Photo | Paul Adkins
Logan baseball’s Matthew Greene went 3-for-4 at the plate as the Wildcats won 6-2 at George Washington on Monday in the Class AAA sectional tourney opener in Charleston.
Monday night’s 6-2 win at George Washington has put the Logan High School baseball team in the Class AAA sectional tournament driver’s seat.
Logan, ranked No. 8 in the state in 3A, improved to 20-5 on the season with last night’s victory over the Patriots in the opening game of the double-elimination section tourney at the George Washington High School baseball field in Charleston.
The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday night at home against South Charleston (7-20). Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Logan’s Roger Gertz Field.
The sectional tourney continues on Wednesday as GW plays at South Charleston.
The finals would then be played on Thursday, possibly at Logan.
Logan is right on target for another sectional championship. The Wildcats are seeking their 13th straight section title dating back to 2000.
George Washington dropped to 16-13 on the season with last night’s loss. The Patriots, already in an 0-1 section tourney hole, have been beaten three times by the Wildcats this spring.
The game was in doubt until late.
Tied 2-2, Logan was able to plate two runs in the top of the sixth off Patriots’ ace pitcher Joe Wong.
Alex Mareske got it started with a leadoff double. Matthew Greene’s bunt single then put the runners at the corners with no outs.
Mareske then scored on a George Washington throwing error to make it 3-2. It was one of four costly errors committed by the Patriots in the game. Greene then scored on a dropped fly ball for another error as the Cats led 4-2.
Logan then added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The first scored on Greene’s bases loaded RBI single. Trent Dalton then made it 6-2 with a bases loaded, RBI infield single.
Logan’s pitching combined to give up eight walks and a hit batsman but also combined on a no-hitter. Logan’s defense made up for it by turning four big double plays.
“Our middle infield defense was very good,” Logan coach Roger Gertz said. “We turned four double plays. Cody Frye came in to pitch and did a good job. Z was only going on three day’s rest and might have been tired. He wasn’t that effective.”
LHS relief pitcher Cody Frye then closed the door on the Patriots in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win.
Frye pitched five innings in relief and allowed no runs and no hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Freshman Z. Minnick started but was not effective. He went two-plus innings and yielded two runs on no hits with four walks and a hit batter.
George Washington took advantage of Minnick’s control problems in the bottom of the first inning as the Patriots took a 2-1 lead.
Both runs were scored without the aid of a hit as Clayton Anderson was plunked with the bases loaded to force in the first run and Garrett Vogelbach then following by drawing a bases loaded walk.
Logan had opened in the top of the first as Adam Mareske tripled and scored on an error to make it 1-0 Wildcats.
LHS then tied 2-2 it in the top of the third as Adam Mareske singled and scored on Andrew Staton’s RBI groundout.
Greene, a West Virginia University signee, led Logan as he was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Adam Mareske and Benji Adkins were both 2-for-4 at the plate, while Alex Mareske was 2-for-3.
Wong pitched all seven innings for George Washington, allowing six runs and 10 hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
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