The Yellow Jackets completed the sweep of East Hardy in the Hardy Boys Hardball Classic to claim county bragging rights and gave a 10-2 victory birthday present to assistant coach Scott Stutler at George Hott Field on Friday.
“I’m glad we didn’t ruin his birthday, but made it better with a win,” Moorefield skipper Wade Armentrout noted.
“This win was a nice birthday gift,” Moorefield assistant coach Scott Stutler remarked.
Moorefield freshman pitcher Isaac Van Meter hurled seven strikeouts in six innings of work and the defense came up with critical plays to limit runs scored including a double play turned by freshman third baseman Hayden Baldwin.
“Our guys have been excited all week long and had a couple good practices. It is really good to see we are getting hits up and down our lineup when we need those,” Coach Armentrout commented.
“We had another great pitching performance from Isaac [Van Meter] and [Derek] Hoyt came in with a lot of confidence. I thought our defense played really well, [Brent] Moran made some good plays at shortstop and Hayden’s [Baldwin] play at third base, the double play was a critical play that really cancelled a lot of base running. That inning had a potential of doing some damage, but he did a great job and Isaac did really well getting us ground balls. They put the ball in play and we made outs. Lane Ours had a great performance at the plate all night long and caught well behind the plate. This was a big win for our sectional seeding. We’ve beaten the teams we need to for a good seeding.”
East Hardy leadoff batter Logan Whetzel struck out to start the game, then Moorefield shortstop Brent Moran tracked down a pop fly from Alex Miller in shallow left field.
The Cougars didn’t go down quietly as senior Clay Skovron singled into right field and stole second base before fellow senior Brett Tharp was issued a full-count walk.
Yellow Jackets catcher Lane Ours caught Skovron stealing at third base as Baldwin made the tag.
East Hardy pitcher Clay Skovron snatched the ball for a groundout from Moorefield leadoff batter Brent Moran before tossing a strikeout to Garett Haggerty.
Moorefield’s Blake Watts reached first base on an error by Cougars third baseman Noah Miller, then Jake Ours was hit by a pitch and Baldwin was given a free pass to load the bases.
Skovron got out of the jam pitching a strikeout to Van Meter ending the frame.
Back on the mound in the second inning, Van Meter fanned the next three East Hardy batters: Adam Baker, Noah Miller and Austin Alt.
Lane Ours singled into right field to start the attack for Moorefield and base runner Caden Kimble stole second base before Grant Keller singled into left field to put runners on the corners.
Moorefield’s Thomas Williams made an RBI fielder’s choice out at second base for a 1-0 edge.
Moran singled into center field and the runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Haggerty.
Watts smacked a two-run producing single blooper into right field and a tag attempt was missed as the ball dropped during advancement to second base, 3-0.
Skovron issued a full-count walk to Jake Ours, who advanced on a passed ball.
Baldwin ripped a two-RBI single into center field to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-0 advantage entering the third inning.
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In the third inning, East Hardy had a couple tricks to use with small ball action as Christian Dove bunted and reached on an error as Van Meter’s throw went over Thomas Williams at first base.
Seth Smith bunted as well and reached first base safely as the ball eluded Baldwin as the Cougars now had two runners on board.
Van Meter collected a grounder by Whetzel with a throw to Watts for the first out as the runners advanced, then struck out Miller before Skovron’s pop-up was caught by Lane Ours denying a scoring opportunity.
Lane Ours was given a walk to start the bottom half of the third inning, then Keller struck out, Williams hit a flyout in left field and Moran grounded out.
After a Van Meter strikeout pitch to Tharp to commence the fourth inning, Baker sent a deep fly ball into left field and Haggerty made an overhead catch before taking a step and dropped the ball on the transfer out of his glove.
At first it was considered an error and the umpires met to decide it was an out, but no instant replay.
East Hardy’s Noah Miller singled into the right center gap, but was stranded on a line drive by Alt which was caught by Moran.
There was a dugout warning for Moorefield making sure only one batter was in the circle and the rest of the team had to be back in the dugout, then after that distraction Skovron struck out Haggerty.
Watts hit a sharp grounder to East Hardy third baseman Noah Mille and beat the throw for a single.
Tharp was called by Coach Heflin to the mound to pitch and Jake Ours took the first pitch swatting it into left field for a single.
It started to rain as Baldwin made an RBI groundout, then Ours scored on a passed ball to put the Yellow Jackets up 7-0 before Tharp ended the inning with a strikeout.
Moorefield tightened the defense looking for a potential bunt in the top of the fifth inning, but Dove hit the ball into left center field for a Cougars single.
East Hardy’s Seth Smith singled into left field and Whetzel chopped a short grounder on the third base line for a single to load the bases.
Alex Miller sliced the ball to Baldwin making the fielder’s choice foot tag on third base, then turned the double play throwing to first base as a run scored in the process.
Skovron launched an RBI double into center field as the Cougars cut the deficit to 7-2, but Van Meter induced a groundout by Tharp with Moran fielding the ball to prevent another score.
“[MHS] Their pitching is pretty solid. They definitely have actual pitchers which is good for them. We have to continue to work at practice and continue to get better as fast as we can,” East Hardy coach Eric Heflin stated.
“We’ve been struggling keeping our heads up in the game and we preach it, but you know it has to come from them. They have to realize when you get behind by a few runs that doesn’t mean you can’t come back and win. We had some nerves on the bases and it takes some experience, but we are working with them in situation drills.”
Moorefield’s Lane Ours singled and Caden Kimble came in as the runner, then Keller executed a bunt with Tharp making a fielder’s choice throw to second base which went awry.
Williams bunted into a fielder’s choice back to Tharp at the mound and the throw to third base got the first out, then Moran flew out to Skovron in center field and Matthew Mongold hit into a fielder’s choice out from Smith to Whetzel.
The Cougars went down in order during the sixth inning as Baker and Noah Miller grounded out and Alt struck out on a pitch from Van Meter.
Watts was hit by a Tharp pitch to start the frame, then Jake Ours hit into a fielder’s choice out at second base.
Baldwin singled into center field and the runners advanced on a passed ball before Tharp struck out Van Meter.
Moorefield’s Lane Ours smashed a two-run producing double into center field over a leap by Skovron and Kimble came in to run.
Kimble advanced on a passed ball and scored on another during a walk to Keller with a diving slide into home plate as Tharp caught the ball from catcher Alex Miller and tumbled over Kimble with the indication being safe as the Yellow Jackets extended the lead to 10-2.
A balk was signaled with Williams out of the box, but no time had been called sending Keller to second base before Tharp countered with a strikeout.
Moorefield closer Derek Hoyt stepped on the mound in the top of the seventh inning and allowed a leadoff double by East Hardy’s Christian Dove into left field before dialing in three consecutive strikeouts to end the game on Smith, Whetzel and Alex Miller.
Moorefield brushed past the Cougars in both baseball and softball for the regular season, but rest assured there will be a rematch during the playoffs.
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