HURRICANE, W.Va. — During the home half of the eighth inning in Wednesday’s Class AAA showdown between No. 4 Hurricane and No. 6 St. Albans, the Redskins failed to score after loading the bases with no outs.
As a result, the early-season Mountain State Athletic Conference showdown went to a ninth inning tied at 1, and after Hurricane’s Dylan Bell pitched his fourth scoreless inning in relief, he ensured history wouldn’t repeat itself by connecting for a one-out single that scored Caden Johnson with the winning run, giving the Redskins a 2-1 nine-inning victory over the Red Dragons.
“They pitched a whale of a game and they’re a good team,” Hurricane head coach Brian Sutphin said. “Our guys threw well, too, and we made plays when we needed them. We just didn’t swing the bats, but I have faith in those guys. They’ll come through.”
Hurricane (6-2) struggled to solve St. Albans (5-2) starting pitcher Garrett Comer for much of the contest, though Bell’s sixth-inning single with two outs enabled courtesy runner Jackson Harris to score the tying run.
After Bell struck out Tristan Harless with the go-ahead run at second to end the visiting half of the seventh inning, HHS had a prime opportunity to win when Adrik Allie’s double and a pair of walks allowed the Redskins to load the bases. But Comer never wavered and instead induced a fly ball to center field off the bat of Owen Gress to send the game to extra innings.
“He pitched really well and he competed at a high level,” St. Albans head coach Rick Whitman said.
Bell tossed a scoreless eighth and the Redskins got a leadoff single from Braden Sloan, which combined with walks drawn by Bell and Payton Ocheltree, loaded the bases against relief pitcher Gavin Comer before he recorded an out.
But the freshman refused to give in and after striking out Evan Stover for the first out, he did the same to Allie, sending leadoff batter Damian Witty to the plate. Comer induced a ground ball to second from Witty to end the threat and move the game to the ninth.
“Gavin was struggling with his command, but for a freshman to get out of that, it was great to see,” Whitman said.
Bell worked around issuing a ninth-inning walk and struck out three batters to put Hurricane in position where it could win by scoring.
Johnson worked a walk and stole second, and Tyson Skinner was issued a base-on-balls as the first two batters of the inning reached. Following a successful sacrifice bunt from Gress, Bell connected for a solid single to right-center that allowed Johnson to touch the plate.
“To our credit, they kept battling and getting in those positions. At the end of the day, we’re still in March and it’s tough to be patient, but baseball takes some time,” Sutphin said. “They’re still in the growth process.”
FINAL: Hurricane 2, St. Albans 1 (9 innings)
Dylan Bell wins it for Hurricane (6-2) with this RBI single in 9th inning. Red Dragons fall to 5-2. #wvprepbase pic.twitter.com/bfCfx0jlGw
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 30, 2023
St. Albans struck first in the third when Harless belted a one-out double to left-center that brought Tyler Richardson home for what proved to be the Red Dragons’ only run. That came off Hurricane starting pitcher Weston Smith, who logged five quality innings and surrendered just the one run on three hits. He struck out four and walked a pair.
“He was great. He just kept competing and he’s gotten better every outing so we’re looking forward to more of that,” Sutphin said.
The Redskins put two runners on to start their half of the third courtesy of a Stover single and a Red Dragons’ error, but they ultimately stranded both runners in scoring position.
Bell finished 3-for-4 and drove in both of his team’s runs. He also struck out nine and allowed two hits over four scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
“He was everything,” Sutphin said. “We certainly have a lot of faith in him and know what he’s capable of and he proved it tonight stepping up in big situations on the mound and at the plate.”
Garrett Comer logged seven innings and allowed five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in a no decision.
Ayden Youngblood had three of the Red Dragons’ five hits in what marked their second straight setback following a 5-0 start.
“We haven’t hit this week like we had been,” Whitman said. “Had some chances, but it’s tough to beat a good team when you only have one hit with guys in scoring position. We’ll get back to it.”