Gallery by Tina Laney
After battling the past 10 days, the postseason future for the Beckley and Sophia Minor (8-10) All-Stars came down to one game.
Monday night’s winner would advance the championship game Tuesday night against Shady Spring, while the season would come to an end for the team on the opposite side of the scoreboard.
Adding more drama to the Raleigh County showdown was the fact that the winning team was guaranteed a spot in the W.Va. State Little League Tournament starting July 5.
Scoring three runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth, Beckley held off a late push from Sophia for a thrilling 7-5 win.
The first three frames were scoreless mainly due to stellar pitching and great defensive plays.
Both teams snapped the drought in the fourth.
Back-to-back singles from Grayson Yoke and Jacoby Shea started a three-run inning for Beckley.
Following a hit batsman with one out, Yoke scored on a wild pitch before Grayson Avancini singled home Shea for a 2-0 lead. Maddox Farr then capped the outburst with an RBI-single.
Sophia responded quickly in the bottom of the frame.
Singles by Luke Redden, Josiah Sizemore and Luke Price, along with a couple of Beckley errors staked Sophia to a 4-3 lead, but is was short lived.
Undaunted by the turn of events, Beckley went back to work in the top of the fifth inning.
Gage Reynolds opened with a single before Grayson Shea worked a one-out walk. Both runners then moved up one base on a single from Cooper James bringing the hot-hitting Yoke to the plate.
After Reynolds scored on a wild pitch, Yoke collected his third hit of the night to give Beckley a lead it never relinquished.
Before Sophia could get out of the inning, Beckley added two more runs for a 7-4 advantage.
Sophia made one last push in the bottom of the sixth when it scored one run and moved two runners into scoring position with just one out.
Yoke never wavered under the late-game pressure, earning the complete game win with a strikeout and a ground out to end the game.
Farr and Avancini each had two hits and an RBI for Beckley, while Sizemore and Price had two apiece for Sophia.
Beckley and Shady Spring meet Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Shady needs one win for the District title, while Beckley will need to win twice to be District champions.
