MORGANTOWN – The Morgantown High baseball team has been ranked #1 in the state in Class AAAA for most of the year, and for good reason. They have a deep, experienced, and talented pitching staff, an excellent defensive infield, speedy outfield gloves, two quality catchers – certainly a high school luxury – and a consistent, professional hitting approach throughout their line-up.
However, despite their outstanding regular season, the top-seeded Mohigans also know that their definition of success has an elevated standard now that the North Region postseason tournament has arrived. Last night at steamy Dale Miller Field at Mylan Park, #9 seed Wheeling Park hoped to finally upset their long-time rival after a trio of tough losses and send Morgantown to the losers’ bracket.
But once again, the combination of an MHS bulldog on the mound in Maddox Boggs and timely hitting from Kai Henkins and Koa Silvers led to a gritty 5-0 victory, leaving Morgantown just one win away from a State tournament berth.
The Mohigans (26-5) jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first when Brayden Gorby laced a lead-off double past third, moved to third on Mason Bowers’ single, and trotted home on Silvers’ sac fly to right.
It was still a one-run ballgame until the bottom of the fourth, when a pair of leadoff walks and an error on a sacrifice bunt loaded the bases for Henkins. He laced a two-strike, two-RBI double to right-center, and later in the inning, two more runs scored on Bowers’ productive infield groundout and a two-out RBI single from Silvers to make it 5-0.
On the mound, Boggs didn’t have his best fastball command, but was able to rely on his slider to get ahead, get even in the count, and get swings and misses when he needed them. The Patriots (7-17) had baserunners in every inning, and threatened to make things very interesting in the sixth inning.
A leadoff bloop double and a single to left put runners at the corners with nobody out. Boggs fell behind 2-0, then came back with three straight sliders for a swinging strikeout. The junior loaded the bases with a rare walk, but reached back for a little extra to fan the next hitter, and a liner to right stifled the Park rally.
Although he’d already thrown 96 pitches in the 85-degree heat, there was no doubt that Boggs would take the mound to go for the complete-game shutout, according to MHS head coach Pat Sherald.
“You know, Maddox is a great kid,” he grinned, “but on days that he’s starting for us, he just as soon give you a shove as say hello. He’s that competitive and focused, so when he said, ‘I got this,’ and with the way he battled the whole game, he deserved a chance to finish, and I’m happy and proud of him for how he pitched tonight.”
His third straight win against the Patriots was a grind, but Boggs appreciated his teammates’ support and faith.
“You have to find what is working for you sometimes, and today it was definitely the slider,” he said. “I will always do my best to be around the plate, make them earn their way on, and when you have a defense behind you as I have, it makes sense to pitch to contact. And it’s the best feeling to finish a game, save our bullpen, knowing that they had faith in me to get the job done.”
At the plate in the pivotal fourth inning, Henkins was also laser-focused on getting his job done as well.
“We try to be aggressive, look for fastballs early in the count,” he explained. “Last year, it felt like I was deep in counts every time up, which meant I was in protect mode too much. In a close game, with the bases loaded, I just wanted to put the ball in play – without hitting into a double play – and get the runner in from third. We needed to score there for sure. I put a good swing on it, and it was good that we added on.”
After the game, Sherald praised his team’s mindset and work ethic.
“We always focus on us, and what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s hard to beat a good team four straight times, but we didn’t even mention it before the game, just kept it about what we needed to do. I never need to tell this team to get their work in – they are intrinsically motivated and hold each other accountable. This was the first step toward completing the mission, and that’s what we’ve been all about all year. We’re ready for the next challenge.”
The Mohigans are back in action against Spring Mills on Wednesday with the winner punching a ticket to the state tournament in Huntington.
Wheeling Park 000 000 0 – 0 5 0
Morgantown 100 400 x – 5 10 0
Wheeling Park (7-17) – Whitmire 3000 Gorby 4010 Updegraff 4020 Bartsch 3010 Hudson 2000 Yanchak 2010 Kelly 3000 Groome 2000 Moore 3000 Blazer 0000 Hollingshead 0000 Van Fossen 0000 TOTALS 26 0 5 0
2B: Updegraff
Morgantown (26-5) – Gorby 3210 Bowers 4011 Silvers 4022 Nipper 3000 Thornton 3010 Bredeson 2100 Williams 1110 Mezzanotte 2110 Henkins 2022 TOTALS 24 5 9 5
2B: Henkins (2), Gorby, Mezzanote
