By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
On the anniversary of D-Day, the beaches of Normandy transformed into a baseball field as the Cougars invaded GoMart Ballpark and made an 11-1 assault over the Titans in the Class A state baseball tournament semifinal opener in Charleston last Thursday.
This was the ninth state tournament appearance for East Hardy in program history and the second straight time coming to GoMart Ballpark.
Gilmer County (20-9) was the favorite to win as the second ranked team in the state, but the Cougars (13-15) proved to be a force to be reckoned with in Charleston.
“My catcher, we had to switch catchers midway through the season with all our injuries and he never caught before this year. He came in and did the job well today. We talked about it all season long with the injuries, just coming in everyday coming to work. I think it helped us in the long run, because people had to play who wouldn’t normally have played. It helped us getting those younger guys some experience. [Evan Hamilton] He always has quality at-bats. I can always count on him to come up there and have fun. He rarely goes down with outs. He just stepped up and did what he normally does today. [Jordan Teets] He was getting tired in the heat. He has been around the 75 pitch mark all season and I pushed him a little bit (76) today trying to use one pitcher. He did a heck of a job today. He gave up a couple hits the last inning, but other than that he was phenomenal. Besides pitching, he hit the ball well. He had three RBI’s, so that’s a quality day for him. That was our talk all week was to jump on them early. We knew the whole routine. He is a good pitcher, but we executed well. [Reaching state title game] I am so proud of them. They worked so hard all season long. To see our community is behind us and this tis the first time since 2012 and we are going to try and get it,” East Hardy coach Tyler Mongold stated.
The Titans out hit East Hardy 7-5, but East Hardy took advantage of a plethora of walks (9) and errors (4).
The Cougars commenced the state tournament semifinal with a rocket by Evan Hamilton into center field for a triple off Gilmer County pitcher Kolten Holbert.
Hamilton gave East Hardy the initial lead scoring on a passed ball.
Holbert issued a walk to Mason Hamilton, who stole second base.
East Hardy’s Garrett Van Meter grounded out, then the Titans attempted to turn a double play with the throw going awry as Mason Hamilton jettisoned home for a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars kept the momentum going as Levi Price singled into right field and stole second base before Shayne Sisler received a free pass.
After a double steal, Jordan Teets hit a line drive to the second baseman.
Mason Wilkins connected for an RBI single on a right field blooper for a 3-0 lead.
Sisler scored on a wild pitch as East Hardy took a 4-nil advantage in the first inning before a strikeout to Dayron Dove retired the side.
East Hardy senior pitcher Jordan Teets tossed 5.1 innings allowing seven hits with four walks and one strikeout as the defense helped to keep the Titans off-balanced.
Teets induced a groundout to begin the inning, then Gilmer County’s Remington Huffman notched a single into left field.
After a flyout to East Hardy center fielder Levi Price, the Titans inning came to a close as catcher Dayton Dove fired to third baseman Garrett Van Meter to catch the runner stealing.
East Hardy went down in order during the second inning as Patrick Mills grounded out, Evan Hamilton flew out and Mason Hamilton grounded out.
Gilmer County’s Braylon Mencer and Colton Bush reached walks, then a bunt by Dallas Goodrich went aerial and was caught by Cougars first baseman Shayne Sisler who turned a double play throwing to third base.
Brody Beall singled to third base and just beat the throw by Van Meter with Sisler stretching.
Evan Hamilton snatched a line drive to end the frame.
Holbert started the third inning tossing strikeouts to Van Meter and Price, then Siselr received a walk and stole second base before being stranded on a strikeout to Teets.
Gilmer County’s Tyler Ratliff was given a walk, then East Hardy right fielder Gage Dove caught a fly ball.
Dove caught Ratliff stealing, then Teets induced a groundout to put the Titans down in order.
East Hardy found itself back pedaling in the fourth inning with two quick pop-outs by Mason Wilkins and Dayton Dove.
Patrick Mills changed the mood jumping on base during a dropped third strike.
Evan Hamilton hammered an RBI triple to give the Cougars a 5-nil lead.
Mason Hamilton ground out to retire the side.
Gilmer County’s Jacob Stewart got to second base on a miscue.
Mencer hit into a fielder’s choice rundown with Teets tossing to Van Meter, who found Dove to make the tag preventing the run coming home.
Van Meter caught a popup, then Teets issued a walk and made a strikeout to end the fourth inning.
Gilmer County pitcher Remington Huffman walked East Hardy’s Van Meter and Price in the fifth inning, then Jacob Stewart came in to pitch for the Titans and loaded the bases with a free pass to Sisler.
Teets smashed a bases clearing double to boost the Cougars advantage to 8-0.
“It means a lot. I haven’t played baseball in four years and to be able to throw good enough to help my team get to the state championship feels pretty good. To not pick up a baseball in four years and to come down here and have the opportunity to be here and let alone pitch on the mound in the first game to go to the state championship is a great accomplishment. [Hitting] It was great. I had six RBI’s and two hits. It was something special. ]Dugout attitude] It was great. They all got pumped up. They were all jumping and cheering. They are great teammates to have,” East Hardy senior Jordan Teets commented.
Titans pitcher Seth Stewart came in and jammed Wilkins and Dove into pop-ups and induced a groundout by Mills to leave base runner Kaden Barrett stranded.
Ratliff doubled with two outs for the Titans before being caught stealing at third base by Dove to Van Meter.
Evan Hamilton was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning and stole second base for the Cougars, then Stewart recorded a strikeout to Mason Hamilton.
Evan Hamilton swiped third base and dashed home on a passed ball for a 9-nil lead.
Van Meter and Price received free passes, then the Titans sent in Braylon Mencer to pitch.
Sisler received a walk to load the bases for the Cougars.
East Hardy garnered an 11-0 lead as a fielder’s choice bunt by Teets got an out at home before the throw to first base went awry allowing Price and Sisler to dash home.
Gage Dove reached base on an error bore a strikeout to Dayton Dove retired the side.
Teets allows a double by Gilmer County’s Huffman, then hit Stewart with a pitch.
Mencer denied a shutout with an RBI single into right field for the Titans, 11-1.
Mason Hamilton caught a line drive and dropped the ball on the transfer attempting a double play.
Goodrich singled for the Titans to load the bases and the Cougars sent in closer Evan Hamilton.
Hamilton finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts to send East Hardy to its first state championship appearance since 2012 with an 11-1 mercy win.
Evan Hamilton paced the Cougars with two hits, two runs and scored once, followed by Levi Price with one hit and three runs scored, Jordan Teets notched one hit with three RBI’s and Shayne Sisler walked four times and scored thrice.
The Cougars kept the focus and hunger to advance and would eventually get pay back against Madonna in a rematch of the 2012 championship showdown.
