GLEN DALE – Morgantown had its season on the line Tuesday but lived to play another game.
Micah Wilson went the distance inside the circle with 10 strikeouts and drove in three runs as the Mohigans (19-9) defeated John Marshall, 9-4, in a W.Va. Class AAA Section I, Region I tournament contest on sun-scorched Monarch Field at John Marshall High School.
Now, the two big-school rivals will meet again today at 5:30 p.m. on the same diamond with the winner moving on as sectional champs and the loser packing up its gear.
“We had our backs to the wall and (JM pitcher) Kadence (Pettit) came out strong, but we have done a great job this season making adjustments at the plate,” Morgantown head coach Lori Lipscomb said. “If you get the bat on the ball, things can happen.”
The top-seeded Monarchs (24-4) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as courtesy runner Nia Miller raced home on a wild pitch with two outs.
However, the lead didn’t last long as Morgantown, the No. 2 seed, put up a 5-spot in the top of the third and never looked back.
The Mohigans’ No. 8 and No. 9 hitters – sisters Anne (sophomore) and Beth (freshman) – ignited the outburst and were a thorn in John Marshall’s side all game. Anne reached on an infield single to the hole at short leading off and Beth followed with a base hit to left. Liz Alsop found the gap in left-center for a run-producing double as Beth Robinson stopped at third. With one out, Emily Peterson found the same gap as Beth Robinson and Alsop came around to make it 3-1. Wilson then sent a 2-2 pitch from John Marshall’s Kadence Pettit over the fence in right-center as the margin grew to 5-0.
“We had our chances but didn’t capitalize on them and they (Morgantown) had a big inning there where they put the ball in play and got a couple of key hits,” veteran John Marshall head coach Ed West said.
John Marshall let a golden scoring opportunity pass in the bottom of the inning when it loaded the bases with two outs, but Wilson got the next batter swinging. Morgantown had the sacks full in the top of the fourth with only one out, but Pettit fanned the next two Mohigans.
In the home half of the fourth, the Monarchs had runners on first and second with one out, but Morgantown centerfielder Anne Robinson made a nice running catch in right-center, whirled and threw a strike to twin sister Grace at short to double up the Monarch baserunner and end the inning.
After Pettit retired the Mohigans in order in the fifth, her teammates rewarded her with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Kaylie Stauffer singled to center leading off as a pinch-hitter. With one out, Pettit drilled a shot between third and short that chased in Stauffer as Pettit alertly went to second on the throw home. With two outs, Paytyn Tucker slapped a single to right as Pettit scored, making it 5-3.
Abigail Harki’s 2-run single up the middle with two outs in the sixth as the lead ballooned to 8-3. Wilson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to account for the third tally of the inning.
Pettit drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth to draw JM to within 8-4, but Alsop drove in Beth Robinson in with a single in the seventh.
The Robinson sisters – Anne and Beth – combined for five hits and a like number of runs scored. Beth singled twice and doubled while crossing the plate three times. Anne had two singles and scored a like number of runs. Meanwhile, Grace played flawlessly at short.
“The bottom of their order really hurt us,” West noted. “They set the table for the top of the order, and that’s what the bottom of the order is supposed to do.”
Alsop finished with a single and two doubles that drove in two runs. Peterson singled and doubled.
Pettitt, who fanned 12 and walked three, had two singles. She threw an eye-popping 145 pitches. Alexis Thayer had a double.
Wilson threw 127 pitches.
BY KIM NORTH/The Intelligencer
Morgantown 9, John Marshall 4
Morgantown 005 003 1 – 9 13 1
John Marshall 010 021 0 – 4 7 2
M–Wilson wp (10K, 4BB) and Harki; Alsop S, 2D, 2rbi; Peterson S, D, 2rbi; Wilson HR, 3rbi; Harki S, 2rbi; A. Robinson 2S; B. Robinson 2S, D
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