WEST UNION — Doddridge County’s Colt Sutton finished a home run shy of the cycle in a 3 for 4 performance as the Bulldogs downed Clay-Battelle, 8-0, in the first game of the Class A Region II, Section 2 tournament.
Both teams will return to action in later rounds of the double-elimination tournament.
Colt’s brother Caleb went 1 for 2 with three RBIs and a run. The duo combined for five of the six Bulldog RBIs. Wyatt Cochran went 2 for 3 with two runs, adding a double.
Clay-Battelle got two hits from both Owen Henthorn and Austyn Foley. Foley had the Cee-Bees’ lone extra-base hit with a double.
Phoenix Bonnell earns the win for Doddridge by pitching six innings of shutout ball. He struck out three and only walked one. He only tossed 61 total pitches.
“One thing I’ll say about Phoenix is he’s going to be in the zone,” Doddridge County coach Nathan Wright said. “When he pitches, he has a good defense behind him. He keeps the ball down for ground balls. He was efficient. He only had 47 pitches going into the sixth inning.”
Cochran came in as a reliever in the seventh. He closed with one strikeout.
Clay-Battelle pitcher Kooper Statler took the loss, allowing six runs in 2.1 innings. Cameron Mercer finished the day on the mound. The two combined for five strikeouts.
Doddridge County ended the top half of the first inning with a double play. Brady Nestor singled before Colt Sutton flipped two outs from shortstop. Colt then drew a walk before stealing second and third in the bottom half. Caleb grounded to third base. Both runners made it safe as the Bulldogs scored the game’s first run.
After an inning, Doddridge County led 1-0.
Statler singled in the top of the second before Mercer grounded into a fielder’s choice. Mercer was stranded as the Bulldogs again finished Clay-Battelle’s side in four batters.
Cochran legged out a hit in the bottom of the second before Lucas Combs drew a walk. Isaiah Locke singled on an unconventional bunt that popped and dropped between the mound and third base, loading the bases. Colt Sutton walked to score a run. Caleb Sutton then placed a ball on the left field line, scoring Combs.
A wild pitch let Luke Rokisky score before Statler struck out his third batter to end the frame. Doddridge County led 4-0 after two innings.
Clay-Battelle ultimately had seven hits in the game. Doddridge County had eight. The Cee-Bees were able to put runners on in every inning but one, leaving six runners stranded.
“We hit the ball well,” Clay-Battelle coach Johnny Coombs said. “We just hit it right at them. We had a couple of hits and couldn’t get them together. We only struck out three times, but they made plays.”
Cochran and Combs walked in the bottom of the third before the Cee-Bees swapped pitchers. Colt Sutton then blasted a double to left field, scoring Locke and Cochran. Doddridge led 6-0 entering the fourth.
Austyn Foley singled to center field in the Cee-Bees’ next trip to bats. Mercer followed with a curving single to the same spot, but Alex Danser grounded into a double play to end the side.
Foley doubled to the centerfield fence in the top of the sixth inning before his runner Josh Wilson was picked off. After letting up his first walk, Bonnell pitched into a ground out to end the frame.
“We’re young,” Coombs said. “We make those mental mistakes. It showed when we got picked off. Wasn’t paying attention. They’re coming around.”
Colt Sutton legged a triple in the home half. Smashing a ball to center field, he beat a throw to put himself in scoring position. He scored on a balk.
With the win, Doddridge County will travel to No. 2 seed Tygarts Valley on Tuesday for the second round of the sectional tournament. Both teams still have two losses to give.
“One thing I told them is that we’ll see a good pitcher tomorrow,” Wright said. “We want to jump on the fastball a little early against good pitching. We need to be a little more aggressive.”
“We’re going to have Caleb pitching, so it’ll be a battle,” Wright added. “We’ll see how the ball rolls and hopefully go get a win.”
Clay-Battelle is still alive and awaits the loser of a game between No. 4 Trinity and No. 1 South Harrison. In that game, the loser’s season will end.
BY TYLER KENNETT/WV News
DODDRIDGE COUNTY 8, CLAY BATTELLE 0
Clay-Battelle 000 000 0 — 0
Doddridge County 132 002 X — 8
Clay Battelle — Brady Nestor cf 2 0 1 0, Joseph Spears ss 3 0 0 0, Austyn Foley c 3 0 2 0, Kooper Statler p/1b 2 0 1 0, Cameron Mercer 3b/p 3 0 1 0, Alexander Danser dh 2 0 0 0, Aiden Wilson dh 1 0 0 0, Corey Coen 2b 1 0 0 0, Dylan Nash 2 0 0 0, Cayden Strosnider 1b/3b 3 0 0 0, Owen Henthorn rf 2 0 2 0, Colton Chaney lf 0 0 0 0, Josh Wilson cr 0 0 0 0, Totals 24 0 7 0.
Doddridge County — Colt Sutton 3b/2b 2 1 1 3, Jacob DeHaven 1b/3b 4 0 0 0, Caleb Sutton ss 4 1 3 2, Luke Rokisky 2b/cf 3 1 0 0, Joshua DeHaven c 3 0 0 0, Phoenix Bonnell p 3 0 1 1, Will Cochran cf/p 3 2 2 0, Lucas Combs rf 2 2 0 0, Isaiah Locke lf 2 1 1 0, Totals 26 8 8 6
Clay-Battelle
Statler (L);;2.1;6;4;6;3
Mercer;;3.2;2;4;2;2
Doddridge County
Bonnell (W);;6.0;0;7;1;3
Cohran;1.0;0;0;0;1
