The Yellow Jackets battled in a tight pitchers duel with the winning run coming off the bat of Grant Keller in the fourth inning which was just enough for Moorefield to eliminate Notre Dame 1-0 at Bridgeport High School on Thursday to punch a ticket to the state tournament in Charleston.
Moorefield (20-9) makes the trip to the state tournament for the sixth time under coach Wade Armentrout with the first trip dating back to 2001 and seek a third state title in program history.
“It’s been a rewarding season up to this point, even to watch these guys celebrate like that and to know it’s a big moment in their life that they will always remember,” Moorefield coach Wade Armentrout commented.
“To win it the way we did, in that type of fashion knowing they were in a tight game having confidence in each other was great. Isaac going out there and getting it to a point where Derek can take over and he’s been so confident in that role as our closer. Both of these games were tough. We knew they had good pitching and we knew we had to get a couple hits and a couple runs. They are a good team. Our guys have been resilient through all of that. I thought we would hit more than we did today. On the journey we are on and the goal we have, there are games where you aren’t going to play your best. You have to find ways to win it, sometimes offense or sometimes defense. It’s great to watch the culture these guys have as teammates, they enjoy being around each other and they compliment each other, they know what their role is. They have a passion for the game and appreciate each other and that’s the reward I get.”
Moorefield freshman pitcher Isaac Van Meter allowed only three Irish hits and struck out four batters with one walk issued in five innings of work, then junior closer Derek Hoyt took care of business with three strikeouts and the defense sealed the win.
Notre Dame senior pitcher Todd Griffith kept the Irish in the game with 11 strikeouts and allowed only four hits and gave up three walks in the loss.
Griffith forced groundout by Moorefield leadoff batter Brent Moran to start the game with Elias Gordon fielding the ball at shortstop, then struck out Garett Haggerty.
The Yellow Jackets got on base with a single by Blake Watts into left field, who advanced on an error and was stranded on a strikeout to Jake Ours.
Notre Dame’s Sam Romano flew out to Haggerty in left field, then Brent Robinson singled off of Van Meter into center field and dashed to second base on an error by Jake Ours.
Van Meter struck out Gordon and Garrett Collins to prevent a run.
In the top of the second inning, the Yellow Jackets went down in order as Griffith recorded three strikeouts to Hayden Baldwin, Van Meter and Lane Ours.
Andrew Rogers reached base on an error for the Irish, then Hunter Emerson popped out to Watts at first base.
Griffith singled into left field to give Notre Dame two baserunners, but they were stranded on a groundout by Sam Snyder and a strikeout on Justin Frazier.
Moorefield’s Grant Keller singled in the top of the third inning and Thomas Williams drew a full-count walk for a scoring opportunity.
“It’s very special to advance to the state tournament. It’s not very often you get to perform at that level. Take a deep breath and approach the plate calm, cool and collected,” Moorefield senior Matt Mongold said.
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Griffith jammed Moran into a pop-out to first baseman Jeremiah Ritter, then Matt Mongold struck out.
The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases as Watts was given a free pass, but Griffith denied a run with a strikeout to Jake Ours.
Romano popped out to Moran at shortstop, then Robinson was issued a walk.
Gordon hit a line drive which was caught on a leap by Moran and the throw for a double play went awry, then Robinson safely stole second base sliding in as the ball came back to Moran before the inning ended on Collins striking out for the Irish.
Baldwin hit leadoff single into left field for Moorefield in the fourth inning and advanced on a groundout by Van Meter.
After strikeout to Lane Ours, Grant Keller hit the game-winning RBI double into center field and a flyout by Williams in left field kept the score at 1-0.
Notre Dame’s Rogers grounded out to Moorefield shortstop Brent Moran, then Emerson bunted and the throw by catcher Lane Ours went wide past the dive of Watts for an error.
Griffith popped out to Baldwin at third base for the second out.
Snyder hit a deep fly ball to left field for a single and Haggerty gunned the ball to home plate for Ours to make the tag for the last out of the frame.
The fifth inning was quick as Moran flew out to center field, Haggerty struck out and Watts was out on a dropped third strike for the Yellow Jackets.
Notre Dame’s Frazier and Romano grounded out and there was a dispute on the second out as some fans thought Watts pulled his foot early.
Robinson was hit by a pitch, but the Irish stranded him on a fly ball caught by Jake Ours in center field.
Jake Ours drew a walk in the top of the sixth inning for the Yellow Jackets, advanced to second base on a groundout by Baldwin to Griffith on the mound and tagged up to reach third base on a flyout by Van Meter before being left on base on a full-count strikeout on the edge to Lane Ours.
Hoyt came in as the closer and caught a line drive on the mound diving into the dirt off a shot by Collins, then struck out the Irish side of Rogers and Emerson.
“Being considered the ‘Latch’ as my teammates like to call me, because I always close the door is considered to be a big role on the team and I’m glad to fill it,” Moorefield closer Derek Hoyt remarked.
“Even if we are down, I still get to come in and give us a chance to come back. Nothing is better than this.”
Notre Dame brought in pitcher Justin Frazier in the seventh inning and he forced a pop-out by Keller caught by the catcher, then Moorefield pinch hitter Ben O’Neill struck out.
Moran singled past Gordon into left center field, but was caught stealing.
Hoyt induced a groundout by Griffith fielded by Moran at second base, then struck out Snyder and Hoyt collected the last grounder by Frazier with the throw to Watts to end the Irish season.
Haggerty jumped up and embraced the victory with his teammates, then helped take a cooler to drench coach Armentrout in celebration.
The Yellow Jackets swept the Class A Region II Championship series over Notre Dame to earn a trip to Charleston this coming weekend.
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