MORGANTOWN – A pair of solid pitching performances helped University High School’s baseball team pick up a split over two top-five Class AAAA ranked teams on Friday.
The Hawks (6-9) beat No. 4 ranked Spring Valley 6-5 in come-from-behind fashion before falling to No. 2 ranked Hurricane 6-4 as part of the Mon County Classic.
“We have been preaching to our guys all year – we are good,” UHS head coach Travis Renner said. “We have good ball players. We are a really good baseball team, and we can beat anybody on any day, and we’re slowly starting to get guys playing well together.”
Junior pitching Devin Enos pitched the Hawks to the first-game win. He tossed a complete game while scattering seven hits, walking just one and striking out two.
“I kind of did my best Greg Maddux imitation,” Enos said. “I just threw pitches they can hit, let my defense work. My defense had my back the entire game. They made the plays, and they helped me get through it.”
The Timberwolves (10-4) scored one run in the first inning and three in the third to take a 4-0 lead on the Hawks, but UHS tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Brock Shuba scored on a wild pitch, Brance McCune was able to score on an error, and Barett Shuba scored on a balk. Colson Jenkins tied the game when he executed a suicide squeeze that plated Daniel Grabo to tie the game.
Spring Valley grabbed the lead back in the top of the fifth, but UHS answered with a run of its own when Grabo slugged a triple that scored Barett Shuba. The Hawks walked it off when Grabo hit a sacrifice fly to right field with one out in the seventh that scored Max Cash.
“It was a really good day for him to go out there and win a game,” Renner said of Grabo. “We are looking for our leaders right now and one by one, they’re starting to step up.”
The Hawks followed a similar path in the second contest against Hurricane, as solid pitching from starter Jacob Kennison kept them in the game. Kennison pitched the first five innings with two strikeouts and one walk. He allowed four runs, but just three were earned.
“Both Devin and Jacob came out and did their jobs,” Renner said. “They worked ahead in the counts, and they had their off-speed working. They were staying locked in, commanding the zone, and picking their teammates up.”
Hurricane (10-3) scored two runs in the first and held that lead until the fourth inning, when UHS scored three runs to take the lead. Treyson Metheny had an RBI sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Hawks, while Cash added an RBI single.
The Redskins grabbed the lead right back with two runs in the fifth as Brady Ringley hit a two-run double, and Hurricane tacked on one insurance run in the sixth and another in the seventh.
University loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs and scored one run before Hurricane induced a double play and a groundout to end the contest.
The Hawks continue to play on Saturday, playing George Washington, another team receiving votes in the latest poll, before hosting No. 3 ranked Wheeling Park on Monday at 5 p.m.
By ERIC HERTER
University 6, Spring Valley 5
SV 103 010 0 – 5 6 0
UHS 000 410 1 – 6 6 2
SV – Ferguson 4 1 1 0, Spencer 4 3 3 1, Wagoner 4 0 0 0, Harrold 3 0 2 4, Perdue 3 0 0 0, L. Van Arsdale 2 0 0 0, McClure 2 0 0 0, Phillips 2 0 0 0, J. Van Arsdale 1 0 0 0, Shumaker 2 1 0 0. Totals: 27 5 6 5.
UHS – Cash 4 1 1 0, Br. Shuba 3 1 2 0, McCune 1 1 0 0, Ba. Shuba 3 2 1 1, Grabo 3 1 2 2, Montague 2 0 0 0, Jenkins 1 0 0 1, Quarrick 2 0 0 0, Neer 1 0 0 0, Metheney 2 0 0 0. Totals: 22 6 6 4.
3B – Grabo
2B – Br. Shuba
WP – Enos 7ip 6h 5r 4er 1bb 2k
LP – Adkins 2.2ip 3h 2r 2er 2bb 1k
Hurricane 6, University 4
Hur 200 021 1 – 6 8 1
UHS 000 300 1 – 4 8 4
Hur – Shirkey 3 1 1 0, Baxter 3 0 0 1, Smith 4 2 2 1, Ochelltree 3 1 1 0, Rigney 4 0 1 2, Hutchingson 4 1 0 0, Dempsey 3 0 0 0, Sutton 2 01 1, Bowman 3 1 1 0, Fleece 4 0 1 0. Totals: 33 6 8 5.
UHS – Cash 3 0 1 1, Br. Shuba 2 1 1 0, McCune 4 0 1 0, Ba. Shuba 3 1 1 0, Grabo 3 0 0 1, Templeton 1 1 0 0, Jenkins 1 0 0 0, Montague 2 1 1 0, Waldo 1 0 0 0, Alexander 1 0 0 0, Deiriggi 1 0 0 0, Neer 10 1 0, Metheny 2 0 2 1. Totals: 25 4 8 3.
2B – Rigney, Smith
WP – Rigney 5.2ip 5h 2r 0er 4bb 6k
LP – Kennison 5ip 5h 4r 3er 1bb 2k
S – Shirkey 1ip 0h 0r 0er 0bb 0k
