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BECKLEY - Defensive miscues came back to haunt Parkersburg Post 15 and possibly extend the West Virginia American Legion State Tournament to a winner-take-all matchup between Parkersburg and Wheeling Post 1.
Monday afternoon at Linda K. Erling Stadium, Wheeling took advantage of four Parkersburg errors, including three in one inning, and captured its third straight state tournament title with an 11-8 win.
Wheeling, which went through the double-elimination bracket unscathed, advances to the Mid-Atlantic Region in Cherryville, N.C. and meets the state champion from North Carolina in the opening round on Aug. 5.
Needing two wins on Monday, Parkersburg broke through first with a four-run second inning. Cooper Cancade, Wyatt Boice and Peyton West all scored on a sequence which began with a bases-loaded single by No. 9 hitter Seth Menarchek.
Wheeling responded in its half of the second inning, scoring six runs and knocking out Post 15 starting pitcher Bronson LInville after a four-out performance.
Parkersburg tied the game at 6 in the third inning on Boice's RBI ground out and a two-out single from Peyton West.
Post 15 reliever Mason Boice allowed five runs on three hits in the third inning. Parkersburg gave Wheeling extra outs by committing three errors in the frame. Boice kept Parkersburg in the chase by finishing off the final 14 outs. He retired 10 of the last 13 batters he faced.
Post 15 pecked away at the deficit with single runs in both the fourth and fifth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from both Cam Cumpston and CJ McCartney.
Wheeling starting pitcher Jake Brown threw the first three innings and Brady Ernest allowed two runs on four hits over the final four innings to earn the win.From staff reports
SUNDAY
Parkersburg 11,
Berkeley 0
After dropping their tournament opener, Parkersburg Post 15 took care of business winning three games in the losers bracket and became one of two teams remaining in the field at the West Virginia American Legion State Tournament.
On Sunday at Linda K. Epling Stadium, Parkersburg was able to store innings for Monday's championship round matchup with Wheeling Post 1 after defeating Berkeley Post 14, 11-0 in five innings.
Against Berkeley, Post 15 starting pitcher Wyatt Boice pitched a complete game, allowing just four singles and a pair of walks.
Boice had plenty of support from the offensive side from multiple bats, including Peyton West going 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs.
Parkersburg scored its first one in the top of the second inning then tacked on three more runs in the third inning thanks to Cooper Cancade's two-run single and an Eli Davis sacrifice fly.
Post 15 pulled away to a comfortable 10-0 advantage with six runs in the fourth inning.
Parkersburg knocked out Berkeley starting pitcher Jacob Cumley after 2 ½ innings. The win avenged an 8-4 loss in the opening round of the tournament last Thursday.
Parkersburg needs to defeat Wheeling twice on Monday. First pitch for Game 1 is 1 p.m.
West Virginia American Legion
State Tournament
At Beckley
Parkersburg 11, Berkeley 0
Parkersburg 013 61 - 11 8 1
Berkeley 000 00 - 0 4 4
WP: W. Boice 5.0IP 4H 0R 0ER 2BB 0SO
LP: Cumley 2.1IP 3H 3R 3ER 2BB 4SO
Dupree 0.2IP 2H 4R 3ER 3BB 0SO
Derrick 2.0IP 3H 4R 3ER 2BB 1SO
HItting Leaders
Parkersburg Post 15: McCartney 1-2, run; Miller 1-2, 2 RBIs; Cumpston 1-3, 2 runs, RBI; Cancade 1-3, 2 runs; Davis 1-1, 2 runs, RBI; W. Boice 1-2, run, RBI; West 2-3, 3 RBIs; Linville run, Menarchek run, Hudkins run
Berkeley Post 14: Healey 2-3; McClintok 1-3, 2B; Brown 1-1