By Stephen Smoot
Victories come in all forms and sizes. Some come big as life and twice as naturally. Others, one has to look harder to see them. For Pendleton County, a bruising schedule has helped the baseball squad see both kinds.
The first of the “little” victories came on a blustery, cold, and rainy night last week in Romney. In the top of the first inning, Hampshire’s season started off miserably as the team did not record a victory until April when they defeated Berkeley Springs. Leading to the scheduled contest against Pendleton County, they picked up wins against Parkersburg and Grafton.
Pendleton County got the first five batters aboard. Caleb Armentrout reached on an error, followed by singles from Travis Owens and James Vincell.
Vincell’s single produced a run batted in. Still recovering from his injury during football season, he has come into the lineup in recent weeks as a designated hitter. He has hit well for average and his power has started to return.
Next Chase Owens drove in his brother Travis on an error by the second baseman. Following that, the pitcher walked Cole Harper with the bases loaded to make the score 3-0.
After Chase Owens set down the first three Trojans in order, Noah Lockard drove home Spencer Hartman in the top of the second. In the bottom of that inning, Hampshire scored three to get back in the contest, but heavy rains and lightning forced its discontinuation.
Though not a win, and with the game in doubt when cancelled, the Wildcats battled a much bigger school on their home field.
Next came a trip to Franklin from rival Moorefield.
Here, Sam Yokum, head coach, started the left hander, Harper. Yellow Jacket hitters showed patience in the first inning, getting two on base through walks. Harper, however, relied on his defense to get the team out of the inning with no scoring damage.
Wildcat hitters demonstrated the same patience in their half of the first as Armentrout and Travis Owens earned free trips to first. Vincell singled to put runners at the corners as a throw from the outfield caught Armentrout trying to go into home plate.
With Connor Hartman in as a courtesy runner for Vincell on first and Travis Owens at third, Chase Owens drove a first pitch to left field for a double and the first run of the game. A Harper walk loaded the base for Cashton Kisamore, who jumped on the first pitch and sent it to left field for a base hit. Connor Hartman crossed home plate and put the second run on the board.
Walks dealt to Cooper Smith, Will Smith, and Noah Lockard all sent in runs, giving Pendleton County a 5-0 advantage after one inning.
Harper set down Moorefield in order in the second inning. In the bottom of the inning, he helped his own effort by driving in Travis Owens with a single to extend the lead to 6-0.
Moorefield picked up a run in the top of the third, but then saw Pendleton County hitting heat up even more. With one out, Armentrout, then Travis Owens hit singles to set up Vincell. Vincell hit safely to left to score Armentrout and put Owens on third. During the next at bat, he stole home to put his squad up 8-1.
Harper then pulled a hit to right field to drive in Chase Owens and Josiah Kimble, who appeared as a courtesy runner for Vincell.
Later, with the bases loaded, Spencer Hartman, Lockard, then Armentrout all earned walks. After those and a Travis Owens single, the Wildcats held a commanding 14-1 lead.
The game ended with a 14-2 win for the home team.
On Friday, Pendleton County traveled to Frank Loria Field in Clarksburg. This facility has all of the trappings of a solid minor league ballpark, complete with new turf. Baseball weather greeted both the Wildcats and the North Marion Huskies.
North Marion looks like a Class AAA version of Pendleton County. They carry a similar record and have similar strengths, but the team from Marion County comes from a much larger school.
Against such a team, the goal is to use adversity to get better. In other words, win the little victories when given an opportunity.
North Marion picked up nine runs in the first three innings. When Pendleton County came to bat, they encountered strong pitching and near mistake-free defense.
On the other hand, when Vincell came up in the first, he drove a pitch to the wall in left field and walked into second. For the team leader in home runs last year, this was his first extra base hit since coming back from his injury, a milestone in his recovery.
In the top of the fourth, the Wildcats got their first run across. Travis Owens hit a single to lead off the inning, followed by a Vincell ground ball base hit. Three batters later, and with two outs, Cooper Smith came to the plate with the bases loaded. He sent a tee shot to shallow right field that evaded the second baseman’s glove and drove in Travis Owens.
The next batter, Spencer Hartman, reached safely on an error and sent in Kisamore.
The Wildcats fell 13-3.
On Saturday, the Wildcats dropped a game, 10-4, to the red-hot Philip Barbour Colts, who support a 10 and two record in Class AA.
By the end of the week, the Wildcats had played in a series of games where they recorded a major victory over a regional rival and battled tough against a slate of larger schools.
With the postseason coming up, the Wednesday road trip against regional rival Tygarts Valley loomed large. The Bulldogs have dealt defeat to some of the same squads as the Wildcats and by comparable scores. The game could serve as a preview for who will battle for a state tournament berth next month.
