By Stephen Smoot
Excluding one of the largest schools in the state, Pendleton County has rattled off 11 straight wins since the first day of the Bub Riggleman Tournament almost three weeks ago. Pitching, power, defense, and wise application of “small ball” steals and bunts made the Wildcats one of the most formidable teams in West Virginia single A going into the post season.
Pendleton County 19 Tygarts Valley 4
The last week of the season started strong, with a big victory while hosting Tygarts Valley. Scoring started when Baylee Beachler hit Jenna Smith home in the bottom of the first.
The next half inning, however, saw the Bulldogs pile up four runs to take a solid lead over the fourth ranked Wildcats.
Any thoughts of an upset, however, quickly dissipated.
With two outs and Jaiden Mitts running for pitcher Susan Vincell, Pendleton County’s bats seized control of the game. Avery Townsend singled to drive in Mitts, then stole second during Smith’s at bat to get into scoring position. Smith hit the ball to short, beat the play, and hit her teammate in.
Next, Beachler drove a one ball and no strike pitch to left, driving in the run, earning a double, and reaching third on the throw. Jess Parker next hit the first pitch just beyond the second baseman to single and help her team take a 5-4 lead.
But the Wildcats were not even close to finishing their half of the inning.
Still with two outs, Lizzie Alt drove the ball into right field and reached on an error. Parker scored on the play. She stole second during the subsequent at bat of Julia Mongold. Mongold has been on an offensive tear recently and in this instance, collected an RBI on a double – then scored on Kate Hedrick’s first pitch triple to center.
Still with two outs, Vincell picked up a double. Hedrick scored on a passed ball during her at bat, setting the score at 9-4.
Townsend returned to bat after Nataley Hedrick laid down a bunt that sent Mitts (running for Vincell) to third. Hedrick used her speed to out hustle the play and reach first safely. Townsend’s hit to center scored yet another run and put Nataley Hedrick on third. Two batters later after Smith earned a walk, Beachler reached on a fielder’s choice play that scored Hedrick and loaded the bases.
Parker and Alt both walked, each time pushing in a run. Mongold followed with a base loaded double to pick up two RBIs and extend the lead to 16-4.
The Wildcats, after the astounding 15 run inning, all with two outs, would also see Townsend tossing two scoreless innings, only allowing one hit.
Pendleton County 6 Tucker County 1
The Wildcats have kept the Mountain Lions tame all year. In this game, Beachler’s arm served as the unstoppable force, ably backed up by her team’s defense.
She was the picture of efficiency in the first, striking out each batter in turn.
Once again, the Pendleton County offense got a fast start. Townsend hit a line drive home run off of a two ball and two strike pitch to lead off the game for the Wildcats.
From there, at least for a time, the game turned into a pitchers’ duel. Tucker County picked up their sole run in the top of the third, but still could not register a hit. Beachler got the Mountain Lions to go down in order in the fourth and fifth innings.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats pulled into the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Parker doubled to left and sent Beachler home. The bottom of the sixth saw Pendleton County add a generous amount of insurance, scoring four runs.
Beachler then picked up two strikeouts and a ground ball out to secure both the win and her no-hitter.
Over seven innings, she struck out 16 Mountain Lions
Pendleton County 10 East Hardy 0
The recipe for success last week almost always included fast starts and the visit to Baker proved no exception. Townsend led off the game by driving a home run to right field. Next, in the top of the third, she scored on a Smith double to center to push the lead to 2-0. This was followed by a Beachler walk and Parker bunting into a fielders’ choice to drive in the run. Alt followed that with a triple to right to drive in Beachler and Parker, setting the score at 5-0.
Pendleton County would go on to take two in the fourth and three in the sixth to earn a statement victory in the final game of the season.
