Pitching was donimant in the first baseball meetinn between Wyoming East and Westside. East's Josh Blankenship hurled a three-hitter and Westside's JJ Waldron struck out 11 in the showdown at Oceana on Monday. But the Warriors were able to push across a couple of runs in the late innings and score a 3-0 win.
Westside played well, said WEHS coach Ron Mayhew. It could have gone either way. It's the kind of game everybody wants to win. We've just got to hit the ball, stated Westside Assistant Coach Tim Kennedy. We had a couple of defensive lapses that gave them a couple of runs. The Warriors scored once in the second inning and were still hanging on to that 1-0 lead when the game moved to the sixth. With two outs and the bases empty, East catcher Adam Fulford reached on a single up the middle. Chad Quesenberry struck out, but the catcher dropped the third strike, and an error allowed him to reach safely. Zach Halsey drilled a two-strike pitch into right field to score Adam Brown, the courtesy runner for Fulford. That made it 2-0.
Renegades pinch hitter Jeremy Delong led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. He was erased on a fielder's choice, and Fulford gunned down Michael Asbury on an attempted steal of second. East (5-3) tacked on an unusual run in the seventh. Chris Gamallo singled to right with one out, and pinch hitter Josh England follwoed with a hit as well. Allen Schurdell walked to load the bases- the only time all day the bases were juiced for either team. One out later, Fulford's ground ball led to both a run and the third out, giving the Warriors the 3-0 advantage. Matt Brooks punched a single to center to open the Westside seventh, but Blankenship retired the next three hitters to lock up the win. Blankenship struck out three and walked two. The Renegades (4-3) didn't have a runner on third base after the first inning. We've got to get more emotionally(into the games). I think, Kennedy observed. Gamallo and Fulford had two hits each for East. Halsey drove in two runs. We're not hitting the ball well enough yet, said Mayhew. We're not consistent.
Additional Games
Liberty 9 Westside 2
The Raiders jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings and went on to defeat the Renegades 9-2 last thursday at Glen Daniel. JJ Waldron and Matt Brooks connected for two hits each for Westside. Josh Bryant was 3-4 with a triple and a double for Liberty. Michael Asbury was the starting pitcher for WHS. Josh Hall relieved him in the third and Brooks came on in the fifth.
Summers County 6 Westside 5
Westside staged a dramatic rally in the seventh but fell short in a 6-5 eigh-inning setback to Summers County last Wednesday at Oceana. The Bobcats took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh. The Renegades scored five times to force the extra inning. Josh Hall was 4-4 with a double and three runs batted in for WHS. Trey Brunty, Hall and JJ Waldron all pitched for the renegades.
Westside 6 Bluefield 3
The Renegades beat the Beavers in 12 innings at Bluefield last Monday. Michael Asbury fanned 10 and gave up two hits in six innings of work. JJ Waldron won in relief, and Trey Brunty had a home run.
Above article by John Conley Independent Herald
