MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Moorefield senior Hadyen Baldwin pitched a two-hitter and drove in three runs as the Yellow Jackets blanked Petersburg, 4-0 Monday night at George Hott Field.
Baldwin averaged just over ten pitches per inning in a complete game victory. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Baldwin faced just two batters over the minimum.
“His changeup was working great,” said Moorefield head coach Wade Armentrout. “He had them off balance all night. A lot of the popups were because of his changeup. He didn’t have many strikeouts so he let us field the ball. He was very efficient. I think he only threw 80 pitches.”
Petersburg starting pitcher Johnathan Mallow took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. But with two outs, five consecutive batters reached base for MHS. With the bases loaded, Baldwin doubled off the fence in left center, sending three Jackets home. Five pitches later, Matthew Jenkins beat out an infield single, scoring a fourth run in the inning.
“We knew we were going to have some good at bats if we would just hang in long enough. These guys are good hitters.”
Mallow went the distance for the Vikings. He allowed four hits and struck out six batters.
No. 1 Moorefield improved to 8-4 with the victory. Armentrout says his two-time defending Class A state champions will be tested by a challenging schedule this week.
“We certainly haven’t peaked yet. We have had some really good flashes of playing very, very well. And we have had some times when we didn’t look very good. I think this week is a really big week for us. We go to Pendleton County and then play Musselman. And then we have two games with Tygarts Valley. I think the more we play this week, we are going to see a big difference.”