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Weir High wins 3-2 thriller

WELLSBURG — Weir High junior Chris Gillette ripped a two-out single past diving Berkeley Springs shortstop Andrew Butts with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Cody Enrietti from third and send the Red Riders to their first Class AA state baseball tournament appearance since 2005.

The walk-off hit gave the Red Riders a thrilling come from behind 3-2 victory. The win gives Weir High the Region 1 crown and propels them into the state’s final four in Class AA. The state tournament is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Charleston.

The game was played Friday night at the Brooke High School field because rains during the week made Ed Bowman Field, Weir High’s home field, unplayable.

“I just wanted to get the job done any way I could,” said Gillette, who is batting over .400 for the season. “I wanted to get up there and hit. It was a fastball right on the inside of the plate where I wanted it. I got a walk-off hit over the center fielder’s head against Union Local during the season.”

The Red Riders easily handled the Indians in the first game of the best of three series with a 13-0 mercy rule victory at Ed Bowman Field in Weirton last Tuesday. However, the Indians turned the table on the Red Riders on their home field with a 7-3 win last Wednesday.

Red Rider senior Michael Mills fired a four-hitter allowing single runs in the second and fifth innings. The Indians run in the fifth tied the game at 2-2.

“I really don’t have a whole lot of words to express what I feel about this group right now,” said victorious Red Rider coach, Jason Angle.

“When I took this job four years ago these guys were freshmen and I told them we’re not only going to do the things we can do to get to Charleston, but to win the state championship.

“Michael had his good stuff again today and we had a lot of defense. I thought our outfield was the best outfield play we’ve had all year.

“They bats came alive, but a couple of times I thought we were a little impatient when we had a chance to get the lead early on, but we kept the focus, kept our composure and got it done in the end.”

The bottom of the seventh started with Enrietti getting a hard-hit single between third and shortstop. Junior Ryan Bodrog put down a sacrifice bunt to move him to second.

That brought to the plate hot-hitting senior center fielder Donavan Spencer, who had two singles and a double in his previous three plate appearances. Berkeley Springs coach, Les Morris, ordered an intentional pass to Spencer, whose run meant nothing.

Senior Jake Rosnick worked Indians junior pitcher, Michael Hovermale for a free pass loading the bases. Mills followed with a pop up to the second baseman for the second out.

That brought Gillette to the dish and he delivered and smash past diving Berkeley Springs shortstop Andrew Butts on a 0-2 fastball as Enrietti trotted home with the winning run.

“I told you last Tuesday that it wasn’t normal for us to play like we did that day,” Morris said after the game. “Those boys played really well Wednesday and we were able to locate our pitches today.

“I knew Hovermale was upset last Tuesday when he hung a couple of curve balls in the first inning. His confidence went down and they hit a couple of pitches. He has pitched well all year and that was the only time he was pulled like that this season.

“I knew that his low pitch count would make him available either on Wednesday or today and that worked out well for us.

“Last Tuesday we put the ball in play, but tonight we hit the ball hard. In the first and second inning, we hit a couple of balls that they (Weir) made nice plays. That could have changed the outcome of the whole game right there because we would have scored runs if those ball had got by them. Those boys made two nice plays.”

The web gems were turned in on two diving shoestring catches by right fielder, Matt Komorowski on the first batter of the game and Spencer in center field to end the second inning.

The Indians scored the first run of the game in the second and had a runner at second base when Spencer made his diving catch.

Justin Stone, who opened the top of the second inning with a single down the left field line, scored on Hovermale’s single. Hovermale’s soft liner to left got away when junior left fielder, Ryan Bodrog, slipped and went to the ground. Spencer backed up the play and threw out Hovermale at second base trying to stretch his single.

Weir High tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Mills singled to start the rally. He stole second and Gillette reached first on a hit batsman.

Freshman Sebastian Spencer, the courtesy runner for Mills, tagged up and moved to third on Jordan Allen’s long fly to left field and then scored when Levi Mikula’s ground ball was misplayed at third base.

Berkeley Springs went ahead 2-1 in the top of the fifth when Hovermale struck out but reached first on a passed ball. Catcher Jordan Allen misplayed a high chopper by Stone in front of the plate allowing Hovermale to go to second from where he scored on a Butts RBI single.

The Red Riders tied it a 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth when the speedy Donavan Spencer doubled to right center field, went to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch.

“The first game of the series I went 0 for 3 and the second game I went 1 for 4,” said Spencer, who last weekend placed first in the state 100-meter and 200-meter track championships in Charleston.

“Tonight, it could be my last game so I wanted to do the best I possibly could.

“I wanted to go out on top and now I’m going to Charleston for the second time this year and I’m going with my brothers. I can’t wait. I was focused tonight.”

The Red Riders, who now are 18-10, last won the state Class AA championship in 2004. They made a repeat visit to Charleston in 2005, but lost the semi-final game.

Weir High 3, Berkeley Springs 2

Berkeley Springs 010 010 0 2 4 2

Weir High 000 110 1 3 8 2

BERKELEY SPRINGS (16-16): Hover male (LP, 1K, 1W) and Farris. Clark S;

Butts S, RBI; Stone S, R; Hovermale S, R.

WEIR HIGH (18-10): Mills (WP, 5K, 2W) and Allen. D. Spencer 2S, D, R,

SB, Rosnick S; Gillette S, RBI; Allen S; Enrietti S, R.

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