Justice Pugh had been waiting all year for a moment like this.
The Marmaton Valley junior has been a team leader for the Wildcats throughout his junior year with the team short on seniors. Coupled with a lack of experience, the Wildcats have suffered in the win-loss columns across sports.
Pugh, though, has been the one constant. Whether it was on the football field as the team’s quarterback, or the basketball court as point guard and leading scorer, or on the baseball diamond as the team’s top pitcher and leading hitter, Pugh has been a leader.
And at least on Monday night, it resulted in a win. The Wildcats advanced to the regional semifinals with a 17-14 victory over Yates Center.
“We’ve been struggling a lot this season, but today everyone was hitting pretty good,” Pugh said.
The win is a big step for the baseball program specifically, which has been in a recent drought of playoff success.
“It has been a long time since we had a playoff win and it feels good to finally get one,” Pugh said. “It was always a goal.”
After the game, longtime coach Derek Scharff could not pinpoint when the team’s last regional victory had occurred.
Monday’s win did not come easy for Marmaton Valley as Yates Center — a hot-hitting team entering the game — continued to be a strong offensive club.
“It has been the M.O. for the end of the season really,” Yates Center coach David Daugharthy said. “We have been swinging the bats really well. We even had a few that we hit right on the screws and right at people, unfortunately. I was really pleased with how we swung the bats.”
After Marmaton Valley opened the game with two runs in the first inning, Yates Center responded with a five-run inning of their own off of Pugh to take the lead early.
Marmaton Valley answered back though and answered in a big way.
“It was huge,” Scharff said. “We’ve been waiting for the (offensive consistency) all year, so it was a good time to put it together.”
The orange Wildcats from Moran posted 10 runs in the second inning to stake Pugh to a big 12-5 lead as they capitalized on a multitude of walks.
“I think four of the seven innings we started the inning with a lead-off walk and those were the big innings for them,” Daugharthy said. “We can’t do that.”
Pugh settled into the game plan and was able to work ahead of batters for a majority of his outing.
“You still have pressure, but it isn’t as much pressure as you would have in a closer game,” Pugh said. “You are able to have fun and it isn’t as stressful.”
Pugh surrendered two runs in the second and shutout the blue Wildcats in the third.
“He did great,” Scharff said of Pugh. “He did what he was asked to do.”
Marmaton Valley extended its lead to 15-7 with a three-run fourth inning and it seemed as though they could run-rule Yates Center.
Daugharthy’s club has too much pride to allow that to happen though and they rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fourth to claw back within 15-12 and the game appeared to be a toss-up once again.
Pugh settled his team down though, and after Marmaton Valley scored a run in the fifth inning, the junior threw his second shutout frame of the night.
Another Marmaton Valley run in the top of the sixth made the score 17-12.
Yates Center was finally able to work Pugh out of the game with two outs in the sixth inning. After they scored to get within 17-13, Pugh reached his 105 pitch-count limit.
After riding his most experienced player as far as he could, Scharff turned to one of his youngest players to close the deal.
Freshman Lane Bahnsen took the mound and was able to pick up right where Pugh left of. He filled up the strike zone and didn’t beat himself with walks.
Bahnsen quickly got out of the sixth inning with no more damage done.
Yates Center senior Gavin Dillow threw a shutout inning in the seventh to maintain the 17-13 margin for his Wildcats and give the team a chance in the bottom of the seventh.
Daugharthy admitted afterwards that he had been trying to same Dillow for the potential semifinal game today and that is why he didn’t pitch earlier.
“Maybe that was just me getting ahead of myself, but our goal was to come in and win the tournament,” Daugharthy said. “We wanted to save Gavin for tomorrow, but things didn’t work out that way.”
Yates Center was able to score a run and bring the potential game-tying run to the plate in the inning, but Bahnsen buckled down to end the threat and fittingly Pugh — now playing second base — tagged a Yates Center runner for the final out.
“It took a whole lot of pressure off my back,” Pugh said of the freshman. “Not a lot of people can do that in that situation.”
Pugh finished the game as the team’s leading hitter with a 3-for-3 day and four runs scored.
SENIOR FAREWELL
Monday was the final game for Yates Center seniors Gavin Dillow and Logan Tidd.
“I told them that try have started this thing,” Daugharthy said. “Gavin has been involved the last four years and he has bled everything he has got into it. Logan has been here the last two years with me and he has done everything he can. They have laid the foundation for this program to build on. There is a bright future ahead.”
UP NEXT
Marmaton Valley will play St. Mary’s Colgan today at 3 p.m.
Bahnsen will get the start on the mound for the Wildcats.
SOFTBALL
The Marmaton Valley softball team also advanced to the regional semifinals.
They knocked off St. Paul by a 17-2 score in a run-ruled game to earn a date with Oswego.
The Indians are the top seed, but the Wildcats earned a split with them last week in Moran.
The teams will renew the rivalry today at 3 p.m., in Pittsburg.
Yates Center earned a bye in their regional and will host Flint Hills at 3:30 p.m. today.
