MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown High baseball team opened the postseason with a strong all-around win against the Brooke Bruins on Tuesday night at The Dale at Mylan Park.
Mohigan starting pitcher Hunter Dakan needed just 52 pitches in five innings on the mound to get the victory, as the run support on offense ended the game after the fifth.
MHS senior Drew Bailey drove in his third run of the game on a double to left field in the bottom of the fifth to give MHS a 10-0 win to open the Region 1 Section 1 tournament. They will move on to face Wheeling Park at 5:30 p.m. today, who defeated John Marshall 9-1.
“It’s huge for us to grab some momentum early in the postseason, getting that first win in a double-elimination tournament is always huge,” MHS head coach Pat Sherald said after the game. “Pitch count was good tonight for Hunter Dakan, we didn’t have to go into our bullpen which is great for us going forward and we want to carry momentum into tomorrow.”
The early momentum came in the bottom of the first inning for Sherald and his club, posting four runs on a two-out rally. Three of those four runs came on one swing of the bat as Bailey hit the first of his two doubles to bring home two runs, eventually crossing the plate himself on two overthrown balls. The fourth run came on a bases-loaded walk drawn by center fielder Ethan Dorkins.
The score would remain the same until the bottom of the fourth inning, as the Bruins were able to earn some good outs in tight spots to stay within reach. However, for interim head coach Kayla Thompson and her squad, the offense didn’t get going, producing only two hits on the night.
“We were in this game all the time and I believe we bounce back and show up (Wednesday),” Thompson said. “There were some bright spots and we definitely have something to take away from tonight. This wasn’t a total loss, that’s for sure.”
The MHS lead was extended to 5-0 when third baseman Caleb Cottle brought Ryan Fluharty around to score on a single to right field.
One inning later in the fifth, Fluharty extended the lead to 9-0 with a grand slam over the left field fence that had zero doubt about it. Caleb Nutter doubled in the next at-bat and was brought around on Bailey’s second of two doubles to end the game.
“We are happy where we are right now,” Sherald said. “We have to make sure we come out and continue to throw the ball in the strike zone, we have a deep rotation of pitchers that have developed tremendously over the course of the year. We had to make up a lot of innings missed from last year and they’ve done a great job.”
Dylan Travinski will get the start for MHS tonight against Wheeling Park at 5:30 p.m. at Dale Miller Field. The winner will move on to the championship game.
Morgantown 10, Brooke 0
BHS 000 00 – 0 2 3
MHS 400 15 – 10 11 0
Morgantown – Mazey 3110, Galusky 2010, Fluharty 3324, Nutter 2210, Bailey 4123, Cottle 2111, Neer 3020, Boggs 2000, Dorkins 2111
2B: Bailey 2, Fluharty, Nutter
HR: Fluharty
Brooke – Bachinski 2000, Lauttamus 2000, Fuscardo 2010, Sperringer 2000, Toepher 2000, Provenzano 2000, Petrella 1000, Moore 2010, DeFranco 2000
WP: Dakan 5.0ip 2h 0r 0bb 5k
LP: Mozingo 0.2ip 2h 4r 5bb 0k
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