Magnolia 5, Valley Fayette 2

MHS Head Baseball Coach Dave Cisar won his 800th game April 6 in the first game of a tournament at Sissonville in which the Blue Eagles defeated Valley Fayette 5-2.

Kyle Elliott was the winning pitcher with six Ks and a walk. He also hit a sacrifice fly and a single that brought home a teammate.

Zach Wilhoite hit a single and plated two, while Chandler Sapp and Ryan Walton each hit two singles. Both teams had six hits. However, Magnolia took a 3-0 lead in the third inning and never looked back.

In a second game, Magnolia bested the Sissonville Indians 11-4 after taking a 6-1 lead in the second frame. Wilhoite took the win from the hill with six strikeouts and two walks.

Scoring for Magnolia were Sapp and Walton, each with two singles. Sapp brought home two MHS baserunners and Walton plated one. Elliott launched a single, a double, and batted in a run, while Tanner Hanna had three singles.

Chase Miller finished the Blue Eagles’ scoring with a single, a two-bagger and an RBI.

Magnolia 9, North Marion 5

Magnolia’s Chase Miller broke the game wide open with a double and drove in three runs in the seventh as the Blue Eagles took care of business 9-5 over the North Marion Huskies April 8 in Mannington.

Chandler Sapp continues to pound the ball. He drove in a pair of runs with a pair of singles and a double, while Kyle Elliott drilled a trio of singles that plated two Blue Eagle teammates.

In addition, Tanner Hanna added an RBI double and Zach Wilhoite drove in a run with a single. Jake Starkey picked up the win from the mound, striking out five. Sapp picked up the save in two innings of relief, striking out one.

Magnolia 9, Monroe Central 0

The home-standing Magnolia Blue Eagles shut out the Monroe Central Baseball Team 9-0 April 5, scoring one run in the first inning and adding eight more in the sixth frame.

Tanner Hanna took the win from the mound with seven strikeouts and zero walks.

Kyle Elliott led Magnolia’s offensive charge with a home run, a single, and four RBIs. Chandler Sapp, Drew Keller, and Zach Wilhoite each singled and RBIed a teammate, while Chase Miller cracked two singles.

Ryan Walton and Tyler Anderson each doubled for Magnolia, while Anderson added one RBI.

River 6, Magnolia 4

After winning its first four games of the season, the Magnolia Blue Eagles dropped a 6-4 decision to River April 2 at Mullett Field in New Martinsville.

In his first appearance for Magnolia this season, freshman pitcher Chase Miller would get the Pilots out in order to start the game.

In the Pilots’ second game of the season, Chad Isaly threw for River, leaving two on base, while getting out of the first frame unscathed.

However, in the second inning, the Pilots would send nine batters to the plate to score three runs on a pair of Magnolia errors and a two-RBI double by Craig Hupp to grab a 3-0 lead. Isaly silenced the powerful Blue Eagle bats in the Pilot third inning and Miller did likewise for Magnolia in the following frame.

Magnolia’s lead off batter, Ryan Walton, worked a walk, but Isaly sat down the next MHS batters in the home half of the third.

Hupp singled to open the fourth, but it would be Jonathan Stewart who would make the Eagles pay, scoring on another Magnolia error after belting a single.

Magnolia got something going in the bottom of the fourth with a Zach Wilhoite single and a Tanner Hanna ground-rule double. But, River Pilot Head Coach Mark Romick brought in Kameron Brown for his first pitching duties of the season and he struck out the side to get River back on offense.

Brown opened the fifth with a bunt single and then stole second without a throw, to score what would be the winning run. After walking Yale Wetzel, Brown would get three straight ground outs to end the fifth. In the sixth, Miller sat down the Pilots in order. After two straight walks, Brown struck out the next three Magnolia batters to get out of another jam.

In the top of the seventh, the Pilots got an insurance run when Isaly scampered home on a Brown suicide squeeze.

Magnolia threatened in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits and a walk. Wetzel singled and scored Magnolia’s first run on a Walton double. That prompted Romick to send Cody Caldwell to the mound to put out the fire, However, Caldwell walked Chandler Sapp and gave up a double to Kyle Elliott, whose ball went to the fence and cleared the bases. Elliott scored on an infield single by Miller, but Caldwell put out the fire and struck out the last batter.

Isaly started on the mound for the Pilots, striking out three and walking three. Brown followed Isaly and earned the win from the rubber, striking out six and walking one, while Caldwell earned the save with a walk and a K.

Isaly drilled an RBI triple, while Brown singled twice and had a suicide squeeze to pace the Pilots from the plate and from the mound. In addition, Eric Dierkes singled twice, while Hupp smacked a two-run double and a single. Stewart ended the Pilot offense with a single.

For the Blue Eagles, Miller picked up the loss. He sat down two Pilot batters and walked as many. Wetzel singled twice and Elliott knocked in two with a double to lead Magnolia offensively.

In addition, Hanna and Walton each doubled, while Wilhoite drilled a single.

*****

Magnolia scored twice in the first two innings and held its turf April 3 to defeat the Brooke Bruins 4-3 at Mullett Field.

Wilhoite started and pitched four innings, struck out four and walked four, while Sapp came in relief in the fourth and struck out four and walked two to earn the win. Elliott finished, struck out the side in the seventh to get the save.

Sapp belted a single and a double, while knocking in two teammates. Wilhoite lined a two-RBI double, while the red-hot Wetzel smacked a double.