Golden Bears start the tournament strong
Oak Glen tops rival Weir High 12-0 in Region 1, Section 1 opener
NEW MANCHESTER -- As the No. 4 seed in the Region 1, Section 1 tournament, a lot of people probably consider Oak Glen to be an underdog.
The Golden Bears, however, don't think of themselves that way.
Underdog or not, they began their quest to get through the section with a 12-0, five inning victory in Monday evening's tournament opener over rival Weir High.
"It gives us a lot of confidence," Oak Glen head coach Eric Hayden said. "Anytime you beat your rival it gives you confidence. But we don't see ourselves as an underdog. We feel like we can fight with any dog in the tournament. The teams down south do play pretty good baseball, but we feel like we play pretty good baseball up here, too."
As the Golden Bears (10-10) head on the road in the winners' bracket, the game was possibly the last on the home diamond for their seniors, making a win over the Red Riders that much more special.
"It means a lot to them and our program," Hayden said. "Anytime you can get a big win over your rival it means a heckuva lot. It's what these kids have worked hard all year for."
Oak Glen jumped ahead early with a five-run first inning outburst and kept the offense dialed up to reach the margin needed to end the game early, two innings of pitching saved that could be beneficial as the double-elimination tournament wears on.
"It's huge, in a five-team sectional you try to save as many arms as you can," Hayden said. "Our section is tough, it's hard to make the decision when to (pull a starter), because at any time any of these teams can come back and hit you in the jaw.
"We tried to keep (starter Jered Hissam) under a certain number, we thought about pulling him when he was around 50 (pitches), but I personally just felt it would be too soon to bring him back on Wednesday after such an important game with all the energy and everything. We kept him under 75, hopefully we get to Thursday and he'll be ready to go."
The Red Riders (1-18) got two runners on in the first and left a runner on third, Anthony Early who doubled, in the second and again left two on in the third before going down in order in the fourth and fifth.
"We came out flat, started flat, played flat and finished flat," Weir head coach Dave Cowden said. "I don't know, I have no explanation. I wish I did. We had an opportunity early to get a run on the board, but their pitcher kept us off balance.
"It's just been that kind of year."
For the Golden Bears, catcher Hunter Rhoades smacked a pair of doubles, a single and finished with a pair of RBIs, Chase Patterson tallied a double and single and plated a run, Preston Cole drove in two runs with two hits and Robert Carter tallied three singles and an RBI.
"We preach we need a run an inning, then we can look for the crooked number," Hayden said. "We're looking for a run, then the big number to put some pressure on the defense. That's our mentality.
"The guys were hitting the ball well and it was huge for them to do that start to finish."
UP NEXT
Weir High: Will travel to the winner of today's game between No. 2 North Marion and No. 3 East Fairmont for an elimination game in the losers' bracket on Wednesday.
Oak Glen: Travels to No. 1 Fairmont Senior in winners' bracket action today.
WVSSAC Region 1 Section 1 tournament
No. 4 Oak Glen 12, No. 5 Weir High 0
Weir High 0-0-0 0-0 – 0 3 2
Oak Glen 5-1-4 2-x – 12 12 0
WEIR HIGH (1-18): Bunting (LP, 2/3IP, 5R, 4ER, 3H, 1K, 2BB, 1HBP), McCallister (2IP, 5R, 3ER, 7H, 2K, 2BB, 1HBP), Long (1 1/3IP, 2R, 2ER, 2H, 0K, 0BB, 1HBP) and Wells. Early D, Braswell S; Cross S.
OAK GLEN (10-10): Hissam (WP, CG, 0R, 3H, 2K, 2BB) and Rhoades. Rhoades 2D, S, 2RBI; C. Patterson D, S, RBI; Hissam S, RBI; Cole 2S, 2RBI; Decapio S, RBI; Carter 3S, RBI.