North Greene hosted cross-town rival West Greene on Friday, hoping to come away with two wins—one over Mother Nature and another over the Buffaloes. The Huskies used a big second inning to seize control early and held on for a 7-5 victory, improving to 4-4 on the season.
“Hats off to West Greene,” said Huskies coach Jamey Palmer. “They’re a good baseball team that can score in bunches, so it’s big for our guys to get this one and come out with a win against a quality opponent.”
West Greene struck first in the top of the opening inning. Bath drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and scored when Aiden Willett reached on a dropped third strike.
North Greene answered immediately in the bottom half to tie the game at 1-1. Back-to-back singles from Halley and Isaac Gaby put runners on, and after a flyout, Britton delivered an RBI single to right to bring home Halley.
The Huskies seized control in the second, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring five unearned runs, which also chased Buffaloes starter Brandon Hunter. The big hit came off the bat of Cogdill, who laced a two-run double.
West Greene kept battling. The Buffaloes plated two runs in the third and added single runs in the fifth and sixth to cut the deficit to 6-5, threatening a comeback.
That rally was halted in the sixth when Isaac Gaby tracked down a looping fly ball off the bat of Carter Stills in shallow left with the bases loaded to end the inning.
North Greene added a key insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Gaby scored on a misplayed single to right by Cogdill, pushing the lead to 7-5.
Britton, making his second start of the season, earned the win, allowing six hits and five runs (three earned) over six innings while striking out five and walking one. Cogdill picked up his second save, striking out all three batters he faced in the seventh.
Hunter took the loss for West Greene, allowing six runs (just one earned) on five hits in 1 1/3 innings. Eli Brown provided solid relief, giving up one unearned run on four hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out three and walking two.
Isaac Halley led North Greene’s nine-hit effort with three singles and an RBI. Cogdill added a double and a triple with two RBIs, while Britton contributed a pair of singles.
For West Greene, Bronson Brown had two singles, and Jhonen Bath doubled and scored three runs.
North Greene returns to action Monday at home against Hampton, while West Greene travels to Chuckey Doak. First pitch for both games is set for 5:30 p.m.
