By Stephen Smoot
Several Wildcats turned out tremendous performances in the first round game against East Hardy, but the Cougars withstood a Pendleton County rally to take the first game 4-3 in the best two of three series.
The format changed for baseball this season. While softball continues to use the sectional stage to determine which teams compete in regionals, baseball now uses the “super regional” format.
Regardless of result, this game served as a baseball purist’s dream. Unlike many games at the high school level, this contest came down not to mistakes made, but to great plays and performances on the field.
The Cougars made a statement in their initial at bat when Evan Hamilton drove a two ball and two strike pitch from Chase Owens over the fence for the first run of the game. After Owens got the first out, East Hardy put a man on base via a single.
The next two batters flied out to Connor Hartman in deep right and grounded out in turn.
Owens pitched a seven-inning complete game, allowing four runs and striking out four. Both teams had a number of opportunities on the base paths, but the experienced pitching on both sides worked well in getting out of trouble.
Pendleton County responded in the bottom of the first. Caleb Armentrout found himself down one ball and two strikes as he led off, but worked his way back to earn a base on balls. Travis Owens followed with a soft ground ball that did not leave the infield grass, sacrificing to get Armentrout advanced.
Lush and soft after the rains of the week, the infield took the starch out of a lot of ground balls, slowing significantly or even stopping several.
James Vincell followed, driving a sharply hit ground ball into centerfield, bringing Armentrout home to knot the game at one.
Chase Owens came next to the plate. A high leaping catch of his hard line drive and a quick doubling up of the runner at first concluded the inning.
East Hardy’s second inning looked much like its first as leadoff hitter Jordan Teets drove a three ball and two strike pitch over the left center field wall, but all others struck out.
The Wildcats, down 2-1, could not muster their offense in the bottom of the second, but neither could the Cougars in the top of the third.
The top of the fourth brought no Cougar scores, but terrific defense from the home team. Hartman made a leaping catch for the initial out. A single put a runner on first. A subsequent single to center field went quickly into the glove of Josiah Kimble who gunned down the runner at second for the second out. With two outs, a Cougar batter hit a line drive over the outstretched glove of a sprinting Cashton Kisamore. He quickly tracked down the ball and fired it into the infield to keep the lead runner at third. Kisamore then closed the inning by snagging a line drive for the third out.
The score remained 2-1 as the teams entered the top of the fifth. East Hardy’s leadoff hitter worked a full count, then lined the ball to centerfield. Kimble sprinted forward and caught the ball as he dove to the ground.
East Hardy picked up a two out single, followed by two consecutive doubles, to extend their lead to four to one.
In the top of the sixth, great defense continued to keep the score tight. The Cougars led off with a single, but the subsequent hitter grounded to Travis Owens who fielded the ball on the run and executed a nifty flip of the ball to Armentrout on second. The next hitter grounded to Spencer Hartman at third, who also chose to get the lead runner out at second.
With two outs and seeking insurance, the lone baserunner tried to steal his way into scoring position. Vincell fired the ball to second, but Travis Owens moved forward to mimic cutting off the throw to confuse the Cougars. The throw nailed the baserunner and ended the inning.
Needing a spark, the Wildcats found one in Vincell. He led off the bottom of the sixth and drove a towering fly ball off of the football stands beyond the left center field bleachers to cut the advantage to 4-2.
Sam Yokum, head coach, never one to miss a teaching moment, turned and told his dugout, “That’s what all those swings are for!”
By the top of the seventh, Chase Owens started to show the effect of six innings of pitching. That meant that he unleashed more of the tricks of his arsenal and used his defense to good effect. He issued a walk to the first batter, but Kisamore once again stepped forward to rob a Cougar batter, taking a hard hit drive from the air for the first out.
East Hardy’s next hitter also got strength behind his drive, but Kimble put him out by catching the ball on a dead sprint through right center field. He then got the final batter to swing and miss for a strikeout.
In the bottom of the seventh, East Hardy got the first hitter out, but Noah Lockard drew a walk on four pitches. Armentrout followed. Just as in the first inning, the pitcher got him into a two strike hole, but with patience and grit, he worked his way out and earned a base on balls.
Travis Owens also took a walk to load the bases for Vincell. East Hardy brought in a fresh pitcher to face him. He delivered by driving the ball deep enough into right field to score a run on a sacrifice fly.
With the tying run on second and go ahead run on first, Chase Owens came to the plate. He drove the ball hard, but directly to an infielder who got a quick force out at third to end the game.
Pendleton County had an opportunity to even the series on Saturday night. However, the Cougars came to town eager to advance to the regional contest and did so with a 18-5 win.
