Cakewalking to a championship: Portageville wins fourth straight district title win 10-0 win over Twin Rivers

BERNIE, Mo. — The Portageville baseball team iced the competition once again, claiming a fourth straight district championship with a 10-0 win over Twin Rivers in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Championship on Monday, May 15.

Despite the weather-related setback that forced the game to be moved to Bernie from Meatte Park in Portageville, the Bulldogs (32-2) continued to play with a level of energy and intensity that the Royals (14-15) could not match.

“Winning district championships never get old,” said Portageville coach Tyler Trover. “I’m so proud of my guys. When we set out at the beginning of the year we had one goal in mind and that was to get back to playoffs. If we did that we give ourselves a chance again, and maybe if everything works outs, write the script a little differently this time.

Portageville's Xayvion Bogan (3) congratulates Jayquan Bogan (21) after he scores a run�during a 10-0 win over Twin Rivers in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Championship at Meatte Park in Portageville, Missouri on Monday, May 15.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

“Our guys never lost focus of that goal and it’s been an amazing run thus far, “ Trover continued. “We always tell them the district championship is the cake, and how far you’re able to go after that is a different layer of icing. We want to layer it up.”

Portageville managed to take a 5-0 lead before the game was delayed and eventually changed locations. Trey Benthal hit a line drive double to score Beau Hunter-Warren in the bottom of the first inning, and the team’s second-inning runs came after Conner Johnson doubled to score Jayquan Bogan, Xayvion Bogan single to score Johnson, Mason Adams singled to score Xayvion Bogan, and Aaron Dunlap scored on a ground out.

“One of the things I told them as we were heading over to Bernie was that we are the veteran club,” Trover said. “We’re not underclassmen anymore. We have to find a way to keep the energy and rev it back up because we were incredibly energetic to start that game.

Portageville's Trey Benthal (14) throws a pitch�during a 10-0 win over Twin Rivers in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Championship at Meatte Park in Portageville, Missouri on Monday, May 15.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

“Regardless of whether you’re a veteran or young group, its tough to have to shut down everything for the amount of time we did, get on a bus, and then have to rev it back up,” he continued. “But they did a really good job of staying with it. It took a minute to get going again, but the most important thing was Benthal came out and recorded three straight outs on the mound in the top of the third inning. That helped settle us in.”

The Bulldogs widened the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning after Carson Bradley singled to score Thomas Frakes and Jayquan Bogan doubled to score Bradley.

Portageville invoked the run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning by adding three more runs. Those runs came after Dunlap scored on a passed ball, and Adams and Hunter-Warren scored on a fielder’s choice.

Portageville's Carson Bradley (10) slides into third base�during a 10-0 win over Twin Rivers in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 Championship at Meatte Park in Portageville, Missouri on Monday, May 15.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

“The biggest thing was the energy that we showed,” Trover said. “We haven’t always brought that energy level every single day. I know its not realistic for that always to happen, but you can tell our kids have been chomping at the bit for this time of the year.

“We won some games during the course of the year where we didn’t play very well,” he continued. “But today it showed that our kids love that playoff atmosphere and the adrenaline rush from being in those big games. Win, lose or draw, our kids aren’t going to leave anything on the table.”

Benthal earned the win after tossing six scoreless innings and allowing one hit with seven strikeouts and one walked batter.

As the team hoisted the championship trophy for the fifth time in the past six seasons, Trover reflected on the significance of the moment and how it reaffirms his belief that he is fulfilling his purpose.

“It just affirms to me that I’m doing what the Good Lord called me to do,” he said. “We’re lucky to have been able to win a bunch of them, but something we always try to let the kids know is how special they are. What our groups have been able to do just doesn’t happen very often, and these things are really hard to obtain.

“You have to sit back, enjoy it and be thankful for how blessed you are because they’re teams out there that work just as hard and haven’t had the same opportunities,” Trover continued. “We very thankful for sure.”

Portageville will host the winner of the Class 3, District 2 Tournament on May 23.

“We know the task ahead of us is going to be daunting,” Trover said. “But our kids will be ready and completely sold out. I don’t think they’ll fear the moment and I’ll play with that house money anytime. As a group, we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

__PORTAGEVILLE 10, TWIN RIVERS 0, F/6__

Twin Rivers 000 000 x — 0 1 3

Portageville 140 023 x — 10 13 0

W—Trey Benthal. L—Drew Solomon. 2B—Portageville: Conner Johnson, Benthal, Jayquan Bogan.