Sports Writer

WHEELING — Hustle, sacrifice and clutch hitting.

That sums up Wheeling Park’s sixth inning on Wednesday in which it pushed across the game-winning run for a 3-2 triumph in its home opener at Patriot Field against Parkersburg.

Gian Degenova kicked off the inning by hustling down the line on an error and beating the throw.

Dylan Hodgson followed with a beautifully executed sacrifice bunt and Braydon Kupsky delivered the final blow with a RBI single down the left field line to put the Patriots ahead for good.

“That was a great hustle play (by Degenova),” Park coach Steve Myers said. “Then we got the bunt down and Kupsky came through with the hit. He’s done a really good job. He just cracked the lineup the last two games and he stays really short in his approach. He doesn’t try to overdo it. He just tries to get line drive base hits.”

After three hitless innings by Luke Doyle (two strikeouts and five walks), Luke Myers provided two and two-thirds innings (2 strikeouts and one walk), before Nolan Westfall slammed the door in the seventh with a pair of punch outs.

“It was a good team win,” Coach Myers said. “We’ve talked about, even with pitching, ‘Just do your job and hand the ball to the next guy,’ and I think our guys did that (Wednesday). We talked about how everybody has a role. ‘Take your role, hand the ball to the next guy and believe in the guy behind you.’ I think our guys did that and did a good job of finding a way to win.”

Doyle got through the first in order and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second to keep the game scoreless.

Degenova singled in the bottom of the second and raced home all the way from first on a RBI double from Kupsky.

Drew Woofter knotted the game at 1-1 in the third with a sac fly, before Luke Marsh delivered a sac fly of his own in the bottom of the frame to give Park a 2-1 edge.

The Patriots got out of a jam in the fifth as Luke Myers induced a ground ball to first and first baseman Quinn Jamison fired home where Marsh slapped the tag on the runner for the out.

Park second baseman Grants Simons also made a leaping catch in the inning to keep a runner at second and preserve the lead.

“We talk about leaning on pitching and defense,” Coach Myers said. “Guys pick each other up defensively. We did a lot of little things well (Wednesday). We hit the cutoff man, we kept the ball in front of us and we just did a lot of fundamentals that we talk about everyday.”

In the top of the sixth Evan Elliott did plate the tying run with a RBI double but Luke Myers struck out the next batter with the go-ahead runner on second.

Degenova, Hodgson and Kupsky put the finishing touches on the win in the bottom of the sixth as pinch runner Nate Bittinger raced home for the game-winning run.

Westfall earned the win.

“It was a good high school game,” Coach Myers said. “You have to give yourself a chance to win and our guys stayed focused. I’m proud of them for that. These kinds of games make you better either way it ends up.”

Woofter struck out three and walked three in five innings before Izek Baldwin took the loss in relief.

“We didn’t hit well early in the game,” Parkersburg coach Alan Burns said. “Part of that was due to their pitching, though. Our infield made a couple of mistakes that you can’t make against a good team. You can’t make those mistakes against Wheeling Park.”