MORGANTOWN — Prior to the May 8 Region I, Section II baseball tournament opener, against Preston, University pitcher Evan Smith pitched only a couple innings of relief this season.
The rest of the time, he was sitting in the dugout, forced to watch from the bench. Before the season began, Smith, a freshman, injured his hip in a mountain bike accident that derailed his first year with the Hawks.
After he spent time with UHS’s JV squad late, the coaching staff decided to give Smith a shot. With an inning under his belt, head coach Donovan “Buck” Riggleman gave Smith the starting nod in the postseason opener.
The freshman answered the bell, and then some. Smith threw four perfect innings against the Knights in an 11-1 UHS mercy-rule win Tuesday afternoon, at a dry — and playable — Mylan Park.
Smith didn’t allow a baserunner before being removed in the fifth inning for Kevin Smith.
“He was finally cleared by the medical staff,” Riggleman said. “We sent him down for about a week and a half to JV and (he) played some valuable innings and we got him a couple starts on the mound. Our coaches down there told us he was ready, so we brought him on up.”
Riggleman said Smith and his twin brother, Casey, do more than throw the ball well — they’re battlers. “They don’t get rattled too easy and they don’t give in a whole lot.”
For Evan, getting his first varsity start in the postseason is a big confidence boost going forward, especially since he wasn’t able to play for two months.
“The recovery process was very [time-consuming], and it sucked being in the dugout watching most of the season,” he said. “But once I got back in there, it was fun. I didn’t really expect to come out here — I thought it would be somebody else — but I did well, and the defense backed me up. This means a lot to me as a freshman, and I really appreciate them doing that.”
Although Smith was perfect through four innings, Riggleman needed to do what was best for Smith and the team with Smith’s pitch-count at its limit.
“That was a tough decision — our goal, obviously, as a coaching staff is to watch your pitcher’s pitch counts,” Riggleman said. “We had a set number — 50 for him. Unfortunately, he was right at that cusp, and I didn’t realize until after the fact not only did he have a no-hitter going, but he had a perfect game going. It’s unfortunate, but we’re here to win games as a team.”
At the plate, UHS first baseman Ross Mulhall hit a home run over the center field wall in the bottom of the fifth to put the Hawks up by 10, ending the game. Mulhall, Cam Stoldt and Hunter Cottrell each had two RBIs. Kaden Metheny tacked on another RBI, while Smith helped his cause with a sacrifice fly.
Jacob Field drove in Preston’s run, in the top of the fifth. Ethan Haskiell and Peyton Fazenbaker saw action on the mound.
UHS takes on Morgantown at 4 p.m. today, at Mylan Park, in the next round of the double-elimination tourney. The Knights travel to Buckhannon-Upshur, facing elimination.
