Highlanders crush Cougars
By Dean Dellamalva Jr.
MVI Sports
Home-field advantage didn’t help Charleroi in the first of a two-game home-and-home series Tuesday, as the Cougars suffered a 13-1 loss at the hands of McGuffey in Section 4-3A play at Veterans Field.
McGuffey (1-1, 1-0), which pounded out 14 hits, put up a six spot in the fourth inning and added four more in the sixth to end the contest an inning early.
Charleroi starter Zach Usher took the loss, allowing nine runs on eight hits in just over three innings. Ethan Hadsell gave up the other four Highlander runs in relief.
“We got behind in some counts and in our first games, we’ve been ahead and not making mistakes,” Cougars assistant coach Chad Pappasergi said. “You can’t get behind in counts against a team like (McGuffey). They hit it hard and they put some great at bats together. You can tell they have a very veteran group.”
The youthful Charleroi bats were held at bay by Highlanders hurler Austin Hall, who allowed just the single run over five innings with five hits and five walks.
“I give a lot of credit to my starting pitcher (Hall). He came out and threw a lot of strikes,” McGuffey head coach George Linck said. “We played pretty good defense. There were some plays I wish we would have made, but I’m happy with the first section win.”
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