The Morgantown Post 2 Senior Legion baseball team kicked off the summer with a bang on Friday night at Dale Miller Field at Mylan Park with a one-run, 7-6 victory over Parkersburg Post 15 in the annual WAJR Wooden Bat Classic.
After trailing 6-0 after two innings, Post 2 (1-0) scored seven unanswered runs, including four in the bottom of the sixth inning, to overcome the deficit and take home a season-opening win over a scrappy Post 15 (2-2).
Morgantown scored its seven runs on nine hits without an error in the contest. Post 2 starter Tristan Milik gave up all six runs in the top of the second inning but shut out the opposition in four straight after that. Cody Thomas entered in the seventh for the save.
Seven batters earned a hit for Morgantown, led by Tommy Montague, with a pair of knocks. Jett Walters and Bryson McNew each drove in a pair of runs and scored one as well.
“Tonight was just one bad inning, and it was Tristan walking a few guys,” Post 2 coach Andy Altemus said as Milik walked five batters in the second, resulting in two runs. “He pitched an awesome game other than having the five walks and we knew that’s what he could come out and do.”
After a quick first inning for both pitchers, Parkersburg loaded the bases with two singles and the first walk of the inning by Milik. A hit batter plated the first run of the game but Milik responded with a strikeout. However, two more walks and a third single of the inning quickly stretched the lead to 5-0 for Post 15. The sixth run came on a fielder’s choice with one out before Milik got out of the inning.
Post 2 came up empty in both the third and fourth innings on offense, but Milik stayed composed and worked two quick innings of his own, making way for his offense to begin to chip away at the deficit.
With runners on second and third and one out, a wild pitch allowed Tommy Montague to break the ice for Morgantown and cut into the Post 15 lead 6-1. Walters followed with a groundball but reached base on a bad throw. Nate Wolfe scored on the play to give Post 2 its second run, 6-2.
Jake Croston singled, and Gabe Templeton drew one of Morgantown’s nine walks in the contest to load the bases.
Another wild pitch brought Walters home before the end of the inning as Morgantown cut into the deficit 6-3.
Milik continued to earn outs and Post 2 got to work on offense in the bottom of the sixth.
“We were never down on Tristan, and I told him that he needed to just throw strikes and let the defense behind him help him out,” Altemus said. “He did that and we just continued to chip away like we knew how.”
Gunner Riley singled to lead off the inning, followed by Thomas, who worked his third walk of the game. Wenkai Campbell singled Riley home from second to make the score 6-4 with no outs but two quick ones came from the next two batters.
Then, with runners on first and second and two outs, Bryson McNew rifled an opposite-field triple into the right-field corner that scored Thomas and Campbell, tying the game at six.
“Bryson has incredible talent and the best thing is he is still learning,” Altemus said of his catcher who just completed his freshman year of high school. “His first at-bat he went down on a check swing and he knows that’s not what he’s up there to do. We told him just to go out and have fun and he had a great hit and made a huge impact on the game.”
Walters then brought McNew home with a go-ahead RBI base hit to center field to complete the comeback.
Thomas needed just 14 pitches to complete the save as Post 2 earned its first win of the 2024 summer season.
“The most important thing about tonight was our ability to fight back,” Altemus said. “We never want to lose but if we come out and battle and show that effort, that’s what is most important for us in these first few games.”
Morgantown Post 2 will return to Dale Miller Field for Day 2 of the WAJR Wooden Bat Classic with a pair of games beginning at 4:30 p.m. against Charleston Post 65 and 7:00 p.m against Berkeley County Post 14.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 7, Parkersburg 6
Post 15 – 060 000 0 – 6 8 1
Post 2 – 000 304 X – 7 9 0
Parkersburg Post 15 – McLain 2111 Holliday 2111 DeMoss 2012 Boice 2010 Swain 3000 Moran 4111 Swain 4120 Perry 2100 Camp 2101 Davis 3010
Morgantown Post 2 – Riley 4120 Thomas 1100 Campbell 4111 Montague 4120 Wolfe 2110 McNew 4112 Walters 4112 Croston 1010 Templeton 3000
3B: McNew
WP: Milik 6.0ip 7h 6r 5BB 4K
LP: McLain 2.1ip 6h 4r 3BB 2K
S: Thomas
