MORGANTOWN – Four years ago, the University High School baseball team might have won Tuesday’s contest against visiting Linsly at Shilling Field.
The four-year time gap has nothing to do with the players and everything to do with the field.
It was three years ago that Shilling Field converted to a turf complex with permanent foul lines. Those permanent foul lines don’t quite react to a potential foul or fair ball like old-fashioned chalk lines.
With the Hawks trailing the Cadets 9-8 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, senior third baseman James Bryner appeared to hit a double down the left field line, scoring two runs for a UHS victory. Instead, it was ruled foul with no visible chalk flying, no white smoke, and no win for the Hawks.
“There are three things in baseball you can’t control,” UHS head coach Travis Renner said. “You can’t control the weather, you can’t control the other team, and you can’t control the officiating of the game. So, no matter what happens between those three things, it’s out of our control, and we have to be able to stay levelheaded and focus on our job.”
The job at hand right now for Renner and the Hawks (3-4) is finding a way out of a four-game losing streak.
Even before Bryner’s potential heroics, UHS kept clawing back against Linsly (3-1-1). The Cadets led 3-0, 5-2, and 7-4 as they scored in each of the first four innings.
UHS was finally able to cut the lead to 7-6 in the fourth inning when Bryner and Noah Templeton both scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Max Cash that took a falling effort from the Linsly centerfielder.
Both teams went quietly in the fifth and sixth innings before Linsly added a pair of big insurance runs in the seventh inning. Jaxon Murray had an RBI double, and Tucker Doty, who picked up the complete game win on the mound, added an RBI groundout for a 9-6 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Hawks loaded the bases in the seventh with two walks and a hit by pitch, but there were also two outs. Sophomore outfielder Kellen Kinder hit a sharp single up the middle to score two runs and set up Bryner’s potential game-winning hit.
Bryner hit a sharp ball down the left field line, and the Hawks appeared to score two runs. However, the home-plate umpire signaled a foul ball. Two pitches later, Linsly was able to record the final out of the game.
University did get another solid start on the mound as Devin Enos pitched four innings with five strikeouts and scattered six hits. Three UHS errors proved costly as they extended innings for the Cadets.
In all but one game this season, UHS starting pitchers have lasted at least four innings.
“Our starters have been doing their job,” Renner said. “They’ve been filling up the zone. They’ve been getting weak contact. We just got to back them up and play better.”
Kinder led the UHS offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Cash also had two RBIs. Murray paced the Linsly offense as he was a double short of the cycle in his 4-for-4 effort and finished with three RBIs. Preston Hartley also had a home run for the Cadets, while Chris Upton added a double.
University returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Marshall University for a weekend tournament. The Hawks will face Herbert Hoover, Hurricane, and Huntington.
— Story by Eric Herter
Box score
Linsly 122 200 2 – 9 8 1
University 022 200 2 – 8 5 3
Linsly (3-1-1) – Upton 4121 Fato 4210 Murray 4343 Jones 4000 Doty 4001 Hartley 4111 Vargas 2100 Ludolph 2100 Gorence 3000 Totals 31 9 8 6.
University (3-4) – Templeton 3110 Shuba 1200 Cash 2102 Ca. Velickoff 3011 Jenkins 3011 Co. Velickoff 3000 Johnson 0000 Kinder 4122 Bryner 2100 Alexander 1001 Burgess 1000
2B – Upton. 3B – Upton, Murray. HR – Murray, Hartley. WP – Doty 7ip 5h 8r 6er 8bb 5k. LP – Enos 4ip 6h 7r 4er 1bb 5k
