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Swain pitches Parkersburg Post 15 past Athens Post 21

Photo by Steve Hemmelgarn Parkersburg Post 15 shortstop Broedy Boyce (12) throws the ball to first as Athens Post 21’s Kaleb Hill slides into second during an American Legion baseball game Wednesday at Bennett Stump Field. Post 15’s Remy Boyce, right, looks on.

PARKERSBURG — Chase Swain hurled a five-hit complete game and host Parkersburg Post 15 scored the first six runs en route to a 6-2 American Legion baseball win over Athens Post 21 in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday evening at City Park.

The win gave Post 15 a 3-2 record going into Wednesday’s twinbill nightcap, that Parkersburg won too by a 7-5 margin over Post 21 to gain a sweep to go 4-2.

In the opener, Swain gave up three hits in the first two innings, but none again until the sixth inning. In between, he faced just 10 batters in three innings as his teammates tallied four runs in the fourth and another in the fifth frame to expand only a 1-0 lead to 6-0.

Plus, defense helped Swain along the way early with key double plays in the first and fourth innings and catcher Andrew Anglin throwing out an Athens base-runner trying to steal second.

The twin killing in the first frame saw right fielder Jack Hadley grab a line shot by charging in and sliding on his knees, then throwing to first base for the other out.

Post 15 got on the board first in second inning on a wild pitch, then tacked on a 4-spot in the decisive fourth, despite a major injury.

Max Anderson leading off tripled into the deepest part of the park up the alley in left-center field. But when he went to slide into third base, he jammed or twisted his ankle and had to be helped off the field and an inning later was helped out of the park on one foot by his dad and Post 15 assistant coach Jeff Thompson to get an X-ray and have him checked out.

Anderson’s teammates, though, continued what he had started in the inning as they went on score four runs on an Anglin sacrifice fly, a two-RBI double by Hadley and another run on a single off the bat of Broedy Boyce, before Bradan Mullenix singled in Post 15’s final tally in the fifth.

Athens closed the last gap to 6-2 with runs in the sixth and seventh on an error and a Christian Mattox double.

“That was a big four-run fourth inning for us,” said Post 15 manager Mike Goodwin. “But first of all, Chase (Swain) was efficient on the mound. He got us some ground balls, he pitched strikes and he hardly walked anybody.”

Goodwin added too that “Jack Hadley made a couple good plays in right, but that one in the first was huge,” and noted too “that as the game progressed, Chase got more comfortable. So I was happy with the offense, but sick about Max Anderson.”

In game 2, Hadley was the winner with 2.1 innings in relief of starter Jordan Batten.

Post 15 hitting leaders in the nightcap were Hunter Thompson, 2-4 with two RBIs; Swain, 2-3 with a double; and Anglin, 2-4 with four RBIs.

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