Monarchs Fall To Buckhannon- Upshur, 6-1 In Regional Loss
Kim North Trending
GLEN DALE - Tommy Clegg pitched well enough to win but the John Marshall bats were silenced by Buckhannon-Upshur's Brody McDaniels in a 6-1 victory Monday in a W.Va. Class AAAA Region I Tournament opener at Monarch Field.
With the win, the fifth-seeded Buccaneers (9-14) will make a return trip to the Ohio Valley Tuesday to face top-seeded Wheeling Park in the double-elimination event. A loss to the Patriots would have them making their third trip to the northern panhandle in as many days to meet the Monarchs (13-16) in an elimination contest.
"Tommy was outstanding. He pitched very well and pitched well enough to win," lamented John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar. "He hit a couple of guys but that's baseball."
John Marshall scored first when Hayden Hughes raced home on Kayden Knapp's one-out single to left in the third. However, that would be the only run despite loading the bases with one out.
"We had guys on at times but just couldn't get anything going," Cisar recalled. "Our backs are against the wall now, but that's baseball. You win one game you feel good about yourself and that could lead to two wins."
Buckhannon-Upshur scored once in the fifth, twice in the sixth and sealed the deal with a three-spot in the seventh.
Drahden Rice singled in the first run while Jevon Westfall singled in one in the sixth and Jaxan Spratt doubled him home for 3-1 lead.
Spratt's two-run single with two outs in the seventh padded the run differential. John Marshall pitcher's hit three Buccaneers in the inning, the first two coming with two strikes each.
'They had some big hits and we didn't. That was the difference in the game," Cisar said. "They got the big hits when they needed them. We didn't."
Hughes had two of John Marshall's five singles.