MSAC baseball semis: Stratton sends Spring Valley over Cabell Midland, 3-2

CHARLESTON — Spring Valley junior center fielder Grant Stratton didn’t want to go to extra innings on Wednesday.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the game knotted at two, Stratton hit a bases-loaded, walk-off single to send Spring Valley over Cabell Midland 3-2 in a Mountain State Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal at GoMart Ballpark.

Spring Valley (19-7) moves on to face Hurricane in the MSAC title game on Thursday at 7 p.m. at GoMart Ballpark.

Hurricane needed 10 innings to defeat George Washington 4-3 in its semifinal on Wednesday.

Spring Valley coach Austin Pratt said Stratton, who has proved himself as a pitcher, has come into his own at the plate this season.

“That’s a clutch hit,” Pratt said. “He’s found himself in the box this year. He was a really good pitcher his first two years of high school. Now he’s taking hitting seriously in the offseason. He got in there and he’s a confident kid and he put the bat on the ball. That’s all you have to do.”

Spring Valley sophomore starting pitcher Dylan Robertson kept Cabell Midland’s bats quiet for the most part in his three innings of work. He went three scoreless frames, giving up four hits before Garrett Wagoner came on in relief in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Spring Valley’s offense struck for two runs in the bottom of the third as Branson McCloud hit a two-run home run to give the Timberwolves a 2-0 lead.

Cabell Midland (11-8) got on the board with a run in the top of the third and the Knights tied it in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hunter McSweeney.

Spring Valley went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, sending the game to the seventh with a 2-2 score. Wagoner, who went four innings of relief and allowed two runs on one hit, was strong in the seventh as he walked the leadoff batter but got the next three in order.

Spring Valley’s two pitchers combined for seven innings of two-run, four-hit ball and they struck out six batters.

“Dylan and Garrett are both sophomores,” Pratt said of his battery. “Both have been pleasant surprises on the mound. Everyone knows about Wagoner and McCloud on our team, but those two have pitched some seriously good innings for us this year. Dylan is a hard-nosed kid from Wayne County. He just competes. Garrett is just a competitor too. He wants the ball in big situations. I knew we could trust both of those guys.”

The strong seventh inning on the mound set the table for Spring Valley.

After Cameron Bailey flew out to start the half-inning, Samuel Booth singled. Wagoner, in his first at-bat of the game, then flew out for the second out.

The next batter, Ethan Fraley, singled to put runners on first and third for leadoff hitter Grant Shumaker. Shumaker was 1 for 2 at the plate with a double and he was hit by a pitch up to that point.

Cabell Midland coach Tracy Brumfield intentionally walked the bases loaded for Stratton. Stratton singled to right field to drive in courtesy runner Liam McGuire and the celebration was on.

“We walked Shumaker, and Stratton comes up and has a big hit,” Brumfield said. “We played the odds and he came up with the big hit. That’s what you’re supposed to do. First two or three innings, we had five guys in scoring position and we couldn’t come up with the big hit. That’s the difference in the game. We fought back. Credit for that. We were down 2-0 and came back and tied it up. We had our chances. That’s baseball. That’s the way it goes.”

“Stratton is a competitive kid and I’m sure he took it to heart,” Pratt said of the intentional walk to Shumaker. “He wanted to beat those guys.”

Hurricane is 2-0 against Spring Valley this season after Hurricane downed the Timberwolves 7-1 on March 28 and 6-4 on April 26. Pratt knows his team will be in for a challenge against Hurricane in the conference title game Thursday.

“Hurricane has beaten us twice, so we’re obviously hungry to go after them,” Pratt said. “They’ve been pretty good games both times. Hurricane is Hurricane. They’re a great program; well-coached. They hit the ball, pitch the ball and play defense. It’s going to be a tough game.”

Spring Valley 3, Cabell Midland 2

Cabell Midland;000;101;0;--;2;4;0

Spring Valley;002;000;1;--;3;5;1

Eastone and Samuel. Roberson, Wagoner (4) and Smith. Top hitters — Cabell Midland: McSweeney RBI; Eastone triple. Spring Valley: McCloud 1-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Stratton RBI