MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Maddie Campbell pitched six innings of shutout relief and scored the winning run in the sixth inning as University rallied past Wheeling Central Catholic, 3-2 on a windy afternoon at Mylan Park.
Inserted into the pitching circle after the Hawks fell behind 2-1 in the top of the second inning, Campbell struck out nine batters and allowed just four hits. She did not walk a batter in collecting the final 18 outs of the game.
“Maddie does a really good job. She likes to come in and save the game for us,” said University head coach Mindy Parks.
Wheeling Central (3-1) opened the scoring just four batters into the game when Bella Rine scored on a wild pitch. UHS evened the score in the bottom of the frame when Kelsey Park scored on a pitch that reached the backstop, tying the game at one.
The Maroon Knights needed just one pitch in the top of the second to regain the advantage. Sydney Hupp hit a solo home run to put Central back on top, 2-1.
Neither team found the scoreboard again until the bottom of the sixth inning. Park led off the inning with a base hit. Campbell hit a double off the fence in center to score Park and tie the game at two. Four of the first five batters in the frame reached base for the Hawks.
“Telling them not to swing and be patient if the ball was high and out. If the ball is up in your face, it is not a strike. So I think they adjusted to that.”
Campbell worked around a two-out single in the seventh inning to finish the game. The defending state champions are 4-0 in the first week of the season.
“That was a really good win for us. We needed that. We needed a close game. This is our first close game and it is our fourth game. I do think the team is still working on some things. We’re still trying to figure things out. We’re still young and trying to figure out the batting order and who is doing what. So I think that it is just going to keep getting better for us.”
Park went 3-for-3 for University.
Maddie Miehle had four of the seven hits for Wheeling Central. Josie Frizzell went the distance in the circle for the Maroon Knights. She allowed six hits and struck out 13 batters.