Tournament Time
Elkins Post 29 pounds Jane Lew, 18-1, in opening game
ELKINS — Ben Huffman crushed two home runs Wednesday to help Elkins Post 29 cruise past Jane Lew Post 166, 18-1, in the first round of the American Legion Area 5 Tournament at Robin Harvey Memorial Field in Elkins.
Post 29 (25-15) will now host Braxton County Post 33 today at 8 p.m.
Prior to the game, Buckhannon Post 7 will face Jane Lew Post 166 in an elimination game at 5 p.m. in Elkins. Braxton County defeated Buckhannon, 14-9, also in the first round of tournament play on Wednesday.
“We played well,” Post 29 manager Chris George said. “We did what we were supposed to do from start to finish. We wanted to get off to an early start in the tournament and get a big win, and we did.
“Read (Schumacher) pitched well and we hit well. We had 22 hits. We did our jobs. Now we are on to round 2 against Braxton County.”
Read Schumacher (6-1) earned the victory on the mound for Elkins. Over the course of 6 innings, he gave up 1 unearned run on 6 hits while striking out 9 and walking 5.
Brett Smith pitched 1 inning in relief, striking out 2 and walking 1. Smith also performed well at the plate, going 1 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored.
Huffman led the hit parade for the Post 29 offense. He finished the day 4 for 5 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
Rece Wamsley, 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs and 1 run scored, Luke Petrice, 3 for 4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs, and Caleb Riggleman, 3 for 5 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs, also put up big numbers. Other top performers included: Cole Harlan, 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI; and Sam Ross, 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs.
Connor Johnson notched the loss for Jane Lew. He went 2 innings, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 1 batter and walking 4 others