MORGANTOWN — After waiting an hour as thunderstorms rolled through Mylan Park on Tuesday, the Morgantown softball team wrapped up a 9-5 win over University on a wet ISS Field.
More importantly, the Mohigans won for the 16th time out of 19 tries as they try to wrap up the top seed in Region I, Section 2. While they are sitting pretty to earn the top spot, the Mohigans still have to play sectional foes Buckhannon-Upshur at Preston.
Prior to the season, coach Lorri Lipscomb knew she was going to have a young team, but that didn’t mean she thought there were going to be many growing pains.
“I kind of saw it coming because when we used our flex days in the fall, the freshmen were out, and I saw the talent we had then,” she said. “They continued to develop, and the big thing is, we have girls who support each other regardless of who’s in the game. We have so many that can play different positions, but it doesn’t matter who’s in there, they are supporting each other no matter what as if it were them in the game instead.”
One of those youngsters is freshman Jocelyn McCartney. Growing up a middle infielder, she was asked to play third base against the Hawks as Ava Anderson was out with an illness.
“Jocelyn hasn’t really even practiced there, but I had the confidence in her glove to,” Lipscomb said. “I asked her and she said, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ ”
McCartney learned quickly about the differences from third baseball to either shortstop or second — the “hot corner” tag is legitimate.
“The biggest difference is how hard and fast the ball can come at you,” she said. “I did what I had to do.”
McCartney had an error-free day against UHS, though it wasn’t a clean defensive for either team. There were a combined nine errors — six on UHS — and of the 14 runs scored, only four were earned.
The Mohigans (16-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but a lightning strike on the horizon past the centerfield wall forced a stoppage. After an hour of lightning and several downpours, play resumed as the Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on a Carly Herring hit.
MHS responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to regain a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Brianna McKenzie, Breonna Marietta and Lillian Kooser each had two RBIs in the game, while starting pitcher Brooke Pyles earned the win, allowing give runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings.
For UHS, Herring and Madison Moon each had two RBIs. Starting pitcher Hayden Powroznik allowed seven runs in five innings, but just one was earned.
The Mohigans will play Brooke in the OVAC semifinals today at I-470 Fields in Wheeling. The Hawks will play at Preston at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Prior to the game, MHS and UHS honored cancer survivors, as well as those who lost their battle, in a “StrikeOut Cancer” game. Each team wore T-shirts with awareness ribbons and players held a poster with a name of who they play for.
Cancer survivors Heidi Metheny, representing UHS, and Teresa Richardson, representing MHS, threw out the first pitches.
