Parkersburg Post 15 draws Berkeley in 1st round
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PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg Post 15 manager Mike Goodwin is impressed by what his first-round opponent at this week's West Virginia State American Legion Baseball Tournament bring to the table.
His Post 15 ballclub hasn't performed too shabby either.
The state field of six teams embark on Morgantown for a chance to advance to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, which will be located right back in Morgantown.
Post 15 and an outfit from Berkeley County open the state tournament at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams met twice in Morgantown early in the season. Both games resulted in losses for Post 15 (11-3 and 11-7)
"Berkeley is probably the strongest team we have faced all year, so we will have our hands full," Goodwin said. "What makes them strong -- they have a lot of older kids who can hit the ball and their pitching was excellent.
"We've played about 28 games since those meetings. At the time, we were trying to come together as a unit. So I feel we are a stronger team at this stage of the year."
Post 15 , which carries a 29-6 record into the state tournament, received stellar pitching while sweeping the winner's bracket with three straight wins, including two straight over Wheeling Post 1.
"Our pitching and defense was solid at the Area Tournament," Goodwin said. "Offensively, I was not as happy with what we did offensively. You look at the two games with Wheeling and out of 12 innings (at the plate), we scored in three innings. Looking at the boxscore, that's a point of concern for me. Actually, that the biggest concern.
Pitching-wise, I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Post 15 plans to start Andrew Manley, who upped his record to 10-0 in a 4-3 win over Wheeling last week at the Area 1 Tournament. The state field also includes South Charleston and Bridgeport hooking up at 4 p.m. followed by tournament host Morgantown Post 2 opposing Buckhannon at 7 p.m.
Post 15 is seeking to return to the regional level for the first time since 2018.
"It will be a quick turnaround, but there is a pro performance building at Mylan Park where the kids can work out when we arrive (on Monday). Morgantown has first class facilities and batting cages so we can knock off any rust from the two or three days of not playing."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com