Morgantown Post 2 set to host Area, State Legion Baseball tournaments over next two weeks

Dominion Post

14 hours ago

MORGANTOWN – Mylan Park will see its fair share of baseball over the next couple of weeks as the Morgantown Post 2 American Senior Legion team will host both the Area 2 and WV State Legion baseball tournaments.
The Area 2 tournament will see Post 2 welcome Buckhannon, Bridgeport, and Clarksburg to Dale Miller Field. Opening games will be played on Tuesday, with Clarksburg and Bridgeport starting the day at 4:00 p.m., followed by Morgantown and Buckhannon.
Winners will play at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, while the losers will play an elimination game at 4:00 p.m.
The championship will be held on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and if needed, the two final teams will return Friday at the same time for the deciding game. The top two teams will advance to next week's state tournament.
Morgantown enters the Area 2 tournament with a 9-12 record, but has gone 5-1 against the field in the area tournament this week.
'We've had a roller coaster of a summer,' First-year head coach Jacob Goodknight said. 'We started the season 5-0 and then had quite the losing streak, but that's baseball. There's always going to be adversity in a game that embraces failure. I think we've learned that if we go play as hard as possible for seven innings and if we stay together as a team, we should be happy with the results at the end of the day.'
Post 2 is led offensively by Kane Williams, who is hitting .440 at the plate with 22 hits and 15 RBI in 50 at-bats. Nine of those hits went for extra bases, while he also scored 12 runs.
UHS graduate and Bethany College signee, Brance McCune, leads Post 2 with 25 hits and 21 runs scored.
Three pitchers have gone over 18 innings this summer for Post 2 as Mason Chaney, Grayson Campbell, and Lucas Shinn are solid options to start on the bump. Others, such as Judd Messerly, Daniel Grabo, and Tristan Milik, will all be available for Goodknight's club as well.
'We are talented on the field, but one thing that has impressed me recently is the leadership within the team,' Goodknight said. 'Some of our older guys have taken control of the dynamic in the dugout and made guys accountable. If you have a bad at-bat or make an error, move on. They are helping the younger guys understand that you can help the team win even if you're not having the best day.'
Goodknight says one of the best things about his team this summer has been the growth of the team dynamics.
'We have such a broad mix of players, some of whom haven't played Legion baseball and some who have been with the program since they were 14 years old,' he said. 'We have been able to come together, and now we have to realize that despite what we do during our school seasons, none of that matters now. We represent Morgantown, and more importantly, represent everything that '2' on top of our hats stands for, as well as the history that comes with it. I hope that when they go back to their respective programs in the spring, they will take a couple of lessons from this summer.'