By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy’s Mason Hamilton pounced on two home runs to the roof of Pendleton County High School as the Cougars thrashed the Wildcats 18-5 to cap off the Class A Region II Baseball semifinal series sweep in Franklin advancing to the championship.
East Hardy edged Pendleton County in the series opener 4-3 which included home runs by Evan Hamilton and Jordan Teets, while James Vincell knocked one out for the Wildcats.
“The way our guys are hitting the ball, I felt pretty confident in them. Our lineup one through nine when they step up to the batter’s box I feel comfortable that they will get it done. They did that tonight. We were definitely in double digits with hits tonight. Getting Mason back is crucial, he is an all-state player as you can see with two home runs tonight, but that’s not the only thing he can do. He is an excellent infielder and makes timely hits. He does it all. This was like the old section final championship. We face Tygarts Valley on Amy 27. We are hitting with power and making timely hits It helps that our team is healthy again,” East Hardy skipper Tyler Mongold commented.
The Cougars will meet Tygarts Valley starting on May 27 for the region title seeking a return trip to the state tournament in Charleston.
East Hardy marched out to a 7-0 lead before the Wildcats battled back to cut the deficit to 7-5 in the fourth inning.
The Cougars opened the second game with a blooper single into center field by Evan Hamilton, who swapped second base and was brought home on an RBI double matched to right field by Mason Hamilton.
Mason Hamilton advanced to third base on a groundout by Garrett Van Meter.
East Hardy kept the momentum going as Levi Price notched a sharp grounder into left field for an RBI single making it 2-0.
After a flyout by East Hardy’s Shayne Sisler, Jordan Teets was given a free pass by Pendleton County pitcher Cole Harper before a fielder’s choice out at three base off the bat of Mason Wilkins retired the side.
East Hardy pitcher Garrett Van Meter allowed a leadoff single by Pendleton County’s Caleb Armentrout into center field, then stole around to third base.
The Wildcats would load the bases on a walk to Travis Owens and William Owens was hit by a pitch sandwiching a strikeout to James Vincell.
However, Pendleton County failed to capitalize on the juiced bases as Van Meter closed the door with a strikeout to Harper.
The Cougars commence the second inning with a single by Dayton Dove, then Patrick Mills and Evan Hamilton both flew out.
Mason Hamilton stepped up and hammered a two-run blast to the school’s roof to double the lead 4-nil.
Van Meter singled into center field, then Price reached base on an error at third base before the runners were stranded on a strikeout to SIsler.
Cashton Kisamore drew a walk for the Wildcats, then a pickoff error sent him to second base as the throw eluded Sisler and hit one of the players next to the dugout out of play.
Pendleton County loaded the bases again on two walks to Cooper Smith and Armentourt surrounding a strikeout.
Van Meter got out of the jam with defensive help on an infield pop fly and groundout.
The mantra in the Cougars dugout could be heard as an assistant coach shouted ‘win the inning’.
After a groundout by Teets, Wilkins received a free pass and Dove singled on a chopper just past the pitcher.
The Cougars loaded the bases as Mills executed a bunt and the fielder’s choice to third base wasn’t in time.
Pendleton County either Travis Owens hit Evan Hamilton with a pitch to plate a run, then Mason Hamilton was walked to send another run home for a 6-0 advantage.
Van Meter launched the ball into center field where the ball was drooped allowing Mills to score to extend the lead to 7-0.
The Wildcats escaped further damage on a strikeout and flyout.
Pendleton County started a rally in the bottom of the third inning with two outs.
Van Meter induced a groundout, then walked Mason Harper before jamming Cole Harper into a pop-up to Teets.
Kisamore plated a Wildcats run on an error as the throw went awry past first base.
The ball just slipped out of Van Meter’s hand and one towards the dugout on a fourth ball sending Smith to first base and Kisamore dashed to third base.
East Hardy pitcher Gage Dove walked Broty Sites as the Wildcats loaded the bases for the third time.
Pendleton County finally capitalized as Armentrout launched the ball to left field where Mills missed on a diving play allowing two runs to score as Price collected the ball and threw to Van Meter and over to Evan Hamilton for the final out at second base, 7-3.
East Hardy went down in order in the fourth inning on a pair of strikeouts to Teets and Wilkins and a groundout slide by Dayton Dove.
Gage Dove issued a free pass to Pendleton County’s Travis Owens, then Evan Hamilton came in to pitch.
Owens stole two bases before Vincell smacked an RBI groundout which included a diving save by Mason Hamilton.
William Owens drew a walk and stole second base on a pickoff error.
Evan Hamilton struck out Spencer Hartman for the second out.
Cole Harper ripped an RBI single into center field and the throw home by Price wasn’t quite in time as the Wildcats cut the deficit to 7-5.
Hamilton ended the frame with a strikeout to Kisamore.
Owens jammed MIlls for a pop-out, then walked Evan Hamilton in the top of the fifth inning.
Mason Hamilton slapped a single up the middle to put runners on the corners for the Cougars.
Van Meter hit into fielder’s choice and the throw home failed to get Evan Hamilton as East Hardy extended the lead 8-5 sparking an 11-0 unanswered rout.
Price loaded the bases on a walk and Sisler plated a run on another free pass for a 9-5 edge before two fielder’s choice plays at home and second base retired the side.
Evan Hamilton jammed a batter into a pop-up before sandwiching two strikeouts around a walk to Armentrout to end the inning.
Dayton Dove started the sixth inning drawing a walk for the Cougars and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Mills.
Evan Hamilton garnered a bunt single, then the Wildcats brought in Caydan Boone to pitch.
Mason Hamilton ripped a two-run producing single down the right field line for an 11-5 advantage.
Van Meter hit into a fielder’s choice out at second base prior to a single by Price into center field.
Sisler smacked a two-run producing double into left field with the help of an error, 13-5.
A wild pitch developed into pickoff error creating a run for Sisler, 14-5.
Teets drew a walk, then Pendleton County pitcher Mason Harper hit Wilkins with a pitch before inducing a groundout by Dove to close the side.
Vincell hit a blooper into left tiled with Mills making a slide on the single.
William Owens was issued a free pass, then East Hardy turned a basic 5-4-6-3 triple play to end the frame.
The triple play was just the second to happen for the Cougars under Coach Tyler Mongold’s tenure.
Mills commenced the seventh inning with a single for East Hardy which was followed by a walk to Evan Hamilton.
Mason Hamilton unleashed a three-run dinger to give the Cougars a 17-5 lead
“I am super excited and so glad to be back. I didn’t know the first game I came back if I could play with my knee, but glad I made the decision to play. [Home Runs] I saw on the second one that Evan got walked in four pitches. I saw the ball on the first pitch coming. I don’t remember the first one, but know I hit it far. Knowing we have the team to do this and the feeling of losing last year just makes winning better. [Faith] My faith means a lot. That’s who I play for. My advice for Evan was to throw strikes and he knows that. We got to sleep in today from the track meet, so that didn’t play a factor today,” East Hardy’s Mason Hamilton said.
Pendleton County pitcher Cooper Smith fielded a chopper by Van Meter and overthrew first base allowing advancement to second base.
Price hit a line drive caught at first bas, then Sisler struck out.
Teets and Wilkins drew free passes to load the bases for the Cougars.
Dove smacked an RBI single on a short chopper to third base for an 18-5 lead before a strikeout to Mills prevented further damage.
Evan Hamilton issued a free pass to Noah Lockard, then recorded two strikeouts.
East Hardy brought in Dominick Hose to pitch, who gave up a walk to Jonas Turner and had a 2-0 count on Ty Armentrout before getting his first strike to the cheers of the dugout prior to another free pass.
Mason Hamilton came in as the closer for the Cougars with the bases loaded and garnered a strikeout to end the game for an 18-5 victory.
“The game on Thursday was unfortunate for us, because it took a little air out of us. We have played a tough schedule all year. We started four freshmen and play with a young team. We have enough veterans that we can be right there on any given night. That took a lot of starch out of us. Coming in tonight, we knew we had to either one keep it a low scoring game or two hit with East Hardy. East Hardy is a good hitting team. They hit the ball extremely well. It was 4-0 through the second inning which wasn’t terrible. We had two runner on and didn’t score in the first inning and bases loaded in the second inning and didn’t score. That 5-0 stared to loom big. We started to make a game out of it, but it came down to pithing. We used three freshmen pitchers and they didn’t get the job done. We didn’t make some plays in the field. Against a team like East Hardy, you have to make routine plays, throw strikes. It wasn’t about Windsor losses this year. East Hardy came in healthy and hit the ball well. We just couldn’t keep up with them,” Pendleton County coach Sam Yokum said.
East Hardy’s dream of returning to the state tournament remains alive heading to the regional championship against Tygarts Valley.
