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Riders to do battle for Region 1 title

WEIRTON — It has been awhile since the Weir High Red Rider baseball team last played in the state tournament in Charleston. But now they are knocking on the door as they play host to Berkeley Springs in the West Virginia Region 1 championship playoff that begins Tuesday at Ed Bowman Field.

The first pitch is set for 5 p.m.

The Red Riders won the Class AA state championship in 2004 and returned to the state tournament the next year, but were eliminated in the semifinal game.

Head coach Jason Angle was an assistant on those teams and remembers that the 2017 Red Riders have a similar attitude going into the regional.

“These players this year understand their roles,” he said. “They are willing to do stuff they do well to be sure the team does well. There is no selfishness on this team.

“I can’t ask for anything more than what these guys are giving me.”

The 16-9 Red Riders earned the No. 2 seed in the Section 2 tournament and breezed through that event with wins over East Fairmont, Oak Glen and Fairmont Senior.

The Indians from Berkeley Springs in the Eastern Panhandle are a formidable opponent, Angle said.

Weir High and Berkley Springs will play a best of three series for the right to go to Charleston. Regardless of the outcome Tuesday, the teams will play at Berkeley Springs Wednesday and if a third game is necessary, it will be played back in Weirton on Thursday.

“Berkeley Springs have played a lot of Class AAA teams and have competed in several tournaments against teams from Maryland and Virginia as well as West Virginia,” said Angle.

The Indians ride into Weirton with a record of 15-14 winning the Region 1, Section 1 tournament after finishing the regular season at 12-13.

Angle, who said his team has been having a difficult time getting in outdoor practices and practice games because of the late afternoon rain storms during the past week. He said a game scheduled at Bowman Field with Wheeling Park was canceled literally as the Patriot team bus pulled into the parking lot.

Angle said the Red Riders are fortunate in having the turf field at Jimmy Carey Stadium and get some practice time there when Bowman Field isn’t playable. The Red Riders also have an indoor batting and pitching facility inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.

Angle said he has been on a fishing expedition the past week attempting to talk to coaches of teams that have played Berkeley Springs in hopes of getting some scouting information.

The Indians have a junior-laden team. They have only two seniors, but have 15 juniors listed on the roster along with three sophomores. Angle isn’t sure how many of the juniors and sophomores are starters.

That is in contrast to the Weir High roster, which has nine seniors and only two juniors. Angle has a couple of sophomores and three freshman who dress for the varsity.

The Red Riders are led by one of the top seniors in the state in Michael Mills. Mills was second-team all-state last year and boasts a 7-1 pitching record this year with a 2.15 earned run average. He has 87 strikeouts and only 10 walks this year.

Seniors Jacob Rosnick and Levi Mikula were honorable mention all-staters in 2016.

Angle said his hottest hitter in the final weeks of the regular season and sectional play is junior Chris Gillette, who has boosted his batting average to .424.

Angle said Mills is batting around .400 and five others have batting averages above .300.

Angle’s usual starting lineup consists of senior center fielder Donavan Spencer, who repeated at the state 100- and 200-meter track champion last weekend, Rosnick at shortstop, Gillette at second base, Mills pitching or designated hitter, senior Jordan Allen behind the plate, senior Adam Cowden at first base, Mikula in left field, junior Ryan Bodrog at second base or right field. Senior Matt Komorowski also is a part time starter and usually serves as the Red Rider pitching closer.

Angle said sophomore Reid Hoover has been getting playing time late in the season along with seniors Matt Anderson and Domenic Murphy.

Senior Cody Enrietti, who was the regular third baseman last year as a junior, has been cleared to play baseball after sitting out the basketball season and most of the baseball season rehabbing from a knee injury sustained late in the Weir High football season. With a couple of home runs in 2016, the West Liberty football recruit can add some power to the Red Rider offense coming off the bench.

The Red Riders have had a streaky season. They started the season with a 3-4 record then caught fire with a six-game winning streak.

But then they lost four in a row before beginning the current six-game winning streak and have won seven of the last eight.

Angle hopes that momentum continues.

“We are peaking at the right time,” he commented. “Our pitching staff and all players are healthy and able to go and I believe we are mentally tough from our experience in the regional last year.

“I’m confident in what we can do and I think we’re ready for Tuesday. It is always good to get that first one in the win column.”

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