NUTTER FORT, W.Va. — Robert C. Byrd baseball coach Derek Bowen felt he had no choice but to make a pitching change.
Not even Bowen could’ve envisioned how well it would work out.
With the Eagles trailing Buckhannon-Upshur 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning and the Buccaneers threatening to break the game wide open, Bowen brought Owen O’Mara on in relief of starting pitcher Xavier Carvelli.
O’Mara entered with the bases loaded and no outs, limited the Buccaneers to one run in that inning and held them scoreless the rest of the way, allowing the Eagles to rally for a 5-4 victory on a chilly Tuesday night at Frank Loria Field.
“Owen shut the door. He was mixing his pitches well, controlling the zone and was in control on the mound,” Bowen said. “Owen was big for us.”
After striking out Dawson Tenney for the first out of the fourth, a Brody McDaniels sacrifice fly gave Buckhannon-Upshur (2-3) the 4-0 advantage.
It proved to be the Buccaneers’ last run, and after they stranded a pair of baserunners that inning, the Eagles (4-1) got even in the home half of the fourth.
B-U starting pitcher Jaxon Spratt did not allow a baserunner through three innings, but encountered trouble in the fourth after Cooper Floyd led off with a single and Carveli followed with a base-on-balls. A double steal put both in scoring position, and Ashton Shaffer delivered a two-run triple to left field that cut the RCB deficit in half.
“In the beginning of the game, we hit the ball hard and just couldn’t find holes,” Bowen said. “I told the kids keep plugging away. We had that one big inning. Ashton Shaffer had a big hit and we were able to capitalize. The kids battled and I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
After Saverio Destito drew a walk, Spratt was removed from the mound in favor of Jerin Westfall.
With Westfall pitching, Shaffer scored on a wild pitch, and during that sequence, a throw to third sailed into left field, allowing courtesy runner James Bennett to plate the tying run.
Westfall retired three of the next four batters with a pair of strikeouts to prevent B-U from falling behind at that point, but the damage had been done.
“That really took the wind out of our sails,” Buccaneers’ head coach Adam Squires said. “If we make routine plays, we’re right where we need to be in the game.”
With momentum on RCB’s side, O’Mara retired B-U in order in the fifth.
When he came back out to pitch the sixth, the right-handed junior did so with the benefit of a lead as the Eagles went in front for the first time in the home half of the fifth after Floyd was hit by a pitch and scored from third on a two-out error.
Westfall led off the sixth with a single, but was caught stealing second. That proved quite costly when Jevon Westfall followed with a triple, but was stranded at third after O’Mara struck out consecutive batters to end the threat.
“He did a good job of mixing the pace up,” Squires said. “He would quick pitch, then he’d slow down and take his time and be a little more deliberate. He threw strikes. That’s what you have to do. He kept us off balance.”
Mid 6: RCB 5, Buckhannon-Upshur 4
O’Mara strikes out Kesling with tying run at third to end Bucs’ half of sixth. #wvprepbase pic.twitter.com/vGDRsIEew4
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) April 2, 2025
With the Eagles still leading by one run to start the seventh, O’Mara retired the top of the Buccaneer lineup in order, inducting a pair of fly ball outs and then a ground ball to short off the bat of No. 3 hitter Landon Marple for the game’s final out.
O’Mara struck out four, allowed two hits and did not issue a walk while recording the win with four scoreless frames.
“He’s gritty. He’s a bulldog and he’s going to fight for us,” Bowen said. “He did a heck of a job.”
Marple’s run-scoring triple in the first inning gave B-U an early lead, and the visitors doubled it moments later when Marple scored from third after Spratt struck out and Destito, the catcher, was forced to throw to first to complete the out.
After reaching on an error in the third, Marple stole third and scored on a separate throwing error.
RCB largely cleaned up its defense from that point forward and prevailed in a game with seven hits between the two teams.
“Both of our guys pitched well enough to win,” Squires said. “We just have to get more support at the plate.”