Williamstown’s Maxwell Moressa, 2, scored a run in the fifth inning before hitting teammate Parker Schramm, 7, during the Little Kanawha Conference championship game Friday in Glenville. I tapped him on the shoulder. Molessa was 2-for-4 at bat, with a double and three RBIs, as the Yellow Jackets won 10-1. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
GLENVILLE — A call-up to Williamstown’s bullpen came when Brody Bowyer replaced starter Carson Hill with one out in the Yellow Jackets’ 10-1 win Friday in the Little Kanawha Conference championship game, with two outs in the sixth inning. He pitched three scoreless innings of relief and delivered a five-star performance. Gilmer County.
“Yes, winning the LKC was definitely on my bucket list.” Williamstown coach Levi Maxwell, whose team improved to 24-3. “We’ve been struggling a little bit here, but Carson has been on the mound the last three times. The same thing happened. This year I pulled the trigger right away, so Brody did the job. .”
Williamstown used speed and timely hitting to score three runs in the fifth inning, followed by five in the sixth, putting the game out of reach.
After converting two double plays in Thursday’s semifinal win over South Harrison, the Yellow Jackets scored multiple web gems down the field with a faultless effort.
“Honestly, bringing in Bowyer and what he did is not on my bingo card.” Maxwell said. “Brody is someone we go to a lot these days. He beat Toronto, the No. 1 team in the state of Ohio there. He’s been throwing strikes and keeping opponents off balance and racking up zeros. He was on our list of possibilities.”
Williamstown junior pitcher Brody Bowyer pitched six scoreless innings, two and three, as the Yellow Jackets defeated Gilmer County 10-1 in the Little Kanawha Conference championship game in Glenville on Friday. rescued and won the battle. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Gilmer County, which defeated Tyler Consolidated 5-3 in Thursday’s second semifinal, persevered in the top of the first inning as three of its first four batters walked on base. Maxwell took the mound for the second time after batting No. 4 and pitched Bowyer.
Jacob Stewart picked up Bowyer with a sacrifice fly to right field and Brody Brockelman scored to give the Titans a 1-0 lead. In the same at-bat, outfielder Carson Haynes threw a ball to second base, and Bryant York, who was trying to advance from first base to second base, was tagged out.
That was all Gilmer County could muster offensively on the night, as Bowyer had three hits, including two from Brockelman, walked one and struck out three, effectively pitching a complete game.
“I’m always ready and waiting for an opportunity.” Bowyer allowed one out and runner on first base in the seventh inning, but said he clinched the victory with consecutive fouls out. “Okay, I went in and threw strikes. My defense was behind me. I was playing great defense.
“The wait for the top of the seventh inning was a little long. My arm was a little cold because I had been hitting for a while.”
Williamstown baserunner Parker Schramm, left, dives toward first base as Gilmer County’s Bryant York waits for a throw during the Little Kanawha Conference championship game in Glenville on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Gilmer County starting pitcher Christopher Junkins kept Williamstown at bay in the first two innings, batting the team in order with three fly balls in the first inning, and in the second inning with one runner on base and the last two batters on second base. He suppressed people into mediocrity.
Base on ball was the Titans’ biggest enemy. In the bottom of the third inning of Williamstown’s home half, Wyatt Powell reached base on a walk (one of seven hits by a combination of four Gilmer County pitchers), then advanced to second base on an error and Maxwell Moressa He scored when he threw the ball to right-center field. Fields hit an RBI double with a one-hop off the wall.
Williamstown took the lead for good in the fourth inning while Bowyer continued to score zeros. Hill singled with one out, stole second base, and advanced to third base on a passed ball. With two outs and the score still tied at 1-1, Hill stole home for a huge momentum shift.
Hill injured his finger in a head-first slide into home plate, and ultimately returned to Parkersburg during the game’s progress to determine the extent of his injury.
“What I told Carson was to stay alert and be ready. If it’s there, take it.” Maxwell, who was in the third base coaching box at the time, said: “We trust our players to make the right decisions and Carson did that. That goal was huge. It put us up by one. We were struggling a little bit and it gave us momentum. I think it gave me an opportunity to change that.”
From that point on, the kicks disappeared in the Titans’ steps, according to Gilmer County coach Tony Conrad. In addition to the walks, the Titans committed an unusual four errors. Junkins pitched four innings, allowing five runs on four hits and taking the loss.
“I was caught off guard by the late steal from home base. It was just downhill from there.” Conrad said after his ball club fell to 23-4. “That home steal set the tone and we never recovered.”
Williamstown turned the bottom of the fifth inning into a track meet. Powell took the lead with two of his three walks. When Molessa hit a ground ball to the third baseman, he started running and advanced third base on the play. Following a base hit by Ty Ott, Luke Ankrom hit a sacrifice fly and Wyatt Sailey added an RBI.
The Yellow Jackets were limited to just one hit in the sixth inning, scoring five runs, but they took advantage of batters who had three walks and one hit. Moreza’s bases-loaded hit gave them two runs, giving them three points in the game.
Moressa was just one of several fielders who supported the cause behind Bowyer. In the 6th inning, with two outs and runners on first and second base, the senior dove to the right aiming for a ball headed for the left field, but grounded out, got down on one knee and threw the ball to third baseman Parker Schramm, who scooped it up. Low throw for force out.
Schramm, who had a complete game win against South Harrison the night before, made several highlight plays of his own against the Titans. In the fifth inning, Lexington Grog hit a counterattack, but it grazed Bowyer’s glove and kicked toward Schramm, who first lost his balance and tried to go out. Grog was also sacrificed when Schramm went over the railing of Gilmer’s dugout to grab a foul ball with his glove.
“I’m not usually here to talk about other players. We needed to get to (Hill) before they got him out of there.” Conrad said. “If they make the switch, give (Bowyer) credit. He did what he had to do.”
Contact Kelly Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com
