North Greene’s baseball team entered Monday night’s matchup with Hampton searching for its first conference win. Behind a strong outing from senior Aidan Halley and a clutch two-out, pinch-hit double from senior Owen Pierce in the bottom of the seventh the Huskies pulled out a 3-2 victory to improve to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
“If you weren’t here, you missed a great baseball game,” said coach Jamey Palmer. “I’m super proud of the boys’ never-quit mentality. We made some errors and gave them a couple of runs that shouldn’t have happened, but that’s baseball. To have the chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh like that—I can’t say enough about the work these guys put in.”
Halley kept the Bulldogs in check most of the night, scattering seven hits—all singles—while allowing two runs, just one earned. He struck out three and walked one in a complete-game effort to pick up the win.
“That’s probably Aidan’s fourth start this year,” Palmer said, “and he’s been lights out every time. He kept us in the game mixing his pitches, and if we keep playing defense behind him, we’ll be in good shape.”
Hampton struck first in the opening inning. Brock Shelby led off with a single, stole second, and came around to score on a two-out RBI single to right by Jayden Kuhn.
Colby Clark got the start on the mound for Hampton and was dominant through three innings, striking out four and walking one while allowing just one baserunner.
North Greene didn’t record its first hit until the bottom of the fourth, when Isaac Gaby singled to right off reliever Jayden Kuhn. Christian Cogdill followed with another single to right, moving Gaby to third. A misplay on the throw allowed Gaby to score, tying the game at 1-1.
Hampton regained the lead in the top of the sixth. Clark singled to center and advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt. After moving to third on a flyout, he scored on a fielding error that would have otherwise ended the inning, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage.
The Huskies mounted their rally in the bottom of the seventh. Tyler Britton and Halley drew back-to-back four-pitch walks to start the inning, but Kuhn responded with two straight strikeouts, leaving North Greene down to its final out.
That’s when Palmer turned to Pierce, who has been working his way back from injury, to pinch hit.
“Well, here it is the bottom of the seventh and we are down and he’s told me before if you have to get your pants and cleats ready and go out there,” explained Pierce “so that’s what I did”.
Kuhn fell behind 2-1and had to try to even up the count. Pierce got the pitch he was looking for and drove a deep fly ball to center that sailed just over the outstretched glove of the defender, allowing both Britton and Halley to score sending the Huskies into celebration.
“He’s a good pitcher,” Pierce said. “He threw me a couple I didn’t like, then gave me one I did, and I swung. When I hit it, I was just hoping it would get over the center fielder’s head.”
Kuhn took the loss in 3 2/3 innings of relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out five and walking two.
Both teams return to action Tuesday night as North Greene travels to Hampton for the second game of the conference series. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
