Portageville goes 4-0, wins third straight Malden Invitational

The Portageville baseball once again emerged victorious at the Malden Invitational, winning the championship for the third consecutive season.

The Class 2, second-ranked Bulldogs (19-2) had an impressive performance throughout the tournament that earned them the coveted title and solidified their position as one of the top teams in the area.

“I was very proud of our kids and how they competed,” said Portageville coach Tyler Trover. “This is a stepping stone goal that we set every year to start rounding into shape this time of year. I’m proud of our guys but we have to keep pushing.”

Portageville opened the tournament with a 10-2 victory over Bernie (7-7) on Friday, April 14.

The Bulldogs' top performers at the plate and on the base path were Benthal (3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs), Adams (3-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases and three runs), Aaron Dunlap (2-for-3 with a stolen base and three runs), Conner Johnson (2-for-3 with a double) and Thomas Frakes (2-for-5).

Hunter-Warren earned the win on the mound after starting the game and throwing five innings. He allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

Adams closed the game, pitching the final two innings and allowing one run on three hits with a strikeout and no walks.

Portageville ended Friday with a 10-0 win over Doniphan (6-7) in four innings.

Carson Bradley (2-for-2 with two RBIs and scored a run), Jayquan Bogan (2-for-3 wth two RBIs, a stolen base and one run) and Benthal (2-for-3 with a RBI and stolen base) were the team’s top offensive producers.

Huston Partin earned the win on the mound after throwing all four innings. He did not give up any runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

The Bulldogs won 15-0 over New Madrid County Central (6-8) and 7-5 over Scott City (10-5) on Saturday, April 15 to claim the tournament championship for the third consecutive season.

Frakes (3-for-4 with four RBIs), Dunlap (3-for-3 with a RBI, stolen base and three runs), Johnson (2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs) and Owen Roberts (2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs) were the team top players at the plate against NMCC.

Thomas Frakes earned the win after throwing all three innings and allowing no runs on one hit with two strikeouts and two walked batters.

Adams (2-for-4 with a RBI and two runs), Frakes (2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs) and Hunter-Warren (2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs) were the team's top hitters in the title game against Scott City.

Benthal earned the win after 5.1 innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walked batters.

Adams pitched the final 1.2 innings and didn’t give up any runs on one hit with a strikeout and no walks.

Portageville used the momentum from the Malden Invitational to win 18-0 in three innings over Campbell (2-6) on Monday, April 17.

The Bulldogs' top hitters in this game were Benthal (2-for-3 with a home run, five RBIs and three runs) and Dunlap (2-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and two runs).

Xayvion Bogan, Johnson and Jayquan Bogan each added two RBIs, while Xayvion Bogan (2B), Roberts (2B), Adams, Luke Moylan, Connor Jeffries and Jayquan Bogan each had one hit.

Xayvion Bogan threw all three innings on the mound and earned the win. He didn’t allow any runs on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Portageville travels to Caruthersville (5-7) on Tuesday, April 18, and hosts Malden (2-10) on Thursday, April 20.

__PORTAGEVILLE 10, BERNIE 2__

Bernie 000 101 0 — 2 8 0

P’Ville 300 331 x — 10 14 2

W—Beau Hunter-Warren. L—James Stanfield. 2B—Portageville: Trey Benthal (2), Mason Adams, Conner Johnson.

__PORTAGEVILLE 10, DONIPHAN 0, F/4__

Dons 000 00x x — 0 4 4

P’Ville 505 0xx x — 10 10 0

W—Huston Partin. L—Keaton Willcut. 2B—Portgaeville: Mason Adams.

__PORTAGEVILLE 15, NMCC 0, F/3__

NMCC 000 xxx x — 0 1 1

P’Ville (11)22 xxx x — 15 11 0

W—Thomas Frakes. L—Carson Pfeffer. 2B—Portageville: Aaron Dunlap, Conner Johnson, Thomas Frakes.

__PORTAGEVILLE 7. SCOTT CITY 5__

SC 100 301 0 — 5 9 2

P’Ville 013 030 x — 7 10 0

W—Trey Benthal. L—Jackson Gloth. 2B—Scott City: Dalyn Littlepage, Levi Senn, Chase Venable. 3B—Portageville: Adams (2). HR—Scott City: Kobe Watson.

PORTAGEVILLE 18, CAMPBELL 0, F/3

Campbell 000 xxx x — 0 2 4

P’Ville 7(11)x xxx x — 18 10 0

W—Xayvion Bogan. L—Jared Jennings. 2B—Portageville: Xayvion Bogan, Aaron Dunlap, Owen Roberts. HR—Portageville: Trey Benthal.