By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
The Cougars journey to return to the state baseball tournament survived adversity over the season and endured 11 strikeouts with patience at the plate and a solo home run blast by Evan Hamilton to shatter No. 4 Tygarts Valley’s nine-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory in Mill Creek during the Class A Region II Championship series opener on Memorial Day.
“[Memorial Day] It meant a lot. All the people who made sacrifices and didn’t make it back home. There’s no better way to spend Memorial Day than to play baseball, America’s pastime,” East Hardy coach Tyler Mongold stated.
“Jordan’s work ethic is unbelievable. He brings it everyday, no matter if we are playing a game or practice or obviously farm work. He’s always working, so I don’t expect anything less from him. He’s been really good for us this season, especially since we have had the injuries. He has stepped up for us and that’s the reason he got the game one start in regionals. Drennen is a heck of a pitcher and probably one of the best we’ve seen among all classes. We came in and had a game plan against him and we did it. We are next man up all the time. That helps us in the long run for the young guys. Game One was big for us and we talked about getting on Drennen early and we did. Game One was important. As long as our bats stay active, we will be okay.”
Bulldogs ace Jaxon Drennen tossed 11 strikeouts and issued five walks with three hits over 5.1 innings, but East Hardy found a way to win with patience and focus.
East Hardy senior Jordan Teets mentioned working hard on the farm and being late to the team bus, so that work ethic and dedication was evident in his focus on the mound.
Teets allowed three hits with four strikeouts and three walks over six innings, then Mason Hamilton closed the game with a strikeout sandwiched by defensive outfield assistance.
Teets is familiar with this level of pressure having been to the state basketball tournament three years in a row and winning the state golf championship this year.
“It means a lot to me, but obviously I have been in this position the last three years in basketball and last three years in golf, so I know what the pressure feels like. I don’t feel the pressure as much as I used to. The first year we went to states, so I feel more relaxed. I threw six innings and didn’t max out my pitches. I walked a few batters and two of them were full counts. I couldn’t ask for a better day, except I didn’t hit the ball well. I could have hit the ball more, but it wasn’t my job today. As the game went on, I felt more confident. The first two inning were iffy, then it started to roll. I was late to this game, because we were chopping barley on the farm and the chopper broke and I a had to wait for the truck. They were waiting on me and I got a zillion texts asking where I was, but we got here and we did well,” East Hardy senior Jordan Teets remarked.
East Hardy got on the board in the first inning with the help of four walks by Drennen.
Evan and Mason Hamilton commenced the championship game receiving free passes, then the Cougars loaded the bases on a single by Garrett Van Meter.
After a strikeout to Levi Price, East Hardy notched a run with a bases juiced walk to Shayne Sisler.
Drennen recoded a strikeout to Jordan Teets, then the Cougars made a 2-0 lead on a bases loaded walk to Mason Wilkins before the Bulldogs escaped further damage with a strikeout to Dayton Dove to retire the side.
East Hardy senior pitcher Jordan Teets put the Bulldogs down in order with defensive assistance on flyouts to Gage Dove (Drennen) and Levi Price (Kaden Moore) surrounding a groundout (Kendall Armstrong) collected by Mason Hamilton.
The second inning was quicker for the Cougars as Patrick Mills flew out, then Evan Hamilton singled before being stranded on a groundout by Mason Hamilton and strikeout by Van Meter.
Tygarts Valley’s Austin Teter was given a walk, then Jacob Wamsley flew out to Mills in left field and Austin Gear flew out to Price in center field prior to a balk advancing the runner.
Ian Harris received a free pass for the Bulldogs, but the runners were left on the pond as Price caught a fly ball by Avery Row-Sponaugle.
Price drew a walk in the third inning for the Cougars, but was stranded on three straight strikeouts to Sisler, Teets and Wilkins.
Teets jammed Austin Wilson into a pop-up, then Drennen singled into left field and stole second base.
After a strikeout from Teets to Armstrong, Drennen stole third base before Moore was hit by a pitch.
The Bulldogs were left on the ornery as Teets snatched a sharp grounder back to the mound from Teter with a throw to Sisler.
Drennen induced back-to-back groundouts by Dove and Mills in the fourth inning.
East Hardy responded with a solo jack by Evan Hamilton for a 3-nil advantage.
Mason Hamilton grounded out to retire the side.
Tygarts Valley went down in order as Teets sandwiched two strikeouts around a groundout to third baseman Garrett Van Meter tossing to Sisler.
The Cougars went down in order during the fifth inning on three consecutive strikeouts by Drennen to Van Meter, Price and Sisler.
Tygarts Valley faced two quick outs as Mills caught a fly ball and Teets pitched a strikeout, then Drennen received a walk.
Armstrong reached base on an error during a wicked hop at third base, then Teets snatched a line drive by Moore to end the frame.
Drennen pitched his 11th strikeout in the sixth inning to Teets, then Ian Harris was brought to the mound for the Bulldogs.
Wilkins and Dove were issued walks, then Mills hit into a fielder’s choice out at third base on a diving play by Wamsley and the Cougars stranded the runners on a pop-up by Evan Hamilton back to Wamsley.
Teter got on base for Tygarts Valley on a sharp grounder deflecting off of Evan Hamilton’s face.
Wamsley smashed a double into left field to put runners in scoring position for the Bulldogs.
After a pop-up, Harris plated two runs on a sacrifice fly as the throw went awry past third base allowing Tygarts Valley to slice the deficit to 3-2.
Row-Sponaugle was hit by a pitch, then Teets corralled another line drive from Wilson to end the inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, Mason Hamilton attempted a blooper, but it was caught over the head by shortstop Drennen.
Van Meter connected for a single and Price was hit by a pitch to give the Cougars a pair of base runners.
Sisler smacked an RBI single into right field for a 4-2 edge.
A pickoff error enabled Price to score to put East Hardy up 5-2 with Sisler sliding over to third base.
Tygarts Valley got out of the jam with a groundout and pop-up.
East Hardy closer Mason Hamilton had a pitch launched by Drennen to the center field fence where Price made a home run robbing catch over his shoulder.
Hamilton struck out Armstrong for the second out.
The Cougars sealed the win on a catch by Mills in left field off the bat of Moore for a final score of 5-2.
“We were a little bit rusty coming into the game not having played for a week and were very slow. Once we got things rolling, it kind of came back. I hope this built a little confidence for us. Hopefully, we have a little bit of steam going into tomorrow. The other Hamilton kid [Mason] is back now. He was throwing there. They have a solid infield with him there. That extra bat makes a big difference. It was a rough start for us. We walked in those two runs, but we made a game of it and hope to battle back,” Tygarts Valley coach Juston Armstrong concluded.
The championship series shifted to Baker as the Cougars looked to close it out for a return to the state tournament.
