MORGANTOWN – Twenty-one runs were scored between Morgantown Post 2 and Bridgeport Post 68 on Wednesday night in the Area 2 tournament.
Fifteen of them were scored in the sixth inning alone as Post 2 rallied to score seven runs after allowing eight to Post 68 to surrender the lead.
Post 2 will now face the winner of Thursday’s 4 p.m. elimination game between Post 68 and Clarksburg Post 13. The victor advances to play Morgantown at 7 p.m. the same evening.
Morgantown jumped out to a 5-0 lead with four runs in the first inning and one in the third. Wolfe, Grabo, and Kane Williams all drove in runs in the opening frame. Wolfe scored in the third after reaching on a single and advancing on passed balls and a throwing error.
Bridgeport managed a single run in the top of the fourth inning but a successful pick-off attempt at second base by Post 2 starter Lucas Shinn and an inning-ending double play halted the momentum.
However, Post 68 wasn’t done, sending 14 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth, drawing nine walks and scoring seven runs. RBI hits from Mark Biafore and Matt Masters, along with multiple wild pitches and walks, gave Post 68 a 9-5 lead.
Trailing 9-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Post 2 drew three walks to load the bases. That set the stage for Tommy Montague, who crushed a three-run double to deep left-center to make it 9-8. Nate Wolfe followed with a game-tying RBI double, and Daniel Grabo gave Post 2 the lead with a sharp single to short.
Grayson Campbell extended the lead with an RBI double down the third-base line, and a balk later in the inning brought in the final run to cap a seven-run rally.
“After what felt like forever in the top of the sixth, we needed them to feel like they were out there forever,” Post 2 coach Jacob Goodnight said. “We forced them to throw strikes, and once we got that first big hit, it changed everything.”
Wolfe led the charge at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and scoring three runs. Grabo finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Eli Boggs and Brance McCune each reached base multiple times, while Montague and Campbell chipped in with clutch extra-base hits in the sixth.
“We were barreling baseballs all day,” Post 68 coach Tony Carpenter said. “Eventually, they started to fall. We got runners on, pressured the pitcher, and made a run at it.”
Still, Post 2 responded with poise in the bottom half, reclaiming control of the game and holding on for the win.
“It just takes one guy to kickstart the fire,” Goodnight said. “We never let up, even though that inning felt like forever.”
