Gallery by Tina Laney
Beckley – Beckley Middle scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, never relinquishing its lead in a 6-2 victory against Independence Middle in the Raleigh County Championship Game Thursday evening at Epling Stadium.
Brady Williams handcuffed the Patriots for 4.2 innings, yielding just three hits without giving up an earned run, striking out six before giving way to Tyler Wilhite.
The two also led the Beckley attack on offense collecting two hits each with Williams and Chance Moore collecting two RBIs each.
Williams’ double in the first inning was the equalizer for the Flying Eagles after Wilhite singled and Austin Long was ht by a pitch. Advancing to third on the double, Long broke the tie when a wild pitch got away from Indy allowing him to score.
A similar sequence occurred in the decisive fifth inning when Wihite was walked to open the bottom of the frame, Long was hit again and Williams smacked another double to score Wilhite. Moore struck again with a single that scored the final two runs of the game.
Hunter Milam, Carter Hajash and Hunter Austin accounted for Indy’s three runs of the evening in the loss.