Eagles Beat Bears, Purple Riders In OVAC Tournament

Blue Eagles Andrew Robinson and Mason Rine combined on a mercy-rule shortened one-hit 10-0 shutout victory in the opener of the OVAC Class AAA Quarterfinals at Mullett Field in New Martinsville April 23.
Robinson started and went two innings, struck out two and walked one, while Rine finished the game, struck out two and walked two, to pick up the win from the mound.
Magnolia pushed across six runs with six singles in the second inning. Rine belted a single to start the second before Davey Howell moved Rine to third on a single to center, putting runners on the corners. After an out, Howell swiped second without a throw. Traeh Keller ripped a two RBI single off the third base bag to score Rine and Howell. Jordan Moore was hit by a pitch and Ben Clark plated Keller with a single to right for a 3-0 Magnolia advantage. Seth Pay drilled a hard grounder to second to bring home Moore and Clark, while Jordan Ash single to dead center field to score the final two runs of the frame.
Landon Herrick continued the Eagle barrage with an RBI double in the third with Robinson bringing home a pair of runs with a single. Ash capped off the inning with a home run to deep right field that landed somewhere in Paden City.
Ash led the Blue Eagle bats with a single and a home run, while plating three Eagle base runners. Howell singled twice for the Eagles, while Robinson and Keller each knocked in a pair on a single. Herrick had the only other extra base hit for the Eagles with an RBI double.
The win gave the Big Blue a date with Martins Ferry in the next round of the OVAC playoffs April 25.
In that engagement, the Blue Eagles fell behind 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, but rallied with three runs for a 5-2 victory.
Ash doubled in a run for Magnolia in the fifth frame and Rine followed with a two-RBI single. Justin Fox returned to the line to take the win from the mound for the Blue Eagles with three scoreless innings of relief work. He also added an RBI double, while Ash knocked home a run with a pair of doubles. Rine smashed a pair of RBI singles, while Keller contributed a long double.
The Blue Eagle victory now puts Magnolia against St. Clairsville in the OVAC Class AAA Championship Saturday, May 2 at 11 a.m. at Varcarro Field in Steubenville.
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The Magnolia Blue Eagles gave up five runs in the third and sixth innings to the Lincoln Cougars, and that is all they needed in handing the Blue Eagles their third straight loss by the score of 10-3, April 18 at Lincoln High School.
Jordan Ash and Davey Howell each added multiple hits, while Jordan Moore contributed an RBI single. Seth Pay, who took the loss from the mound, struck out seven Cougar batters and walked six.