By Stephen Smoot
After earning a win against Petersburg and dropping a loss to regional power Keyser in the Legends Tournament, the Wildcats faced another tough test. The Musselman Applemen, a school with more than 1,700 students, traveled to Franklin to tangle with the home team.
The game took place under sunny skies and warm temperatures, a welcome reprieve after games played in 30s and 40s with stiff winds. Prior to the game, the Pendleton County players each shook the hand of coach Rick Wagoner, a continuation of the respectful tribute he received during the Legends Tournament.
Musselman faced James Vincell on the mound in the first inning. They singled off of him in the first at bat to right field, then dealt a walk. The runner made it to third base on a steal, then an error. He scored on a sacrifice fly.
Vincell then shut down scoring in the first by getting a fly ball out, followed by a ground out to second.
Pendleton County responded quickly. Chase Owens drew a one out walk on five pitches. Vincell followed, falling behind on a one ball and two strike count. He fouled two off to get a bead on the pitch, then launched a rocket to deep right field to put the Wildcats up 2-1.
Musselman did not stay down long. In the top of the second, the Applemen drew a leadoff walk, then the next batter belted a homerun to left field to give them a 3-2 lead.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, the Applemen hit a full count pitch to the wall in left field, sending three runs in and giving the visitors a 6-2 lead.
Musselman brought a six and five record into the game with wins racked up against good Eastern Panhandle competition. Wins against Hedgesville and Berkeley Springs showed their offensive prowess.
Pendleton County responded in the bottom of the inning. Caleb Armentrout drew a one out walk on five pitches. Then Dusty Smith executed a sacrifice bunt to push Armentrout into scoring position. Josiah Kimble rewarded the team’s good execution of “small ball” style offense by putting the ball in play, reaching first safely, and seeing Armentrout score the third run of the game for the Wildcats.
In the top of the third, head coach Sam Yokum brought left handed pitcher Cole Harper in to take the mound. Harper battled the first batter, getting behind three balls and one strike before rallying and racking up a strikeout. Later in the inning, with two outs on the board, Harper dove for a sharply hit ground ball, snagged it, took the time to compose himself, and tossed out the runner at first.
Musselman got the first batter on via a single to right field in the top of the fourth. The runner stole second and reached third on a sacrifice fly. With one out, the next Appleman batter hit a shot to center to drive in the seventh run. Harper and the defense, however, shut down Musselman and closed out the inning with limited damage.
Over the rest of the game, Pendleton County focused on getting pitchers experience as Musselman’s hurlers halted Wildcat scoring. Allden Rexrode appeared for Pendleton County in the top of the fifth. The Applemen added a run, then loaded the bases with two outs. Rexrode threw ball one, but then placed three straight strikes to close the inning.
With the game only theoretically in reach by the top of the sixth, the Wildcats brought in Will Smith, another left handed pitcher. He earned the first out by getting the batter to hit into a ground ball out. After he earned two outs, Kimble came in with the bases loaded to get the final out.
Down 13 to three, the Wildcats tried to put more runs on the board. Dillon Smith led off and outran the throw to first. Tucker Smith followed as a pinch hitter. A throwing error during his at bat moved Smith to second. Armentrout sacrificed to move the runner to third. Dusty Smith drew a walk, but Musselman shut down the inning and the game by getting the final batter to fly out.
