BECKLEY – Woodrow Wilson notched their second win of the season with a 10-0, 5-inning win over Greenbrier West Friday night at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley. Flying Eagle senior pitcher Connor Mollohan held the Cavaliers to just two hits while registering 10 strikeouts in the contest.
Mollohan set the Cavaliers down in order in the top of the first inning. Braydon McClung hit a pop fly to left fielder Arrington Payne followed by a David Lester strikeout. Ethan Holliday hit a sharp groud ball to shortstop Ty Evans for the third out.
Evans led off for the Flying Eagles with a double to left field. Cavalier senior Dale Boone induced a weak ground ball to first baseman Cole Vandall for the first out and followed that up with a called third strike on Mollohan. Blake Stratton lined a single to centerfield that scored Evans. McClung ended the inning with a putout of Maddex Sims, but Beckley led 1-0 at the end of an inning.
A Boone lead-off single went for naught in the top of the second inning. Cole Vandall was retired by strikeout. With Ridgeway at the plate, Mollohan picked Boone off at first in a close if not questionable play. Ridgeway would eventually draw the walk but Mollohan registered his third K in a battle with Levi Ramsey to leave the Cavaliers scoreless.
Woodrow Wilson would add two runs in the bottom of the second inning. After Boone struck out Payne, an error at third base allowed Blake Nixon to reach base. Reid Warden tapped a double into left field, putting Beckley runners at second and third. Boone powered his way through freshman Jackson Gray with a three-pitch strikeout, setting up the potential of getting out of the inning without giving up a run. Evans, though, had other ideas and battled through a full count to single up the middle and score Nixon for a 2-0 lead. Boone had seemingly escaped the inning when he got Chase Tolliver to hit a ground ball to the right side, but a Cavalier error kept the Woodrow half-inning alive as Warden plated a run for a 3-0 Beckley lead. McClung settled under a Mollohan fly ball for out number three.
The Cavalier bats were as cool as the chilly evening air in the third inning as Mollohan went three up, three down. West had stumbled through their lineup with a single hit to their credit.
The Flying Eagles would add to their lead in the bottom of the third inning when Stratton reached on a lead-off walk. Stratton wasted no time on the basepaths, stealing both second and third before cruising home on a passed ball. Although Sims drew the walk, Boone settled in and induced a fly ball out from Payne. Boone set Nixon down on three pitches then got Warden to swing and miss for the third out. The Flying Eagles led 4-0 after three complete.
Once again, West struggled to muster any offense in the top of the fourth. Lester flew out to centerfield and Holliday was thrown out by Sims in a bang-bang play at first. With two outs, Boone battled Mollohan to a full count but succumbed on a swinging third strike.
Boone tried to keep things close in the bottom of the fourth, striking out the lead-off hitter Gray. Evans, though, would beat the throw and scratch out an infield single on the next at-bat. Tolliver stepped in and launched a ball toward the left-center wall that Ramsey ranged over to grab and keep Evans at first. Mollohan then built the count to 2-2 as Evans stole second. Mollohan hit a nubber in the middle that caused West shortstop Braydon McClung to slip and fall to his behind as he fielded the ball. McClung lobbed the ball in the direction of first base, but the throw was off, keeping Mollohan safe and scoring Evans for a 5-0 advantage. Once again, Boone powered through a Beckley batter for a sorely needed out, needing only three pitches to retire Stratton and end the inning.
Vandall led off the fifth inning with a single to the left side for West’s second base hit of the night. Ridgeway followed Vandall with a tough, called third strike for the Cavaliers’ first out. Ramsey stepped in and worked the count full before drawing the one-out walk. With runners at first and second, Mollohan buckled down to retire both Hamrick and Hagy to end the inning and any chances that the Cavaliers might entertain of a comeback.
Woodrow would close out the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Ridgeway now on the bump, Sims drew a four-pitch lead-off walk. Payne followed with a single to left field. Nixon then grounded into a fielder’s choice that registered an out but also included a fifth Cavalier error, putting runners at the corners for the Flying Eagles. Warden stepped in and singled home Nixon followed by a Gray walk. With a 7-0 lead, Evans came to the plate. Both Beckley runners moved up a base on a passed ball, leading up to an Evans single that scored Warden. Gray then plated another run on a wild pitch. With a 9-0 lead and only one out, Tolliver drew a four-pitch walk and stole second. Stratton stepped in the box with the chance for a walk-off winner, and he delivered a bloop single to right field for the 10-0 win.
Boone and Vandall tallied the only hits for the Cavaliers one night after registering 14 hits in Richwood. Boone struck out 7 through 4 innings and only allowed 3 earned runs.
The Cavaliers faced Woodrow Wilson for the first time since the 2013 season when the two schools met in the championship game of the 2nd Annual Fayetteville Wooden Bat Tournament. West was also playing at Linda K. Epling Stadium for the first time since the 2019 season. Beckley head coach Mike McKinney notched his first coaching win against West counterpart Matt McClung in three tries. McKinney was at Richwood in 2022 with McClung getting both wins in head-to-head matchups.
GW (1-1): 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 2 5
WW (2-3): 1 2 1 1 5 – 10 10 0
GW: Boone, Ridgeway and Holliday, Lester. WW: Mollohan and Stratton. WP: Mollohan LP: Boone. GW: Boone 1-2; Vandall 1-2. WW: Evans 4-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Stratton 2-4, 2 RBI; Warden 2-3, 2B, RBI; Payne 1-3; Mollohan 1-4, RBI.
