MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — South Charleston cleanup hitter Josh Bumgarner thought Fairmont might pitch around him with the American Legion state title on the line in the top of the 13th inning.
Then came a down-and-in pitch perfectly suited for the kid who spent three years on the Callaway junior golf tour.
Bumgarner’s triple to left-center scored two go-ahead runs, and the Winfield High graduate raced home himself when the relay caromed away at third base. The wild play propelled Post 94 to an 8-5 marathon win and its fourth state championship in five seasons.
None of the previous titles required so much drama as this week. South Charleston (33-10) had to win four straight games after losing the tournament opener, and it only reached the championship game thanks to a ninth-inning comeback against Morgantown on Saturday.
“It was a long road back, but we have the type of guys to do it,” said Bumgarner.
South Charleston hadn’t scored since the fourth inning as Bumgarner came up with two out and runners on the corners in the 13th. Ahead in the count 3-1, he figured Fairmont pitcher Matthew Robbins might walk him to load the bases.
“But,” said Bumgarner, “I knew if he made a mistake I was swinging the bat.”
And swing he did, ripping a gapper that curled away from Fairmont center fielder Cutter Atha and skipped against the wall.
“The kid’s been a golfer all his life,” said South Charleston coach Dave Potter, “and when he hit it, it looked like a driver that kept drawing away from the center fielder.”
The three-run play deflated Fairmont (29-11), which went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 13th after leaving the potential winning run aboard in three previous innings.
“We just didn’t get a big hit late and they did,” said Fairmont coach Marty Morgan. “But when you play 13 innings for a state championship, it’s obvious both teams gave a great effort.”
As Post 94 players posed with the state championship plaque and made travel plans for next week’s regional tournament, Potter pointed toward the Fairmont dugout.
“I feel sorry for their kids,” he said. “I hate to see anybody lose this kind of game.”
But Potter also reflected on how far his own team had come since issuing 11 walks and committing three errors in Wednesday’s 11-7 loss to Morgantown.
“Aw, that was the worst game of the tournament,” he said. “But I told our guys they could do one of two things: Play another game and go home or keep fighting and try to win it.”