MORGANTOWN — If Morgantown High drops its contest at Mylan Park May 23 with Wheeling Park, the Mohigans’ season will be finished.
If you ask Andrew Kerzak whether or not it will affect how he and his teammates play, he’ll tell you there isn’t a chance.
“I think the win-or-go-home aspect will be out of our minds,” he said. “We are just a group that goes out and plays our game.”
Kerzak will look to lead the Mohigans to a victory at 5 p.m. May 23, in the second game of a best two-out-of-three series that will determine the Region I Class AAA champion.
Despite a tough 7-6 loss in game 1, on Monday May 21, confidence is high in the MHS dugout.
“I’ll be very surprised if we don’t come out swinging and play well,” MHS coach Mark McCarty said.
To McCarty, anything less would fail to embody what he sees as one of the toughest squads he’s had the pleasure to lead.
“I think our team is one of the hardest fighting team’s I’ve coached,” he said. “I think we gained a lot of competitive spirit from last year’s squad.”
The important thing McCarty wants his squad to remember is that Monday’s loss doesn’t seal the deal for MHS, just as Park’s win doesn’t automatically move the Patriots forward.
“Coach told us before the game last night that losing the first one won’t put us or Park out of it,” Kerzak said. “If we can get a big one [today], it could give us the momentum to go up there and punch our ticket to states.”
Kerzak is with McCarty in his expectations; he expects nothing less than a big game from himself and his teammates. The Mohigans are well equipped at handling adversity, and they are on the right stage to do it again.
“I expect us to come out and swing our bats really well. We have played really good at home this year,” he said. “I believe that if we go out and play our game, we have a good chance of playing for game three and a regional championship.”
McCarty also emphasized that regardless of the outcome, he’ll find it very tough to be upset with his team. In his mind, just making it this far represents the hard work and dedication his team has shown, and very little could change his viewpoint on the subject.
“This team has played at a high level in their own right,” he said. “We could get beaten badly tomorrow and I’d still be proud of all their accomplishments this year.”
