CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cabell Midland posted three multi-run innings and they scored the game’s first six runs to defeat top-seeded Hurricane, 8-2 in the opening semifinal of the Mountain State Athletic Conference Tournament at GoMart Ballpark.
With the victory, the Knights (14-9) will face the winner of the second semifinal between St. Albans and Spring Valley in the title game Saturday.
Caleb Crawford and Seth Hinkle combined to limit the Redskins to just three hits. Crawford struck out six batters in four innings while Hinkle also fanned six in three innings of relief.
“Crawford really came out and stepped up today,” said Cabell Midland head coach Tracy Brumfield. “He had his off speed stuff working pretty good. He ran out of gas when he got up in the pitch count. Hinkle came in and I thought he threw the ball really well today.”
The Knights jumped on the scoreboard early, scoring one run in the first inning and three more in the second to build an early 4-0 lead.
“I think that relaxed our pitchers. Biggest point of the whole thing was getting that four-run lead early. I think that gave Crawford, who is a sophomore, some confidence and he could breathe a little easier. They are a tough team. We put four on them and I think that relaxed him a little bit.”
Cade Johnson and Braylon Wing both had multi-hit games for the Knights. Andrew Lofan drove in two runs.
Tyler Baxter, Braylon Hutchison and Brayden Dunkley collected base hits for the Redskins (15-6).
Cabell Midland needed to defeat South Charleston and Capital over the last two days just to qualify for the semifinals as the No. 4 seed. They went 6-4 in league play, earning the tie-breaker for the No. 4 spot over defending conference champion George Washington.
“We told them, ‘If we are going to be number four, we have to win out’.
“Winning the MSAC would be big for us and our team, especially with how young we are. It would be a big motivation going towards the tournament.”
In an earlier placement game, Capital defeated Parkersburg South, 9-7.