Shady Spring head coach John Winkler had this to say after the game one win against Summersville in the 8-10 All-Star Baseball State Tournament played at Sophia Little League Park.
“We have to a little better job of staying focused and finishing the game when we have the upper hand.”
Sunday afternoon in game two of the tournament against Shinnston, Shady Spring was all gas and no breaks.
Scoring eight runs in the first inning, Shady Spring rolled past its Harrison County foe, 24-11 in four innings.
“They kept their foot on the gas pedal today after we jumped out to the early lead,” Winkler said. “In the last game and in the District (tournament), we would get a lead and maybe sleep on it a little bit. Today we didn’t. We always say, what do Tigers do, Tigers hunt. We tried to keep that mentality today. We wanted to keep getting more.”
Shinnston tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, but Shady plated four more runs in the second to keep Shinnston chasing the deficit.
Leading 12-4 heading to the third inning, Shady Spring added a single run thanks to an error on a fly ball from Cohen Thomas.
Shinnston was then on the cusp of escaping any further damage before Shady scored five more runs with two outs. Doubles from Park Winkler and Jude Bailey accounted for four of the runs in the outburst.
In desperate need of runs, Shinnston kept its hopes alive with seven runs in the bottom of the third, but really had no answers for Shady’s speed and red-hot bats.
“We want to run bases. Even as good as these kids are, it is hard to make plays. That is a phenomenal team we played, but it is hard to make plays with kids running at you,” Winkler said. “We try to make them make plays and use our athleticism because we have some speed.”
The knockout blow came in the fourth inning when Shady Spring scored six more runs to put the game out of reach.
Thomas provided the biggest blow smacking a double with the bases loaded to clear the sacks before scoring himself on a throwing error.
Thomas had two doubles in the game and led the team with six RBI. Bailey was also a nemesis for Shinnston going 4-for-4 and driving in five runs.
“That is the team that we are used to seeing. We came out today with the bats early and often,” Winkler said. “These guys hit and that is what we pride ourselves on. That is what we work on a lot. Everybody on the team hits and we hit the ball hard. That showed today.”
Cash Boggs added two hits to Shady’s 14-hit attack and scored three times.
One of the biggest benefits of the win for Shady Spring Sunday is a day off. Shady is back in action Tuesday when it plays Jefferson at 6 p.m.
“The win gives us tomorrow off which we were concerned about,” Winkler said. “One of our really good pitchers was gone this weekend, but we knew we would have him Monday. This way we have everybody available to go Tuesday. The way the games have played out so far, it has been to our favor.”
Mullens was not so fortunate on day two, dropping a 10-2 decision to Barboursville which is yet to drop a game in the postseason. Barboursville jumped out to a 5-0 lead and iced the game by adding four runs in the home half of the fifth inning.
Greysen Bennett paced Barboursville with two doubles and two RBI. Peyton Smith and Jaxson Critchley collected two hits each with Smith driving in two runs and Critchley one.
Cam McBride had two hits for Mullens and Mason Blankenship had an RBI.
Mullens will now play Charleston Central at 8 p.m. Monday in an elimination game.
Beckley staved off elimination with a 13-3 win over Tygarts Valley in four innings. Maddox Farr smacked two doubles and drove in three runs to pace Beckley who will now play Bridgeport Monday at 6 p.m.
Grayson Yoke and Jacoby Shea each had two RBI for Beckley, while Greyson Shea and Kasen Spangler added one RBI apiece.
