MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown became the first team to clinch a spot in next month’s Class AAAA State Tournament by defeating Spring Mills, 11-3 in a North Region co-final. After finishing as the state runner-up last season, MHS is headed to state for the third consecutive season.
“We try to think of this as a program and not a team,” said Morgantown head coach Pat Sherald. “It is built up from the ninth grade on up, quite frankly within the community. We have a great baseball community here. Obviously, at Morgantown High School, we are trying to continue to build every year. I feel like every year, we keep stacking a little better and we keep growing as a program.”
Victories over Wheeling Park (5-0) and Spring Mills on consecutive days allowed MHS to secure one of the four state tournament spots available in the North Region Tournament. George Washington also clinched a spot in the state tourney from the South Region later on Wednesday.
“We play one of the toughest schedules in the state. That’s by design. These guys have a lot of confidence when they come into these types of atmospheres. They have been put into pressure so they are confident when we face a good team like Spring Mills, and a good team [Wheeling Park] like we saw yesterday as well.”
Morgantown jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. They sent ten batters to the plate in the opening frame. Six consecutive batters reached base in the first. Each batter in the starting lineup reached base at least once. No. 6 batter Jackson Bredeson had two hits and reached base in all four plate appearances. No. 7 batter Kane Williams drove in three runs. No. 8 batter Luca Mezzanotte and No. 9 batter Kai Henkins each drove in two runs.
“The bottom of our lineup really produced for us today. That’s one thing that is a plus with this team, we are athletic 1-through-9. Then we can also have some really good, quality at bats. If the top of the lineup is not producing quite as much, the bottom of the lineup can come through for you. Kai Henkins has had a really good regional series for us.”
WVU signee Slade Barton started on the mound for Morgantown. He pitched 3.1 innings before leaving the game due to injury. Barton allowed three hits.
“It was very precautionary. He had really good stuff in the beginning innings. With a high-caliber arm, we just wanted to be a little bit cautious.”
Bredeson entered the game and recorded the final 11 outs for Morgantown. Spring Mills scored three runs in the fourth inning but Bredeson posted scoreless frames in the final three innings.
“[Bredeson] has had to do that a couple times for us this year. Obviously, he’s a really good arm for us. He’s extremely versatile. If we had to name an MVP of the game, I think it is definitely Jackson Bredeson for us.”
Jake Anderson homered for Spring Mills (17-13) while Kheelan Curry and Suko Mills added run-scoring singles for the Cardinals. They remain alive in the North Region Tournament.
Morgantown (27-5) will begin play at the state tournament in 21 days.
“We’re going to enjoy this today. We’ll get a little bit of rest and then we’ll be back to work. We have two extra games we can play. We didn’t max out at 32. So we can pick up two games between now and then. The results are great but we have a lot of things we can continue to work on.”