Post 15 sweeps twinbill from Ceredo-Kenova
PARKERSBURG–Parkersburg Post 15 has been through a tiring part of its schedule, as a Tuesday evening doubleheader at Bennett Stump Field marked eight games in the last four days.
Luckily for the battle-tested group, winning fixes everything. Ceredo-Kenova Post 93 found that out the hard way.
In the first of the two contests, Post 15 looked for a quick knockout blow and got it by punishing Post 93 in a 10-0 mercy rule victory.
The five-inning game was one in which the offense did not let up, as they scored multiple runs in each inning of action. That meant Post 15 starter Colin Bryant got plenty of run support in the lopsided affair.
The righty was efficient in his five innings, throwing 74 pitches and only allowing three Ceredo-Kenova hits. Post 15 head man Mike Goodwin talked about his pitcher’s performance after the game one victory was secured.
“It was a lot of good control,” Goodwin said. “He didn’t walk hardly anybody, and he got a lot of strikeouts.”
Goodwin was correct in that last statement, since Bryant fanned seven batters in quick fashion. With the pitching at its best, the offense clearly got the memo and went to work early.
Post 93’s Noah Lemon let up a leadoff triple to Tyler Haskins, and that served as a sign of things to come for the visiting hurler. An RBI-single served into left by Nathan Currey accounted for the game’s first run, but it seemed as though Lemon would get through the first only allowing the one run. Following two consecutive outs and an infield hit by Hayden Morris, Cullen Cutright struck out to seemingly end the threat with two men left on base.
However, Lemon’s final pitch to Cutright wasn’t caught by CK’s Elijah Dixon. The ball rumbled to the backstop, and Cutright extended the inning by reaching first.
That miscue from Dixon haunted his team, and Post 15 squeezed Lemon for two more runs in a frame which saw all nine batters make it up to the batter’s box.
Two more runs came across in the second when Morris roped a ball down the line in left for a double. Post 15 was halfway to the mercy rule win after two innings, and Goodwin praised his team in how patient they were while at the plate in this one.
“I’ve been preaching for the last three weeks about being more patient at the plate, being more selective as far as the pitches that they swing at,” Goodwin remarked. “And knock on wood, it’s showing.”
The only threat faced by Bryant was a first-and-third situation with two away in the third inning. Bryant kept his composure, however, and retired Bailey McKinney with a swinging strike to end the threat. Back-to-back RBIs from Chase Swain and Morris, who had three total in game one, spelled the end for Lemon after three innings and eight runs allowed.
Caleb Maynard came in in the following frame to try to prevent the mercy rule win, but gave up the final tallies to Broedy Boyce and Todd Burner. Though Post 15 got the doubleheader sweep, it was this dominating game one showing that set the tone.
Parkersburg won 12-0 in the nightcap, with Cutright earning the mound victory. Todd Burner and Eli Reeves drove in two runs apiece for Goodwin’s club.
Post 15, which improved to 23-15, gets a much-needed two days off before visiting Charleston Post 20 for a 6 p.m. doubleheader Friday.
Contact Josh Hughes at jhughes@newsandsentinel.com