthony Dixon.
But that would be all the runs the defending state champions would score as Bailey went to work on the mound. He finished with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of work with one walk and seven hits surrendered. Cooper Thompson grabbed the final two outs for MHS as he allowed one hit and struck out one.
“This isn’t one we thought about too much,” Bailey said. “But, in the back of our minds, we wanted some revenge. The job is far from finished, we are hoping to see them down the road in regionals and we see them again before the (regular) season ends. This is a really sweet taste in our mouths.”
Morgantown finally got on the scoreboard in the third inning when Dominic Colasante scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jeffrey Poach, and then Jacob Kennell scored on an error by the shortstop on the same play. The Mohigans added one more run in the fifth inning when Poach delivered an RBI single that plated Aaron Jamison for a 3-1 lead, and then MHS broke things open in the sixth inning.
In that sixth, the Mohigans sent seven batters to the plate as Kennell hit a two-run single and then Jamison tied the school record with his 11th home run of the season. This homer was a two-run blast that finished off the scoring.
“He’s an extremely talented player,” Sherald said of Jamison. “His character and his work ethic are great. It’s extremely easy to be the head coach of this program when your top talented players buy into the culture and buy into the way we approach things.”
Bridgeport committed an uncharacteristic four errors in the contest and squandered a pair of bases-load opportunities.
The Indians loaded the bases in the fifth inning with no outs, but Bailey was able to wiggle out of the jam thanks to a strikeout, a fielder’s choice on a nifty play by third baseman Caleb Cottle and a flyout to Jamison in centerfield.
In the seventh inning, Bridgeport again loaded the bases but a diving catch by Jamison helped finish off the potential rally.
“I’m more proud of the play in the outfield,” Jamison said. “I don’t get to many diving catches. I love being aggressive and I just saw my opportunity and went for it.”
Cole led Bridgeport with four hits while Dixon added two hits and the RBI. Austin Mann took the loss for the Indians on the mound as he went five innings with two strikeouts and surrendered six hits.
The Mohigans had four players with multiple hits including Jamison, who had three hits with the homer and a double, Poach added his two hits, Kennell had two hits with a double while freshman Weston Mazey went 2 for 2 with a double.
Morgantown returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Fairmont Senior for a 5 p.m. contest.
By ERIC HERTER
Bridgeport (16-4)
Cole 4 1 4 0, McDougal 3 0 0 0, Nicholson 1 0 0 0, Paulsen 3 0 1 0, Dixon 4 0 2 1, Harbert 3 0 0 0, Buffington 3 0 0 0, Reed 3 0 0 0, Bailey 2 0 0 0, Ames 1 0 0 0, Oliverio 1 0 0 0, Ross 1 0 1 0. Totals: 28 1 8 1.
Morgantown (15-5)
Kennell 3 2 2 2, Fluharty 4 0 0 0, Jamison 4 2 3 2, Poach 4 0 2 2, Cottle 2 0 0 0, Galusky 3 0 0 0, Mazey 2 1 2 0, Nutter 2 1 0 0, Colasante 3 1 1 0. Totals 27 7 10 6.
BHS 100 000 0 – 1 8 4
MHS 002 014 x – 7 10 1
2B – Kennell, Mazey, Jamison
HR – Jamison
WP – Bailey 6.1ip, 7h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 7k
LP – Mann 5ip, 6h, 3r, 1er, 3bb, 2k
