Host team Elkins dropped its Hillbilly Hardball Tournament opener, while Morgantown and Columbia (Md.) finished the first day with unbeaten records.
Post 29, which came into the tourney with 6-0 overall mark, suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday at the hands of Columbia in the tournament's 23rd and final game of the day.
Post 300 got a strong effort from Ben Goldsmith, who limited Elkins to just one hit in the contest. Goldsmith struck out 10 and walked four in garnering the win.
Article Photos
The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley
Morgantown’s Jimmy Galusky, left, looks to turn a double play as Berkeley County’s Thomas Pressley slides hard into second base Thursday on opening day of the Hillbilly Hardball Classic at Elkins High School. Post 7 went on to claim a 7-0 victory in the contest. More photos are available at cu.theintermountain.com.
Colby Gainer had Post 29's lone hit in the game.
"Out pitchers pitched well enough to win, but we just didn't hit the ball," Elkins General Manager Chris George said.
Trevor Mouser suffered the loss for Elkins in six innings of work. He scattered six hits, struck out four and walked five.
Erik Sackandy had two hits and drove in a run for Columbia. Jared Lacey added one hit and one RBI.
Post 29 will play a pair of games today beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against State College (Pa.). Elkins will then play Berkeley County at 9:30 p.m.
Both contests will be played at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
In Columbia's other contest on Thursday, it battled Morgantown to a 4-4 tie. The game was halted after eight innings because of the tourney time limit rule.
Trey Shreve had one hit and scored two runs, while Scott McLaughlin, Justin Rosier and Jimmy Montague had one hit each for Post 2. McLaughlin and Jimmy Montague also scored runs for Post 2.
Brandon Wiseman pitched six strong innings for Morgantown.
Sackandy had three hits and scored two runs to lead Columbia at the plate.
Garret Kurtz and Goldsmith had two hits each for Post 300.
Kurtz pitched six innings on the mound, while Areian Vedadi and Jerome Burgo also pitched in relief for Columbia.
Columbia plays State College (Pa.) today at 4:30 p.m. at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
Morgantown 7,
Berkeley County 0
Justin Miller pitched a complete-game three-hitter to lead Morgantown past Berkeley County 7-0 Thursday in Hillbilly Hardball action at Elkins High School.
Miller also struck out five for Post 2 and helped his cause at the plate with two hits, including a solo home run for Morgantown.
Jimmy Galusky and Scott McLaughlin had two hits each for Post 2. Galusky had two RBIs, while McLaughlin scored two runs.
Jared Spielman took the loss for Berkeley County Post 14 in seven innings of work.
Derek Shrout had two hits, while Philip Longnecker had one hit for Post 14.
Morgantown will play Buffalo (N.Y.) today at 4 p.m. at Alderson-Broaddus College.
Jefferson 14, Bellefonte 5
Joshua Filipowicz had three hits and scored two runs to lead Jefferson (Oh.) past Bellefonte (Pa.) 14-5 Thursday in opening round action Hillbilly Hardball Classic at Elkins High School.
Ryan Zindash and Nathanael Wengard both collected hits and scored a run each for Post 152.
Troy Bloom notched the win for Jefferson in a complete-game effort.
Colton Housel, Doylan Deitrich and Michael Mann all had run-producing singles for Bellefonte.
Jefferson will return to tourney action today when it faces Wheeling Post 1 at 8:30 p.m. at Elkins High School.
Bellefonte will battle South Charleston today at 9 a.m. at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
Cumberland 7, Moundsville 1
Kevin Myers and Drew O'Neal had two hits each to lead Cumberland (Md.) past Moundsville 7-1 Thursday in opening round action of Hillbilly Hardball Classic at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
Zach Bradfield pitched six strong innings on the mound to earn the win for Cumberland.
Mike Moyer and Aaron Lehman had one hit and scored a run each to lead Post 13 at the dish.
John Mirandy had a double and scored a run, while Shane Wellman Jimmy Henderson had one hit each for Post 3.
Ryan Hughes took the loss for Post 3 in 1/3 inning, while Todd Schmidt and Hunter Kaschke both pitched in relief for Moundsville.
Cumberland (Md.) will play Pickerington (Ohio) today at 10:30 a.m. and then Beckley P ost 32 at 3:30 p.m. both games at Elkins High School.
John Mirandy had a double and scored a run, while Shane Wellman and Jimmy Henderson collected one hit each for Post 3.
Ryan Hughes took the loss for Post 3 in 1/3 inning of work.
Todd Schmidt and Hunter Kaschke both pitched in relief for Moundsville.
Cumberland will play a pair of contest today beginning with a 10:30 a.m. matchup against Pickerington.
Post 13 will then battle Beckley Post 32 at 3:30 p.m.
Both contests will be played at Elkins High School.
Moundsville will face Pickerington at Elkins High School in its only contest today. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
State College 9, Buffalo 4
Nick Martin had three hits and drove in four runs to help power State College past Buffalo (N.Y.) 9-4 Thursday evening in opening round action of the Hillbilly Hardball Classic at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
Kenny Craig and Ed Goodall added one hit and scored a run each for State College.
Nick Hammer notched the win for State College in seven innings of work.
Antaney Brinkley finished with three hits, while Connor O'Brien had two hits and scored a run for Buffalo.
Brinkley took the loss for Buffalo in four innings of work.
Chris Montanez pitched three innings of relief for Buffalo.
State College plays a pair of games today beginning with a 4:30 p.m. matchup against Columbia (Md.).
State College will then face host team Elkins, which lost to Columbia 2-0 on Friday, at 7 p.m.
Both games will be played at Robin Harvey Memorial Field.
Buffalo will play just one contest today and will face Morgantown, who finished Friday with a 1-0-1 record at 4 p.m. at Alderson-Broaddus College.
