MORGANTOWN – In a game that saw a run scored in every half inning except one, it took nearly three and a half hours and 31 runs to decide a winner between Morgantown and Bridgeport, two of the top baseball teams in Class AAA, on a chilly Tuesday evening under the lights at The Dale at Mylan Park.
After trailing 9-3 in the top of the fourth inning, the Mohigans (14-4) rallied to cut the deficit to as close as just one run, but came up short in the end, falling 16-15 as the visiting Indians avenged their home loss to MHS not long ago.
Each team produced ten hits on the night and combined for 22 walks, reflected in the final scoreline. MHS senior shortstop Ryan Fluharty was the bright spot at the plate on the night, going 3 for 3 with two doubles, an RBI, and four runs scored. The top three batters in the BHS lineup combined for five hits and 10 RBI on the night.
“A lot of back and forth on that game,” MHS head coach Pat Sherald said. “I told the guys we had to keep having quality at-bats, we weren’t sure how many runs would be scored or how this game would continue to go, but at the end of the day they got one more run across the board than we did.”
The Indians used a six-run top-half of the fourth inning to blow open a 9-3 lead, giving themselves a cushion midway through the contest.
But behind Sherald’s encouragement and some of those quality at-bats he mentioned, the Mohigans scored four runs of their own to trail 9-7 after the fourth.
The top of the fifth saw the runs continue to cross the plate as BHS added four more, responding well to the Mohigan-rally to take a 13-7 lead. MHS added three runs in the bottom half of the fifth, two on a Dylan Travinski single and another when Lance Whanger was hit with a pitch while the bases were loaded. Between the two teams from the fourth through the sixth inning, 23 runs were scored.
The Indians took a 15-10 lead into the bottom of the sixth, and you could probably guess what happened from that point. More runs.
MHS scored four runs before having an out recorded against them to cut the lead to 15-14 but failed to add another in the frame after two straight strikeouts to end the sixth.
A bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh gave BHS one more run to extend the lead to two, 16-14, entering the bottom of the seventh. Fluharty led with one of his two doubles on the night and reached third on a wild pitch. He scored on a fielder’s choice by Caleb Nutter to cut the lead to just one, but a strikeout and fly ball to left field would end the game and give the Indians a strong win on the road over the Mohigans.
“I think both coaches would probably agree we wanted to see our studs play a little bit better baseball today, but that’s baseball sometimes,” Sherald said. “They didn’t give up today, Ryan Fluharty was three-for-three today and Dylan Travinski is hitting the ball hard for us we just need to keep taking steps forward and getting better.”
MHS will hit the road this evening for a game against Buckhannon-Upshur with first pitch set for 5:00 p.m.
Bridgeport 16, Morgantown 15
BHS 210 642 1 – 16 10 2
MHS 111 434 1 – 15 10 5
Bridgeport – Rohrig 4213 Baun 2113 Reed 4034 Peasak 2100 Via 2000 Biafore 5133 Currey 4000 Blake 2200 Lively 3410 Bastin 1102 Curry 1110
2B: Reed
Morgantown – Galulsky 5010 Fluharty 3431 Nutter 5211 Bailey 2402 Montague 3212 Travinski 4023 Cottle 4122 Anderson 1000 Jamison 1001 Whanger 2001 Neer 0001
2B: Fluharty (2), Montague
WP: Stravakis 3.0 4h 5r 5bb 5k
LP: Eddy 3.1ip 5h 7r 3bb 5k
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