PBHS Colts Fall on the Road
CLARKSBURG — Philip Barbour is still in search of its first win on the diamond this spring after suffering a 10-run rule defeat on the road at Robert C. Byrd High School Monday.
The Flying Eagles nestled an 8-0 advantage after one inning, and stopped the contest by going up 11-1 in the bottom of the fifth in Big 10 Conference AA action.
Sophomore hurler Trent Tallman saddled the loss in his debut for the Colts, being charged with 2 walks in the opening stanza. Philip Barbour was also guilty of committing 4 errors during RCB’s romp to break the contest wide open early on.
“We dug a hole, and in baseball it’s hard to get out of a hole,” PBHS coach Jonathan Carpenter said. “We got an easy run, but couldn’t find a way to score otherwise. We have to improve, we have to execute. When you don’t execute against a team like RCB, they’re going to put up a score like that on you.”
Philip Barbour’s stat sheet didn’t develop much the game went on, but Robbie Shananbarger did put a stop to the bleeding, coming in for relief as the first inning drew to a close. He didn’t strike a lot of batters out, but he helped put the ball in play and steadied himself as a lanky senior on the mound for the Colts. Carpenter said Shananbarger threw the ball well.
The visitors and the hosts were good sports all game long, and shook hands after the sandlot’s day was over. Per custom, the home team’s players and coaches began working on their field in order to fight the elements and make every precaution possible.
“We started working on the field around 12 p.m. today,” an RCB assistant coach said. “You could ride an air boat from left to right field out there.”
The same coach was directing traffic after the game, taking care of the field, and being a good steward of the game this time of year in West Virginia.
Philip Barbour’s team took a knee in left field after the game. Carpenter said it was a time to continue discussing what the team needs to do in order to improve.
“We just talked about buying in,” he said. “Doing what you’re told to and executing was also part of what we talked about.”
Today’s slate has PBHS hosting Grafton at 4:30 p.m. It is possible that the game will be moved from Philip Barbour, and hosted at Alderson Broaddus University’s Funk Field.