Listen Now: Morning News

Bridgeport strikes early, holds off Morgantown 5-2 for Class AAA Region I title

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Morgantown wasn’t without opportunities Tuesday as the Mohigans tried to prolong their season at Bridgeport in the second game of the Class AAA Region I series.

Yet Indians’ starting pitcher Ben McDougal, who battled a lack of command for a large portion of his outing, held the Mohigans in check by coming up with key pitches when they were most needed. In turn, McDougal held MHS to two runs over five innings before giving way to Austin Mann, who tossed a pair of scoreless frames to secure Bridgeport’s 5-2 victory that gives the Tribe a regional championship and a spot in next week’s Class AAA state tournament.

“It never gets old. These kids deserve it,” BHS coach Robert Shields said. “They’ve worked really hard playing the amount of games that we’ve played. I know we do some things that we have to keep working at, but we have time to do that before we get there now. I’m so proud of them.”

Bridgeport (34-5) is now within two wins of an eighth consecutive state championship as it became the first Class AAA school to secure its trip to Charleston next week.

One night after producing all of its offense in the seventh inning of a 5-1 win over the Mohigans (20-10) in the regional opener, the Indians fell behind early in Game 2 on their home field.

Aaron Jamison was hit by a pitch and after stealing second, Jamison scored on Ryan Fluharty’s single to left. Fluharty eventually got to third, but was stranded there.

When the Tribe came to bat in the home half of the first, Morgantown starting pitcher Maddox Bowers struggled to find the strike zone. Aidan Paulsen and Cam Cole each drew a walk and got into scoring position on McDougal’s sacrifice bunt, before Anthony Dixon was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Maddox then issued a free pass to Chris Harbert that tied the game at 1, and it marked the end of his outing on the mound. He was replaced by Aiden Frombach, who yielded consecutive run-scoring singles to Zach Rohrig and Phil Reed that gave BHS a 3-1 lead. Harbert scored the fourth and final run of the opening inning on Drew Bailey’s fielder’s choice that ultimately became an inning-ending double play with the final out at the plate.

“We got on them and answered the call, which we were supposed to do with them getting that run in the first inning,” Shields said.

Still faced with a 4-1 deficit in the third, Morgantown got a Jacob Kennell single, along with a hit batsman and walk to load the bases with one out. McDougal found his control just in time, striking out Caleb Cottle and Jeffrey Poach to escape the threat unscathed.

“He just had to regroup. I told him to clear his thoughts and start using his back leg,” Shields said. “It looked like he was trying to pinpoint where he was throwing versus winding up and throwing how he’s supposed to in order to hit his spots. I’ve seen him have better outings but he did fight to get out of some jams.”

Bridgeport answered with another run in the home half of the third, using Bailey’s two-out single to score Rohrig, who had singled and stole second base.

The four-run advantage held up until the fifth when Fluharty’s double off the right field fence scored Jamison. After Cottle drew a walk, the Mohigans had two in scoring position with two outs, but McDougal struck out Ty Galusky on his final pitch to maintain Bridgeport’s three-run lead.

“We gave up the big-run inning in the first inning, which you see all the time in baseball. We couldn’t come back from it. We definitely had opportunities,” MHS coach Pat Sherald said. “We just didn’t capitalize with runners in scoring position. If we don’t even put balls in play with runners in scoring position, it’s tough for us to win.”

Mann took over as Bridgeport’s pitcher to start the sixth and was greeted by a single off the bat of Weston Mazey. He retired the next three batters and made it five straight to start the seventh, before working around a two-out error and inducing a game-ending pop out to right from Poach.

McDougal struck out seven, walked four and allowed four hits in five innings.

“He lived off his fastball in key situations with runners in scoring position,” Sherald said. “We just didn’t catch up to the fastball. He was effectively wild and his wildness gave us some opportunities, but he was able to work out of jams. That’s a complete credit to him and his ability to compete and work out of those jams.”

Mann had a pair of strikeouts and allowed one hit while recording the save.

Rohrig had two of the Tribe’s six hits.

“I didn’t have anybody that I felt comfortable with in the six hole that could run and be behind the type of guys that we have,” Shields said. “He’s fulfilled that spot very well.”

Fluharty paced the Mohigans’ offensively with two of their five hits.

Frombach threw 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one run after taking over for Bowers, who suffered the loss. Frombach had a pair of strikeouts and did not issue a base-on-balls.

“He pitched an outstanding game and gave us a chance to win,” Sherald said. “He was put in that situation time after time and excelled in holding the other team down and giving us a chance to win.”





More Sports

Sports
Beanie Bishop posts top 40-yard dash time at Big 12 Pro Day
March 29, 2024 - 1:21 am
Sports
Herbert Hoover improves to 10-0 with 2-1 win over Hurricane
The Huskies collected a pair of victories Thursday in the Guard the Capital Invitational in Charleston.
March 29, 2024 - 12:51 am
Sports
Independence bests Wahama, 10-2 in the Guard the Capital Tournament
March 28, 2024 - 9:03 pm
Sports
Photo gallery: University defeats Bridgeport, 12-3
March 28, 2024 - 6:24 pm