Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Senior Writer and Northwest scout

COLUMBUS - Two aces on the mound in the state semifinals and you could not ask for more from them, as Wheelersburg's unsigned senior Derek Moore (pictured left) and Youngstown Ursuline's Sam Donko (pictured right, Iowa Western recruit) each were on top of their game today.


After seven innings of no runs on the board and with the rain coming down harder then it has all game the Pirates decided to finally make the most of its scoring opportunities in the eighth inning, capitalizing on Ursuline's only error of the game.

Wade Martin started the top of the eighth with an infield single, moving to second on a throwing error by Ursuline's third baseman. Three-hole hitter Ben Arnold blasts a long drive to the right field corner for an RBI double, plating Martin to put the Pirates up 1-0.

After a strikeout and groundout, Wheelersburg added an insurance run as Moore roped a single up the middle to score Arnold and put the Pirates on top 2-0, which got the Pirates fans on their feet (pictured).


Ursuline had its chances in the bottom half of the frame. After a strikeout, sophomore Joel Hake, senior Anthony Rohan and senior Ryan Strollo hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases, ending the day for Moore on the mound. 

The Pirates brought on Martin (pictured left) to close out the game and the sophomore did just that. The 6'2'' righty got a pop out and a strikeout to move Wheelersburg on to the State Championship game and a chance to repeat as champions. Read last season's championship game here.

The No. 13-ranked Pirates will play against the winner of No. 14-ranked Hamilton Badin (23-7) and No.9-ranked Bloom Carroll (25-5).

Wheelersburg had a few scoring chances early. In the second, the Pirates junior cleanup hitter Camron Parsley roped a single to right and junior catcher Dylan Miller followed with a single through the hole on the left side. Moore then sacrificed the two runners to second and third. Senior outfielder Clay Massie laid down a safety squeeze that he beat out at first to load the bases with one out, but Donko came back with back-to-back strikeouts to the Pirates 8-9 batters.

In the third, Wheelersburg's junior leadoff hitter Garrett Carmichael laced a single up the middle, but was picked off at first. After a groundout, senior three-hole hitter ripped a single to left and Parsley walked to put two on with two out. Donko once again got out of the jam as Miller flew out to right to end the inning.

In the sixth, the Pirates got another runner in scoring position as Arnold drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Parsley. However, Arnold tried to advance to third on a grounder to Fighting Irish shortstop Ryan Strollo, and was thrown out to end the threat.  

Moore went 7.1 innings allowing zero runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six. Moore improved to 13-0 on the season with 130 strikeouts in 90 innings. The unsigned senior entered the game with a 1.02 ERA while allowing just five walks on the season. Moore sat 86-87 in the first three innings and sat 83-86 the rest of the game. The righty also featured a nice hard curve at 69-70 mph. With the win Moore improved his career record to an astounding 35-0.

Moore has pitched at state three times and was asked to rate this with other performances at state.

"Since tonight is probably my last performance in this Pirate uniform (pitching wise), I'll remember this game for the rest of my life," stated Moore. "With these guys, my brothers behind me.... it's unreal."

Wheelersburg head coach Michael Estep on Moore's career on the mound.

"Unbelievable... I mean he's 35-0," stated Estep. "It's out there now, we kept it a secret a little bit in our dugout for the last couple of years. 35-0.... how many kids throw their final game (probably their final game). If it came down to it, he is a resilient kid and a competitor. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted the ball in relief."

In last season's regional semifinals contest Moore allowed just four hits and one walk, while striking out 11. The righty threw 93 pitches on the night, 64 for strikes. Moore's fastball was consistently in the 83-85 mph range in 2012. Read last season's state semifinals game here.

Donko went the distance for the No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish, allowing two runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out six. The big righty was consistently 85-88 with the fastball while mixing in a 67-73 mph curve often. Donko finished the season 9-2 on the season with 97 strikeouts in 63 innings. 

LINESCORE

Wheelersburg            000 000 02 - 2 10 0

Youngstown Ursuline  000 000 00 - 0 5 1

Records: Wheelersburg 28-4, Ursuline 24-3.

Winning pitcher: Derek Moore (7.1 innings, 0 runs, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks). Other: Wade Martin.

Losing pitcher: Sam Donko (8 innings, 2 runs, 10 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks).

Leading hitters: (Wheelersburg, 10 hits) - Ben Arnold single, double; Clay Massie 2 singles; Zach Brown double. (Ursuline, 5 hits) - Anthony Rohan single, double.