MIKE MORRISON The Marietta Times Frontier’s Reese Amos delivers a pitch during a high school baseball game against Monroe Central Monday in New Matamoras.

NEW MATAMORAS — After opening their season Saturday afternoon with a pair of lopsided losses to Warren and Marietta in the Washington County Baseball Tourney, the Frontier Cougars were ready to take out their frustrations on someone.

Unfortunately for first-year Monroe Central head coach Titus Cecil and his Seminoles, they happened to be that someone as the Cougars pounded out 17 hits en route to a 13-1, five-inning win Monday evening at Frontier High School.

Dalton Weber led the Frontier offense by going a perfect 4 for 4 while center fielder Toby Minder and outfielder Heath Foutty collected three hits apiece.

Starting pitcher Wyatt Smitley was the beneficiary of all of the Cougar offense as he allowed just one run in three innings of work to notch the first win of the young season for Frontier.

Weber, Minder and senior shortstop Zach Cunningham, the top three batters in the Cougar batting order, collected a total of nine base hits while crossing the plate nine times between them.

“Every time those three are up I feel really confident that they are going to make something happen,” said second-year Frontier head coach Kurt Satterfield. “They can all swing the bat.”

After allowing a single run in the top of the first, Frontier quickly answered with four in the bottom of the first and three more in the second before blowing things wide open with a four-run third.

Smitley surrendered just three hits while fanning five in his three innings of work before junior Reese Amos came on to throw a scoreless two innings to nail down the victory for the Cougars.

“Wyatt (Smitley) did a really good job on the mound and Logan Brookover did an excellent job behind the plate,” said Satterfield of his freshman catcher. “Wyatt was better than I thought he’d be since he hadn’t pitched for awhile and then Reese Amos did a great job as well.”

The win improved the Cougars’ season mark to 1-2 with their next game coming on Wednesday when they host Belpre in a consolation game of the Washington County Tourney.

“We hit good and pitched good and ran the bases really well,” said Satterfield. “Saturday wasn’t very much fun for us so we will use this game as a little confidence builder.”

Ryan LaFollette, Chad Alleman and Cooper Rush accounted for the three Monroe Central base hits.

Lady Cougars fall to ‘Noles in pitcher’s duel

NEW MATAMORAS– Monroe Central Lady Seminole ace pitcher Kayla Logston was nearly unhittable in Monday night’s season opener at Frontier.

The senior right hander lost a bid for a no-hitter when Kylie Daugherty singled with one out in the seventh inning but retired the final two batters as the Lady ‘Noles scored a 1-0 win.

Logston and Frontier senior pitcher Sammi Morris were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the ages for the first five innings of the game.

Morris got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the opening inning and then blanked the Seminoles over the next four innings while Logston retired the first 13 batters in the game before Nikki Haught reached base on a throwing error in the last of the fifth.

While both pitchers were nothing short of brilliant, each one benefited from some outstanding defense from their respective defenses.

Monroe Central center fielder Hayley Kendall made an outstanding running catch of a drive off the bat of Morris in the fourth inning while Frontier got a pair of outstanding plays by Haught at shortstop as well as one by Morris and one by center fielder Cala Curtis to keep the game scoreless heading to the sixth.

The Michael Brock-coached Seminoles finally broke the deadlock in the top of the sixth when shortstop Allison Kuhn bounced a double off of the fence in left field and one-out later scored when Logston helped herself with a clutch RBI-single through the left side of the infield for what would turn out to be the only run of the game.

Sydney Yoho followed with a single but Morris got Shyla Schneider to fly out to Curtis in center field to end the threat.

Curtis reached base with two-out in the sixth on a throwing error but was left stranded and Morris followed by fanning the Seminoles in order in the top of the last frame.

Logston got Frontier catcher Lexi Brookover to fly out harmlessly to right field to open the final frame before Daugherty lined a single right back up the middle to spoil Logston’s no-hit bid.

Logston recovered to fan Haught and Maddie Greathouse to end the game and give the ‘Noles their first regular season win of the year while the Lady Cougars fell to 1-1.

“It was a great softball game we just came out on the short end of it,” said Frontier head coach Russ Morris. “Fortunately we will get another shot at them later in the season.”

Frontier is scheduled to host Bellaire St. John’s today.