2009 Moorefield Baseball Regional Semifinals

Moorefield Won the Regional Semifinals
Thorne Quiets Wildcats

Moorefield defeated Pendleton County, 4-1 in the Class A Region 2 semifinals last Wednesday.
Josh Thorne had eight strikeouts in five complete innings for the Yellow Jackets.
Thorne allowed five hits and no runs on the mound for Moorefield.
In the fifth inning, it got a little dicey as Pendleton County loaded the bases with a hit batsmen, a double by Tyler Gardiner and a walk with no outs.
Thorne regained his focus and struck out the side in succession without a run being scored in that situation.
“I was in a tight spot and needed to throw strikes. My defense should get me out of jams when needed but I was able to work it out myself. I was a little nervous at first but after I got the first one, I was in the zone again,” Thorne commented.
Moorefield opened the game with a double by Tucker Smith and then he was sent home by Trevor Sites who reached safely to first base on a Wildcat error.
In the second inning, Moorefield got runners on with two singles by Jordan Ours and Korey Reed.
Next, Corey Yakubow hit a full-count single that plated Ours and then reached second on the outfielder’s throw.
After Jake Hose drew a walk to load the bases, Tucker Smith hit a sacrifice fly to put Moorefield up 3-0.
In the sixth inning, Ours added an insurance run with a RBI single.
Late in the game, Logan Mongold made a tremendous leap in the lights to rob the Wildcats of a hit into the outfield.
“I lost it in the lights but picked it up. The first thing was to jump. This is real special beating a rival at their home place. This is my greatest accomplishment in my career so far,” Mongold said.
Shawn Hibbard closed the game for Moorefield, striking out two and allowing only one run, off a RBI single by Brett Raines in the seventh.
“Thorne definitely had a display of mental toughness, a great mental effort. Our guys have high character. They have a strong belief and know what they trust in. We are keeping everything in perspective,” MHS skipper Wade Armentrout stated.
“We were two hits away from making this a 5-4 ball game. I give credit to Moorefield’s pitching, going after us when they needed to. Moorefield has everything going for them, hitting, pitching, fielding and a solid catcher. Wade does a nice job keeping them focused,” Pendleton County coach Sam Yokum said.