But a blooper off the bat of Gage Tawney left the Bash scathed.
Tawney’s hit over the head of the second baseman plated a pair of runs helping Charleston Post 65 knot the game and eventually win it 5-2 in eight innings Thursday at Linda K. Epling Stadium
The win sends Charleston to a Thursday matchup with Post 94 for a spot in the state tournament while the Bash will face the loser of that game in an elimination contest at Epling Stadium on Friday at 6 p.m.
For much of the contest the Bash relied on fundamentals – timely hits, three double plays and pitching performances that left Charleston chasing. But in the end all of that dried up.
“Earlier we were just trying to get guys on to score and just chip away,” Bash head coach Jordan Meadows said. “We didn’t execute that one inning when I tried to bunt with first and second but two runs and we put our guys in the game and it ended up not being what we wanted to happen. But that’s baseball and we lost but we’re not out of it.”
Independence graduate Cole Cunningham provided all the fire power for the Bash with an RBI single in the second inning and a groundout in the third but they were limited to just five base knocks throughout the night and just three through the first six innings.
Charleston wasn’t without its own stellar defense that helped derail Beckley once it picked up momentum. After Kadyn Hines and Degan Williams reached base to open the bottom of the second inning, Charleston catcher Jason Ferrell fielded a bunt and threw down the third base line to nab Williams as the lead runner.
A flyout and a groundout followed, diffusing the threat.
Charleston threatened to strike back in the sixth but Sam Barnett, pitching in relief for Eli Green, stranded a pair of runners keeping the game at 2-0.
Then the contest derailed for the Bash.
A pair of walks to open the seventh were followed by a deep infield hit at third base, loading the bases. Nicholas County graduate Cole Brown included a pair of pop outs to put the Bash on the cusp of victory but Tawney’s blooper found the hole, plating two. The Bash put a pair on base in the bottom of the frame but came up empty, paving the way for Charleston to cap its rally. And it did.
Rocco Lazo crushed a fly ball to left field for a sac fly to give Charleston its first lead at 3-2 in the eighth inning. A pair of singles followed, pushing the advantage to 5-2 when the dust cleared.
Cunningham added a hit in the bottom of the frame but the tying run never stepped in the box.
“Cole (Brown), I mean, he’s been good all year and then just kind of couldn’t find the zone early, but then got dialed in,” Meadows said. “We had two fly ball outs and he was down to his last strike and the guy just kind of touches it and it goes over second base, and it’s a good hit by those guys, and it’s a good win. But we’ve still got them or whoever we play Friday.”
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