CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Defending Class AA state champion Bridgeport fell behind to PikeView amid a shower of bloops singles and perfectly placed pop-ups.
But in the decisive four-run fifth inning, Bridgeport began to find its own share of good fortune.
The Indians scored the go-ahead run on Dante Bonamico’s blooper to shallow left, added two more runs on a booted grounder and yet another when a PikeView infielder lost a two-out fly ball in the sun.
Of course Bridgeport also hit a number of balls hard—led by Hunter Fain’s 4-for-4 day with five RBIs—and scored the final 11 runs to pull away for a 17-7 win called after six innings.
It marked a season-high runs total for the Indians, though they scored in double-digits for the 20th time.
“There was a lot of resiliency from both squads,” said Bridgeport coach Robert Shields, whose team collected 14 of the game’s 26 hits. “We came back and I’m glad that we answered the call.
“I’ve got to hand our kids a lot of credit at the plate. They made a lot of good quality at-bats—that’s what it takes to win a championship.”
Joe Dodrill had three hits and drove in four runs for Bridgeport (36-3), which advanced to face Chapmanville in Saturday’s state final despite the struggles of No. 1 starter Logan Smith. The junior left-hander exited after just three innings having allowed eight hits and four runs.
Levi Nash didn’t fare much better for PikeView (24-6). The right-hander breaking ball pitcher surrendered six runs and recorded only seven outs after entering the game with a 10-1 record and 1.02 ERA.
PikeView (24-6) took a 4-2 lead by stringing together seven hits in the third inning, including three that dropped in shallow right field. Amid the flurry of soft singles, Austin Cordell lined a two-run hit to left.
When the underdog Panthers climbed back ahead 7-6 with a three-run fourth, it was Cordell’s RBI single that gave them the lead.
“We came out with a bang and they came out with a bang. Just a hitting battle and they outhit us,” Cordell said.
PikeView’s No. 8 and 9 hitters, Justin Hopper and Jacob Harmon, combined to bat 5-for-5, but Harmon was tagged for 10 runs (seven earned) over the final 2 1/3 innings of relief.
Fain’s ground-rule two-run double to right-center highlighted Bridgeport’s sixth-run explosion that stopped the game with two outs in the sixth.
The senior catcher, recovered from an early-season back injury, also doubled to deep left-center and ripped another extra-base hit down the left-field line. He added a two-run single and a sac-fly.
“Since we’ve moved him from the No. 7 spot to the No. 5 spot after he got healthy, it’s been a very good spot for him to drive in runs and come through with clutch hits,” Shields said. “He’s doing a fabulous job.”
PikeView coach Josh Wyatt thought his team’s three errors represented atypical sloppiness and not a sign they were intimidated in their first state tournament showing.
“I loved our plate approach. We were being aggressive, we were swinging at strikes and watching stuff that was thrown in the dirt,” he said. “I never thought the defensive side of it would be where we made the mistakes, but it bit us today.
“We didn’t make plays with two outs. If we come up with a play (on the ground ball) in the fifth inning, it’s a 7-7 ballgame. The last inning when they started stroking it, it’s tough at that point.”
Hunter Haddix (10-0) benefited from Bridgeport’s offensive surge to earn the win despite allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over three innings.