By Lee W. Mowen

BECKLEY, WV – The Champion City Kings finished the last road trip of the year with a two-game split at West Virginia. The Kings fell in walk-off fashion on Saturday Night 9-8 while run-ruling the Miners 16-6 Sunday evening.

In Saturday’s game, Champion City jumped ahead 4-0 in their second inning. Bo Seccombe (Tallahassee, FL; Faulkner) reached base on an error with one out. Trey Carter (Wheelersburg, Oh; Rio Grande) singled to push Seccombe over to second. Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, WI; Valparaiso) walked on five pitches to load the bases for Joel Gardner (Poca, WV; West Virginia), who then walked to bring home the first run. Another walk to Alex Finney (Oxford, MI; Ohio) forced in the second run of the inning. JJ Wetherholt (Gibsonia, PA; West Virginia) picked up an RBI Single for the third run scored, with Gardner scoring the last run of the Kings’ second on a passed ball. The Miners got two runs in their second inning, with the score favoring Champion City 4-2.

The Kings tallied another run in the fifth inning, with Ben Ross (Springfield, OH; Notre Dame College) teaming up with Lukas Galdoni (Hawthorn Woods, IL; Butler) on a double steal, as Ross came home to put the lead back up to two at 5-3. The Kings struck for two more in the next inning, with back-to-back doubles from Carter and Ryan. Gardner walked after the first West Virginia pitching change, coming home on a Finney RBI single.

One last run scored for Champion City in the ninth, as Galdoni left the yard on a solo home run. The Kings would lead 8-3 until the Miner scored six unanswered runs and walked it off against Joe Toth (Stow, OH; Adrian College) with a grand slam. The Miners won it 9-8, hading the Kings their third loss in their seventh road game on the trip.

In the second game, the Champion City Kings scored a whopping six runs in the opening frame. On the first pitch of the game, Wetherholt doubled. Ross and Galdoni walked afterwards, with Ethan Krizen (North Port, FL; Thomas) produced a run on a fielder’s choice. Carter hit the second double of the inning, scoring one. Ryan tripled in two more runs, with Edrick Padilla (Salinas, Puerto Rico; Ohio Wesleyan) sacrificing in the sixth run.

Ahead 6-0, the Kings brought home seven more in the third frame. A leadoff walk to Padilla started the inning, with one-out walks to Wetherholt and Ross. Galdoni forced home a run with an RBI walk, as did Seccombe and Krizen in the following at-bats. With the bases still loaded, it was Carter clearing the bases with a grand slam, capping off a very producing seven run tilt. Another run in the fourth pushed the lead to 14-0, as Seccombe doubled in Wetherholt.

Up 14-4 after four complete, the Kings mustered two more runs en route to the run-rule win. Wetherholt hit a sacrifice fly to score Ryan in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning while Ryan was batting, Carter scored from third on a wild pitch. The Miners dented two more runs in the game, but it was not enough to mount another walk-off try, with Champion City winning 16-6. The Kings went 5-3 in the eight-game swing.

Trey Carter had a spectacular series at West Virginia, going 2-for-4 in the Saturday and 3-for-4 on Sunday with 5RBI in the 16-6 romp. Sunday’s starter Austin Mora (Cleveland, OH; Notre Dame College) got the win with four innings pitched, allowing four earned runs, six hits, walking five and striking out five. Toth suffered the loss on Saturday, allowing all six runs in the ninth inning when West Virginia walked off with a grand slam.

Champion City closes out the regular season with three games at home against the Johnstown Mill Rats. This Thursday is the Division Championship game, with Johnstown currently leading the chase for the Second Half spot by a half-game. Playoff tickets are now on sale by visiting the ticket office at Carleton Davidson Stadium one hour before any home game or by visiting The MacRay Co. on West North Street in Springfield. Visit championcitykings.com for more information on tickets and how to watch the next games on PL TV.