MORGANTOWN — One swing was all it took for the University High School baseball team to announce its presence in the 2024 season.
Senior centerfielder Wenkai Campbell drove a 1-1 pitch over the right field fence at Dale Miller Field for a grand slam. That gave the Hawks (1-0) a 4-0 lead they would never lose on their way to an 11-3 win over visiting Wheeling Park on Wednesday.
“We came out swinging the bats really well,” UHS head coach Brad Comport said. “Obviously, we had the big hit there from Wenkai that really set the tone. It’s always good to score early and definitely good to put up a nine spot in the first inning.”
University sent 14 hitters to the plate in the first inning to score those nine runs and collected eight hits. Wheeling Park starting pitcher Trenton Rosenthal went to the bench with an ERA of infinity to start the season as he couldn’t record an out.
Brodee Latocha and Mason Chaney led off the first inning with walks and saw just one strike between them. Riley Anderson then hit a deep single to right field that forced Latocha and Chaney to only advance one base each as it hung in the air.
That’s when Campbell slugged his home run.
“I was just trying to hit a ball hard,” Campbell said. “I saw that thing and it looked like a volleyball. But man, what a start for the whole team. Honestly, in my four years of playing here, nothing was more electric than that first inning. It was really a great way to start the season for us.”
UHS went right back to work after the Campbell dinger as Mason McDonald hit a double, Daniel Grabo hit a single and then Max Cash hit an RBI single. Brock McDonough followed with an RBI double to left field that also nearly left the yard.
“I think we have some sneaky power on this team,” Comport said. “There’s some pop in our lineup and I think one through nine is capable of doing damage at the plate.”
While the UHS offense was clicking, starting pitcher Logan Vance held the Patriots (0-1) scoreless and hitless through two innings before surrendering a two-run double to Nate Simon in the third. Vance (1-0) finished with three strikeouts and just the one hit in three innings of work. Chaney then pitched the next three innings, and he allowed just one run on two hits with four strikeouts. Grabo pitched the final inning for UHS.
“It was good to see Logan settle in,” Comport said. “He gave us some quality innings. Chaney did a really nice job of responding after being put in some tough spots or negative counts.”
Comport preaches winning each inning and the Hawks did go scoreless until the sixth when Campbell had an RBI double – his sixth run driven in on the day – and McDonald drove a run in on a fielder’s choice.
“Our bench kind of went to sleep there for a while,” Comport said. “We sat back and got comfortable and that’s something we talked about that we need to work on. Moving forward, we need to have energy through all the game and stay in the game from start to finish.”
Campbell led the UHS offense as he finished 3-for-4 and was just a triple shy of the cycle. Andeson and Latocha each added two hits, McDonald had two doubles and McDonough had a double for UHS.
Simon had two hits for the Patriots including the two-run double while Nolan Yanchak added a single and a double.
University returns to action on Friday when it hosts Buckhannon-Upshur. The 5 p.m. contest will be played on Dale Miller Field as the Hawks wait for new artificial turf installation at Shilling Field.
By ERIC HERTER
BOX SCORE
University 11, Wheeling Park 3
WP 002 010 0 – 3 3 1
UHS 900 002 X – 11 12 0
WP – J. Marsh 2 1 0 1, Nardone 4 0 0 0, Simon 3 0 2 2, Kupsky 2 0 0 0, Digiandomenico 2 0 0 0, Bittinger 2 0 0 0, Rosenthal 3 0 0 0, Gorby 2 0 0 0, Yanchak 3 1 2 0. Totals: 24 2 4 3.
UHS – Latocha 3 2 2 0, Chaney 2 1 0 0, Anderson 3 2 2 1, Campbell 4 2 3 6, McDonald 4 1 2 1, Grabo 3 1 1 0, Cash 4 1 1 1, McDonough 3 1 1 1, McCune 2 0 0 0. Totals: 25 11 12 10.
HR – Campbell
2B – WP: Simon, Yanchak. UHS: Campbell, McDonald 2, McDonough.
