photo by: Kim North

Wheeling Park catcher Nolan Yanchak attempts to tag out John Marshall’s Hayden Hughes in the top of the first inning of Wednesday’s Steve Myers Legacy Game on Patriot Field at Wheeling Park High School. Hughes scored on an inside-the-park home run to start the game. He also went the distance on the mound in the Monarchs’ 3-1 victory over the Patriots before a sizable crowd.

WHEELING – Hayden Hughes played a huge role in visiting John Marshall’s high school baseball victory over Wheeling Park on sun-soaked Patriot Field Wednesday.

The senior led off the game with an inside-the-park home run and went the distance on the mound as the Monarchs prevailed, 3-1, in the inaugural Steve Myers Legacy Game that was played in front of a huge crowd on the hilltop.

“Hayden was unbelievable on the mound. Even when he fell behind in the count, he was confident enough to come back and make big pitches,” veteran John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar said. “Wheeling Park did a good job of putting the ball in play against him, but we made the plays behind him.”

Hughes sent the third pitch of the game from tough-luck loser Kolten Whitmire down the line in right. Wheeling Park’s Preston Heatherington made a valiant diving effort for the ball, but came up short as it rolled all the way to the fence in the right field corner as Hughes circled the bases, sliding headfirst into home just ahead of the tag by Patriots catcher Nolan Yanchak.

“Never have I seen a game start with an inside-the-park home run,” Cisar, a veteran baseball man, admitted. “It was crazy.”

Hughes worked his way out of a bases loaded situation with two outs in the bottom of the inning, stranded two more runners in the second and another pair in the fourth. He threw 97 pitches – 59 – strikes in his route-going performance that never saw him retire the Patriots in order.

Wheeling Park head coach Chad Stout was pleased with his team’s effort, but not the end result as the Patriots left 10 runners on base, five in scoring position and hit into a pair of double plays.

“That’s kind of been our MO so far,” Stout said. “We’re hitting the baseball, but we’re not getting the timely hit when we need it … too many fly balls, but with that said, it was a great job of pitching by both pitchers.”

Hughes also had a hand in John Marshall’s two-run third. Jayden Astipalitis beat out a perfect bunt leading off and Jesse McDowell’s bouncer up the middle appeared to be a tailor-made double play ball, but it skipped over top of Wheeling Park shortstop Miles Gorby for an infield single. Hughes lined an 0-1 pitch to center to score Astipalitis and Cain Martin followed with a double to right-center that made it 3-0.

“That was an excellent job by Jesse of putting the ball in play with a slash,” Cisar recalled. “I thought it was going to be a double play, but it took a hop over their fielder’s head, but the bunt by (Jayden) Astipalitis got the inning going.

Wheeling Park senior Kolten Whitmire, who probably deserved a better fate, struck out the next three Monarchs to escape further damage. The righty finished with 13 strikeouts, surpassing the 100-mark for his career which now totals 104.

“Kolten pitched very well,” Stout noted. “He threw really hard and located his pitches well.”

Wheeling Park avoided being shutout when Jaxon Updegraff reached on a wind-blown double that never left the infield to start the bottom of the fifth. He raced home when red-hot Braydon bartsch singled sharply to left-center. However, one of the two aforementioned double plays ended that rally.

Gorby led off the seventh with an infield single, but the next batter bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.

Hughes and McDowell both had two hits for John Marshall. Updegraff recorded a pair of doubles, while Gorby and Rylan Moore each singled twice.