MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown Post 2 defeated Bridgeport Post 68 in the area championship by a score of 12-9 after a strong start — putting up four runs in the first inning.
Colton Matthews got Morgantown’s offense going early by notching a triple.
“Colton Matthews was great at the plate,” Post 2 manager Tyler Barnette said. “Overall, just a good day at the plate for everybody.”
Morgantown earned the victory despite allowing Bridgeport to score eight runs in the sixth inning. Morgantown led by a score of 10-1 prior to that, but couldn’t bring across one more run to end the game by mercy rule.
Morgantown would respond in the bottom of the sixth inning by scoring three innings to add some insurance going into the final inning.
Morgantown scored five runs in the third inning. Brent Robinson, Matthews and Caleb Taylor all earned RBIs in the inning.
Caleb Taylor led Morgantown to victory on the mound — allowing six hits and seven runs over five innings while striking out five batters.
“Whenever a team is accustomed to winning like Bridgeport, it’s hard to beat them. They’re poised and they’re just good all-around baseball players,” Barnette said. “Caleb pitched a really good game.”
Gavin Cottle and Reed Bailey entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Cottle recorded the last five outs to earn the save.
Morgantown collected 15 hits as a team in the game. Matthews, Clay Maholic, Quintin Smith and Ethan Smith each had multiple hits.
“We battled in the box. Fifteen hits as a team is a pretty good day,” Barnette said. “We swung the bats really well, a lot of extra base hits.”
With the win, Morgantown advances to the state tournament. Morgantown will play against Elkins at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Potomac State College in Keyser.
