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Davis hurls PHS past Woodrow Wilson, 2-0

PARKERSBURG – Junior righthander Jeff Davis hurled a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, and Rex Windland and Lucas Goodwin each singled in a run in the third inning as host Parkersburg High bested Beckley Woodrow Wilson 2-0 Saturday afternoon at City Park.

It was strictly a pitchers’ duel Saturday with only six total hits in the game along with 17 strikeouts and just four walks.

Woodrow Wilson starter Josh Rakes also twirled a complete game, but was done in by the two-run Big Red third.

In the decisive frame for PHS, now 3-4, Austin Alatorre walked with one out and stole second. An out later, Windland lined an RBI single over the second baseman’s head into right-center field, and took second on an errant throw back to the infield. Goodwin then grounded his RBI hit past the diving second sacker into right field.

Davis, who basically played JV last year, kept the Flying Eagles, playing only their third game of the season Saturday, at bay. He gave up an infield single in the first inning and another single with two outs in the top of the seventh before finishing with a strikeout to strike out the side and end the game.

He got out of a jam in the fourth with a runner on third and no outs by retiring three in a row, and another in the fifth with two on at second and third with two outs by getting a strikeout swinging.

PHS’ only other scoring opportunity came in the fifth when catcher Dustin Steele cranked a one-out double into left-center that rolled to the base of the outfield fence.With two outs, a pop fly behind second was dropped, but the Big Red courtesy runner for Steele got caught in a rundown between third and home, and was tagged out.

”Our kids played well, they really did,” said PHS head baseball coach Alan Burns. ”Jeff too stayed focused throughout, especially when they had runners on base and he got the guys out that he needed to. That’s exactly what we need out of our pitchers, instead of compounding problems already into bigger problems.”

Burns added, ”Jeff has just gotten much more mature this year as a junior, and is doing a nice job for us. The thing I really like about Jeff is that he’s a competitor. You could see that out there today. He wanted to stay in for the whole game there at the end.”

Plus, Burns was pleased as well with his team’s defense Saturday, notably since ”in our wins, we have played good defense. But in our four losses, we have committed 16 errors – and you can’t win ball games like that.”

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