PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Philip Barbour senior Kale Wolfe encountered some early trouble Tuesday against Grafton.
It was how Wolfe responded to adversity, late, however, that made all the difference in the Colts’ 5-3 victory.
Trailing by two runs in the top of the sixth inning, the Bearcats (3-3) got a leadoff walk from Chace Kinsey, which was directly followed by Grant Murphy’s single.
Both baserunners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Wolfe struck out Jacob Moats and John Gouzd consecutively, before inducing an inning-ending fly ball to right field off the bat of Hunter McQuain.
“That’s what we expect out of him. The first three innings, I felt like he kind of nibbled around the zone and tried to make the perfect pitch rather than go right at them,” Colts’ coach Jonathon Carpenter said. “Once he got a lead, that flipped a switch that I’m going to go right at them now. They threatened us in the sixth getting guys on with nobody out, but he settled back in. He’s a first-team all-state kid for a reason.”
Wolfe wrapped up the complete game in the seventh with a pair of fly ball outs and his 10th strikeout that marked the first time he retired Grafton leadoff hitter Cam Gray in four tries.
FINAL: Philip Barbour 5, Grafton 3
Colts (4-1) got a complete game with 10 strikeouts from Kale Wolfe.
Bearcats fall to 3-3.
PB scored all its runs in 3rd and all but one run in game came in that inning. #wvprepbase pic.twitter.com/iZ61xA09ng
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 31, 2026
“When it comes down to it, if you want to be a good team on the road in a close game, you have to execute and do some little things right, and there were a couple times we had opportunities to execute and didn’t,” Bearcats’ coach John Gouzd said. “Second and third, nobody out, two ground balls up the middle and it’s a tie game. We couldn’t get the ball in play. Now, that’s a heck of a pitcher and you could kind of see it from Kale as he got going. If you don’t get a good pitcher early, you’re not going to get him. You could see in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, he started getting stronger.”
Gray led off the matchup with a double and scored moments later on a Greyson Ramezan single that could and perhaps should have been caught.
The Bearcats added to their advantage in the third after loading the bases with no outs when Kinsey sent a ground ball to shortstop that resulted in the first out, but brought home JW Nestor as well as an alert Gray, who came charging to the plate all the way from second base.
But Philip Barbour (4-1) generated all of its offense in the home half of the third to change the course of the contest.
Slaton Harris led off with a single, Landyn Carpenter followed with a base-on-balls and Anthony Mosesso ripped a single to left that scored Harris for the Colts’ first run.
After Kent Rowan was plunked to load the bases, Robbie Jones roped a two-run double to left that tied the game at 3.
“They have a very quality team and this is a team that is going to compete on the Double-A level in the state tournament,” coach Gouzd said.
Parker Fincham followed with a two-run single to left that gave the Colts their first lead.
“We feel like we’re talented enough that you’re going to have to go through our lineup three or four times, and we hit it well enough that one big inning can be the difference in the game,” coach Carpenter said. “We try to be aggressive, but at the same time you have to be passive. It sounds like a contradiction, but that’s baseball in a nutshell. You have to use your mind and trust the physical traits you’ve played with since you were 3 or 4 years old.”
At that point, Gouzd was lifted from the mound in favor of Ramezan, who escaped a bases loaded, one-out jam to keep his team’s deficit at two through three frames.
But Wolfe retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts in the fourth and struck out two more in the fifth, while working around Gray’s two-out single.
He went the distance and struck out 10, allowing five hits, including two over the final four innings. Wolfe walked four.
“He did a good job of No. 1, getting ahead,” coach Carpenter said. “He did a good job also of mixing his pitches. They never really got comfortable. I know they scored three, but they couldn’t just automatically know it’s a 2-0 fastball. Maybe it’s a slider or changeup. He did a good job of making them think, which is part of his game anyway because he can throw so many pitches.”
Gray was 3-for-4 and the only player in the game with more than one hit.
“These games are more beneficial than an 11-1 game. You don’t ever want to lose and we play to win every game, but competitive games are what helps you with emotions and confidence,” coach Carpenter said. “We’re going to build on this for sure, but at the same time, we’re going to keep working.”
Gouzd allowed five of Philip Barbour’s six hits over two-plus innings.
Ramezan struck out five, walked two and allowed one hit over four stellar innings in relief.
“They had all the momentum and it had a chance to get out of hand if we don’t have someone come in and slam the door,” coach Gouzd said. “He did a tremendous job.”