HUNTINGTON — For a brief moment Saturday morning, top-seeded Huntington St. Joseph found itself chasing the game.
Then Wyatt Pence changed everything with one swing.
Pence’s first-inning two-run home run erased an early deficit and ignited an offensive outburst as the Irish rolled past Morgantown Trinity Christian 11-3 in a Class A quarterfinal at Jack Cook Field.
The victory sends St. Joseph (32-3) into the state semifinals after collecting 12 hits and scoring in five of six offensive innings.
“We might be seeded No. 1, but we’re not playing like the No. 1 team,” said St. Joseph coach Scott Shumate. “Then Wyatt hits the opposite-field home run, and Jacob did a good job once he settled down pitching. All my guys did really good.”
Trinity Christian (13-13) took advantage of three free baserunners in the top of the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead. After loading the bases without a hit, the Warriors scored on a throwing error and a sacrifice fly by Ben Hartley.
The lead lasted only minutes.
After Cam Kellar singled with two outs in the bottom of the first, Wyatt Pence launched a two-run home run over the right-field fence on the first pitch he saw, tying the game at 2-2.
“It felt really good to help the team out a lot,” Pence said. “It’s a state game, anybody can win. So I’m glad that I hit that. We got those two on the board.”
The blast sparked the Irish offense.
St. Joseph took a 3-2 lead in the second when Hudson Moosavi singled and later scored on a Trinity Christian error.
The Warriors pulled within 3-3 in the third when a dropped sacrifice bunt allowed a run to score, but St. Joseph immediately answered with a three-run bottom half. Courts delivered an RBI single, Pence scored on a throwing error and Moosavi added an RBI single to push the advantage to 6-3.
The Irish broke the game open in the fourth.
Tanner Watts scored on a groundout before Pence ripped an RBI double. Kellar later scored on a wild pitch and Courts drove home another run with a groundout as St. Joseph plated four runs in the inning to extend the lead to 10-3.
Pence finished 3 for 3 with a home run, double, three RBIs and three runs scored. Kellar added three hits and scored three times, while Moosavi collected two hits and an RBI. St. Joseph’s lineup produced hits from seven different players.
“Once we get going, we don’t stop,” Pence said. “That’s just how we play.”
After a shaky first inning, Courts found his rhythm on the mound. The right-hander allowed just two hits and one earned run while striking out nine over seven innings. He retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and did not allow a run after the third inning.
Shumate credited the balanced approach that has carried the Irish throughout the season.
“We’ve not depended on just one player,” Shumate said. “Everybody contributes, and that’s what we’ve done all year.”
Trinity Christian managed just two hits in the loss, one each from Hartley and Drew Yoho. The Warriors stranded four runners and finished 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
St. Joseph will face the winner of the Charleston Catholic-Madonna quarterfinal in the state semifinals.
