Wheeling Park Rallies Past Morgantown in Class AAA Regional Final to Earn Trip to Charleston for State Baseball Tournament
Patriots rebound from loss, score three in 7th to win
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MORGANTOWN -- As Game 3 of the Class AAA Region One Final entered the seventh inning Wednesday, Wheeling Park -- trailing Morgantown, 5-3 -- knew it had one chance left to save it season. The Patriots didn't let their heads get down.
That resilience paid off as Park rallied late, stringing together three runs in its final at-bat to secure a 6-5 lead that propeled the Patriots to the WVSSAC Class AAA Baseball Tournament next weekend in Charleston.
"I'd just like to mention the character of our players. That win was about who we are -- they don't give up. They had a tough loss (Wednesday) and they come back and battled like that. You can't coach that or teach that, but that's just the character of these boys," Wheeling Park coach Steve Myers said.
"You always respect the game. Baseball is a funny game. It bounces different ways, and it's hard to beat somebody that doesn't give up."
In the home dugout, Morgantown (29-7) was cautiously optimistic starting the final inning; after a wild game that featured five lead changes in the first six innings, the game was all but won. Starting pitcher Colton Matthews secured a quick strikeout, but a Park double and Matthews walk put a pair of runners on base.
With just six tosses remaining before Matthews hit the maximum pitch count and was required to leave the mound, Charlie Petty entered the game to close.
Park (20-9) took advantage of the loss of rhythm at the mound for Morgantown.
Nolan Mattern converted a line-drive double to drive home two runs to tie it, and then scored the game-winning run on an Isaac Hines sacrifice fly.
"You never really know what's going to happen. We were up by two runs, we get one out, but a kid hits a double and it turns into three runs. That's all it takes -- game over," Matthews said.
Morgantown would have one last chance at the plate – with a Devon Neal bomb coming feet from eclipsing the fence before being hauled in by a Park outfielder – but they weren't able to muster enough to even the score.
In a game dictated by chaos -- ending with a combined four unearned runs, six errors, and six lead changes -- Morgantown coach Mark McCarty felt his team failed to convert on too many early opportunities which would have helped secure a win. Morgantown finished the contest with a batting average of .266 -- well below their season average of .344 -- and left 17 runners on base.
"We didn't make plays when we had to. We didn't swing the bats in big situations. We had lots of people who had chances to score and we didn't. We left too many runners out there," McCarty said.
Added Matthews: "We had a lot of missed opportunities in the beginning of the game – we had the bases loaded, no outs, and didn't score a single run. Stuff like that costs you. We have to put balls in play and make something happen."
Trevor Thomas earned a win for Park, while Petty took the loss for Morgantown. Ryan Hummel started for the Patriots and recorded six strikeouts, while both Matthews and Petty tallied one strikeout each.
Park was led at the plate by Hines and Shia with two hits each, and Mattern with one hit and two RBI. Morgantown's Preston Fox and Devon Neal paced their squad with two hits each, while Matthews' recorded the sole RBI.