BIG WIN — Brooke pitcher Henry Anderson is congratulated by head coach Doug Costain after the Bruins edged North Marion, 2-1, Tuesday in the Region 1 tournament. - Andrew Grimm

With the Bruins leading by a run with a runner on base in the top of the seventh inning, Anderson struck out the next three batters to give top-seeded Brooke a 2-1 victory against No. 4 seed North Marion in a West Virginia Region 1 Game Tuesday evening at Brooke.

“It well a hell of a game,” Brooke (16-13) head coach Doug Costain said.

With the loss, North Marion will now play East Fairmont in an elimination game today on the road. With the win, the Bruins will be off today before taking on the winner of the game between the Huskies and the Bees Thursday at home.

“We could play North Marion again,” Costain said. “Were in the driver’s seat. We threw our No. 1 today. North Marion has thrown their No. 1 and their No. 2, and they’re going to have to throw someone else today. You have to throw someone like your life depends on it.

Brooke pitcher Henry Anderson delivers against North Marion. - Andrew Grimm

“You never know what is going to happen in baseball. You could lose a fluke game and be out. I like the position we are in right now. We are in the driver’s seat.”

Anderson struck out 10 and walked three en route to the win. Anderson, who has committed to play at Shephard next year, allowed one run on three hits – all of which were singles.

“I don’t know If I can put it into words,” Costain said about Anderson’s performance. “It was unbelievable. He was amazing. He showed why he is going to be playing at the next level. Good players step up in big situations, and he came through for us in those situations.”

Jackson Waskis took the loss for the Huskies (11-11). Waskis struck out nine while walking only one. He allowed two runs on four hits – all of which were singles.

Both teams were retired in order in the first, but that was not the case in the second.

Brooke’s Dustin Engle races between second and third base. - Andrew Grimm

The Huskies had a runner on third with one out in the top of the second, however, Anderson recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat keeping the game scoreless.

Anderson then led off the home half of the inning with a single before being lifted for courtesy runner Blake Bennet. Bennet advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and he scored on a single by Ty Sperringer to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Sperringer, who moved to second on the throw, scored on an error to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage. A strikeout ended the inning.

The Green and Gold did not do a lot offensively on their way to the win, but they did just enough to secure the victory

“No doubt about it,” Costain said. “I always joke with the boys that I cannot remember all of the big hits and everything. Today, I joked with them that they made it easy for me. I remember all four. Good teams find a way to win, and we were able to do that today.

“If you look at us the last week-and-a-half or two weeks, we have faced murder’s row. We played St. Clairsville – the Class 4A OVAC champions. Then, we played Toronto. After that, we played Wheeling Central, who is pretty good. We really challenged the boys. We hoped that playing those games would make us better and help us in the postseason, and they did.

After a scoreless third, Sperringer singled with two outs in the fourth. Sperringer stole second to move into scoring position, however, a strikeout ended the inning without any more damage being done.

The Huskies were able to break through in the fifth.

Collin Verbosky walked to lead off the inning, and he moved to second and third on a pair of groundouts before scoring on a single by Ryder Bland to cut North Marion’s deficit to 2-1. Anderson recorded his seventh strikeout of the game to end the inning with his team still in front.

The visitors got their lead-off batter on in the sixth with a walk, however, Anderson retired the next two batters – on a pop-up and on a 6-4-3 double play – to end the inning with Brooke still out in front.

“It was a total team effort,” Costain said. “We had a great amount of energy today. The kids in the dugout had a lot of energy. The kids are having fun playing baseball at Brooke right now. Hopefully, we are able to continue this.

Brooke had a chance to extend its advantage in the bottom of the inning, however, the home team was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Aiden Provenzano walked to lead off the inning, and the Bruins’ catcher was replaced on the bases by courtesy runner – Dustin Engle. Gino Provenzano reached on a bunt single, and Engle moved up to second on the play giving the victors a runner in scoring position. Unfortunately, a flyout and a fielder’s choice ended the inning without the Bruins being able to tack on any insurance runs.

“I like this team,” Costain said. “When we talked earlier in the season, I told you this team was not going to quit. We challenged the team. We told them it was up to us. We can only control us, and we controlled us.

“We had good approaches at the plate. We worked on a plan, and we stuck to our plan. Things don’t always work out in your favor, but we had a plan and if you work your plan, good things are going to happen. In baseball, if you put the ball in play, good things are going to happen, and good things did happen for us. We followed our plan.”

With North Marion being down to its final at-bat in the seventh, Waskis led off the inning with a single, and he stole second after another Anderson strikeout gave the locals their first out of the inning. The Huskies had a runner in scoring position as Waskis was on second, however, Anderson rose to the occasion and struck out the next two batters to end the threat, the inning and the game.

As he showed all game, Anderson was at his best in the biggest moments of the game.

“No doubt about it,” Costain said. “We challenged Henry. My assistant coaches did a great job of scouting North Marion. They scouted them as well as you can in high school baseball. We were able to get video of them. We were able to see on video that their pitcher likes to work very fast. We wanted to interrupt their pitcher. We stepped out more, and we took our time. We wanted to make it difficult on their pitcher.

“We saw that North Marion likes to hit the ball the other way, so we wanted Henry to pound the ball inside. He pounded the zone. He did a great job.”

Rylan Craig also recorded a single in the loss for the Huskies.

North Marion defeated No. 5 seed East Fairmont, 9-5, Monday at home in the opening game of the top half of the bracket of the regional tournament. The Bees had defeated the Huskies, 11-1, in North Marion’s season opener March 24 on the road.

Brooke 2, North Marion 1

North Marion 000 010 0 – 1 3 2

Brooke 020 000 0 – 2 4 3

NORTH MARION (11-11): Waskis LP (9K, 1BB) and Craig. Bland S, RBI; Craig S; Waskis S.

BROOKE (16-13): Anderson WP (10K, 3BB) and A. Provenzano. Anderson S; G. Provenzano S; Sperringer 2S, RBI.