PHOTO | Boothe Davis: Captured by the Moment Photography
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
SISSONVILLE Class AA No. 2 Logan pounded out 13 hits, including eight hits from the bottom of the lineup, to roll past Sissonville, 10-2, on Wednesday at Sissonville High School to force a decisive third game for the Class AA Region 4 championship.
The hitters six-through-nine in Logan’s lineup combined to go 8-for-12 with six RBIs and score eight runs as Logan fought off elimination to force a winner-take-all game 3 Thursday evening at Roger E. Gertz Field.
The winner of Thursday’s game will advance to the Class AA state tournament to be played June 2-4 at Appalachian Power Park.
Jared Burnette was 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Carson Kirk went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs to lead Logan at the plate. Aiden Slack was 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs while starting pitcher Ryan Roberts went 1-for-2 with a run and one RBI and Conner Mullins, who served as Roberts’ courtesy runner, crossed the plate twice in the Wildcats victory.
Roberts, who didn’t allow a hit until a two-out run scoring off the bat of Eli Simonton, allowed one run on two hits while striking out seven and walking two in 4 2/3 innings.
Roberts also picked off two runners and made a diving catch of a pop fly in foul territory of a bunt attempt off the bat of Sissonville shortstop Brayden Perdue in the bottom of the second inning.
Chad Burnette allowed one hit and one walk in 1 1/3 innings while Garrett Williamson allowed one run on one hit with three walks and one strikeout in one inning.
Logan scored two runs in the second inning on a two-run single off the bat of Kirk scoring Slack and Roberts.
Burnette scored on a throwing error in the fourth to give Logan a 3-0 lead.
Sissonville got a run in the bottom of the fourth when Simonton singled into left field with two outs to plate Isaiah Ramsey cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Logan broke the game open in the fifth inning with six runs. Using speed and some well executed bunts, the Wildcats opened the fifth with six straight hits.
Roberts started the scoring with a squeeze bunt that turned into a run scoring bunt single scoring Williamson to make it 4-1.
Burnette singled to center to score Konner Lowe and Slack giving Logan a 6-1 lead. Mullins scored on a throwing error off Kirk’s bunt single to make it 7-1.
Dawson Maynard singled to left allowing Burnette to score from third to increase the lead to 8-1 and Williamson’s sacrifice fly plated Kirk for a 9-1 lead.
Jake Ramey’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Kirk to give Logan a 10-1 lead.
The Indians got a run in bottom of the seventh inning when Ramsey walked with the bases loaded to score Perdue, who led off the seventh with a double.
Roberts had two hits and scored a run for Sissonville while Ramsey and Simonton each had one and one RBI each for the Indians.
Colton Carpenter took the loss for Sissonville after allowing eight runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts, two walks and two hit batters in four innings. Simonton allowed one run on two hits and walked one in an inning of relief.
Steve Loftis allowed one run on one hit, one walk, one strikeout and hit two in an inning while Wyatt Lester struck out one in one inning.
Maynard had three hits and drove in one run while Williamson had one hit and one RBI for Logan, who got a hit from Lowe and an RBI from Ramey.
Sissonville falls to 22-9 with the loss and will be looking for its first regional championship and state tournament berth since 2010.
Logan improves to 25-8 and is one win away from returning to Charleston in search of a second consecutive Class AA championship.