Post 34 storms back for win over the Wildthings
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WEIRTON -- With starter Hunter Mozingo nearing his pitch count, Wellsburg Post 34 coach Micah Knisely had a short conversation with the recent Brooke grad before opting to leave him on the mound to start the seventh.
Post 34 was clinging to a one-run lead after rallying back from a big deficit an inning earlier at Bowman Field Wednesday against the Wheeling Wildthings, and Mozingo was at 99 pitches with a man warming up in the bullpen.
That reliever would not be needed.
"I told him he had six pitches," Knisely said. "He responded that he only needed four."
Turns out, he didn't even need four.
Mozingo induced two groundouts and a line out on consecutive pitches for a three-pitch inning, closing out a 13-12 victory and a complete game.
"He's a senior that graduated this year and does a great job," Kinsely said. "We're going to miss him when he's gone."
Mozingo being in a position to close out a victory seemed far from likely just an inning earlier as the visitors from the Friendly City held a 12-5 lead going to the bottom of the sixth inning. Half of those runs were unearned aided by six Post 34 (2-2) errors, and Wellsburg had watched an early 5-1 lead evaporate.
They weren't done fighting, though.
After loading the bases in the fifth with no one out but not getting a run, Post 34 again loaded them up in the sixth and this time broke through.
Mozingo started what was an eight-run rally with an RBI single, Brayden McFarland hit another one-run single in the next at bat. Then, after a strikeout and an error, Robbie Henderson put a ball in play and brought Mozingo in and the Wildthings did not record an out on the play.
Madonna product TJ Decapio then plated another run with a sac fly and Zac O'Mery singled in a run to make it 12-10.
Brooke's Garrett Moore then stepped up to the plate and ripped a well-hit ball to the fence in left field and emptied the bases with a three-run triple, completing the comeback.
"These boys never cease to amaze me," Knisely said. "They keep fighting, they keep fighting and that's all you can ask for from a baseball team because you're never out of it until its over. It takes 21 outs to get to the end and you're never done until then.
"We've struggled fielding and hitting since the beginning of the season, but pitching has been awesome. We got down in the middle, but kept fighting. The toughness of this team amazes me. We only have a few seniors, so the rest of these kids are underclassmen and that shows the character of these kids at their young age now, I can't wait to see where they are next year and the year after."
Henderson also had an RBI single in the second, while Mozingo bunted in a run, Henderson and Decapio each drew a bases-loaded RBI walk and Caleb Billick had an RBI groundout in a four-run third inning for Wellsburg.
Wheeling responded with an eight-run fourth inning and added two in the fifth and another in the sixth to build a seven run lead before Post 34's late heroics.
"We had a couple innings where everything went wrong and one where it all went right, that's baseball," Kinsely said. "We're a scrappy, fighting team."
The Wildthings' Brodee Latocha had four hits, including a triple, and two RBIs. Nathan Bittinger had three hits and and an RBI and Lex Wilhem had a double, single and two RBIs.
While Mozingo went the distance for Wellsburg, Wheeling used five pitchers, the loss getting saddled to Mickey Balgo.
Wellsburg's junior team dropped a 10-3 decision to the Weirton Yellowjackets in the second game of night, Brayden McFarland and Zac O'Mery each finishing with two hits.
Catholic Central's Eli Fayak had a triple and a pair of RBI's for Weirton to lead a local-heavy lineup, while Indian Creek's Hunter Rusnak had a pair of hits.
Seven different pitchers threw an inning, while Wellsburg used three.
Post 34's senior team is back at Bowman Field on Friday to host the Ohio Valley Mountaineers, the junior team again play Weirton in a nightcap.