TENNERTON - Buckhannon Post 7 split a home doubleheader against visiting Beckley Post 32 Thursday night. Buckhannon captured a 12-11 comeback victory in the lidlifter, while Beckley dominated Game 2, 11-1.
Logan Moneypenny went 4-for-5 with three doubles, including a bases clearing double in the bottom of the seventh to complete the Post 7 comeback in the opener.
In a back-and-forth contest that included four ties and four lead changes, Buckhannon ended as the last team standing.
Post 7 grabbed an early 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first behind RBI doubles from Moneypenny and Daniel Powell and an RBI single from Nate Kemper.
Beckley responded with a three-run third, but Buckhannon answered with four runs of their own and a 7-4 advantage. That frame was led by a Dalton Westfall double and RBI hits from Powell and Tyler Shreve. Beckley responded with a surge that included two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and two more in the sixth to snare an 11-8 lead.
Buckhannon began the comeback in modest fashion, scoring once in the sixth as Powell singled home Moneypenny. This set the stage for Moneypenny's seventh inning heroics. With two outs and 0-1 count, the lefthander drilled a liner into the left centerfield gap that scored Drew Gandee, Tyler Wood, and finally Corey Reed with the game-winning tally.
"We hit that ball better in tonight's first game than we have in a while," Buckhannon manager Steve Gandee said. "We kept battling and got the hits we needed."
Reed earned the victory by pitching the final 2 1/3 innings of two-run baseball. He walked one and struck out four.
Moneypenny's four hits were complemented by three hits and three RBIs from Powell and three hits and two RBIs off the bat of Kemper. Reed added two hits with Wood and Westfall each scoring twice.
Shreve and Gandee added single RBIs. Buckhannon collected 15 hits as a team, with Beckley banging out 12 of its own.
Sean Poling helped Beckley rebound for a dominant win in the nightcap. The righthander quieted the hosts bats that had exploded in Game 1, holding Post 7 to only three hits in a complete-game gem.
He walked two and struck out five.
"Their coaches told us beforehand that their group seems to always come out flat in game one, but find their groove for the second game," Gandee said. "That is exactly what happened, and I think you could see from game two that they have a team with some talent."
Beckley settled the issue early, scoring four times in the first inning and pushing across seven more runs in the third. Their 11-hit attack included multi hit games from four different players; Austin Southcott, Heath Utterback, Casey Deskins, and Alex Quick.
Buckhannon scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Logan Moneypenny scored on a Dan Powell RBI-single. Dalton Westfall and Nate Kemper added the other Post 7 hits, as Kemper and Powell ended the doubleheader matching Moneypenny's four hit night in the twinbill. Tyler Shreve pitched two scoreless innings in relief for Buckhannon.
"He is only 15 years old, and that was some good experience for him. He threw the ball well," Gandee said.
Buckhannon (8-12) returns to action Saturday at Clarksburg.
