Braham's late game heroics help University fend off late Fairmont Senior rally, secure 4-3 road win

“Fairmont Senior is a very quality team. It was great to be able to come out and secure a big road win. To limit a team of their caliber to just three runs all game was phenomenal. I thought the key to slowing their lineup down was to getting ahead in the count and play a clean game in the field, which for the most part we did. This is a huge confidence booster as our regular season winds down,” University coach Donovan Riggleman said.

“Coming off a bit of an extended break, I thought we were a little rusty and that our timing was off. They kept us off-balance early. I thought we came into the game a little intimidated but we eventually settled down and realized that we could play with them. I am proud of the way they responded. They didn’t panic when facing a deficit. I thought they handled the situation well, just fell a bit short in the end,” Fairmont Senior coach David Ricer said.

Braham finished 2 for 3 at the plate with a run and two RBIs with his highlight plays pushing the Hawks to victory. Two other Hawks joined Braham by turning in multi-hit outings with Cody Thomas going 2 for 4 and Wenkai Campbell going 2 for 4 with a run.

“I was happy with the way we battled at the plate, especially after they tied the game up late. The top of our lineup played a key role in us getting out of here with the win. Noah has really been performing at the plate all year and he keeps cashing in with bigs hits in timely situations,” Riggleman said.

Logan Vance got the starting nod on the mound for University, lasting 4 2/3 innings after giving up three runs (one earned) on as many hits while fanning six batters and walking three.

Cody Thomas earned the win for the Hawks after striking out two and walking one in 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings to seal the game.

“Logan gave us a really good outing. When the wheeling started to fall off in the fifth, Cody came in and did a really nice job getting us out of the inning and sealing out the win for us,” Riggleman said.

Fairmont Senior’s lineup had an uncharacteristically quiet game, only scattering three hits from three different players throughout the game as Hayden Jones, Logan Canfield and Dominick Barone all racked up a hit apiece while Gunner Riley, Matt Howvalt and Tyler Veltri all scoring runs.

Four different pitchers logged time on the mound for the Polar Bears with Hayden Jones getting the starting nod. Jones didn’t allow a single hit or run while striking out one batter in the first before being relieved by Blake Straight.

Straight gave up three earned runs on three hits and walked a batter over the course of two innings before Brayden Gorbey was inserted into the game out of the bullpen.

Gorbey tossed two scoreless innings, giving up a single hit while walking two and striking out one before the Polar Bears brought in Logan Canfield to finish the game.

Canfield pitched the final two innings, taking the loss after giving up the game-deciding run and three hits, while striking out one and walking one.

University landed the first blow in the top of the second after Campbell scored following a Gabe Jansen ground out to third base to give the Hawks an early advantage, 1-0.

Smolkin closed the inning out by grounding into a fielder’s choice to short, plating Gabe Templeton for another score.

Braham’s solo shot in the top of the third allowed the Hawks to push their lead to three-runs, 3-0.

After struggling to find a rhythm for much of the game, Fairmont Senior’s lineup sprung to life in the bottom of the fifth, mounting a furious rally to tie the game at 3.

Howvalt scored after Vance balked to get the Polar Bears’ push started before Gorbey hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Veltri, trimming University’s lead to 3-2.

Later in the inning, Jones singled on a hard ground ball to left to bring in Riley for the equalizing score.

Yet, the Polar Bears were able to hang on for the win behind Braham’s clutch play at the plate down the stretch.

“We failed to convert on a few scoring opportunities at key times in the game and ultimately that proved to be the difference in this one,” Ricer said.

“After enjoying such a successful year, our guys are not used to losing. Overall despite the rocky start, I thought that once we settled in and rallied that we played well enough to win the game if a play or two had gone the other way. We have a few things to clean up but I think we will be fine ahead of sectional play” Ricer said.

With the loss, Fairmont Senior closes the regular season with a 21-4 overall record. The Polar Bears will return to action on Tuesday with a game against the winner of the Oak Glen-Weir opening round sectional matchup while University (16-9) is slated to play their regular season finale against Laurel Highlands (PA) on Friday at 4 p.m.