On a night in which the lead went back and forth six times the West Greene baseball team figured out how to finish on top in a 10-8 win over North Greene on Thursday.
With the win the Buffaloes even the season series with their cross-county rivals at one game apiece.
“It was good to see us battle back. Every inning it seemed like they would score and we would answer. I’m sure it was a really fun game to watch, but it wasn’t a really fun game to manage all the time,” West Greene coach Adrian Sauceman said. “There was little pride on the line tonight. You never want to get swept by a county team. We reminded the guys of how the last one went a couple weeks ago, and they responded the right way.”
West Greene only managed six hits on Thursday, but they made the most of the balls they put in play while also taking advantage of five walks, six hit batters and three errors.
“We only had six hits, but we found ways to get on base,” Sauceman said. “Then once we got on base we were able to use out speed to make good things happen. We got timely hits, and it was good to see the offense click. We saw some good arms, and it was encouraging to see some good offense against them.”
The Buffaloes went in front for the last time in the bottom of the fifth inning by putting together a four-run frame.
Jhonen Bath led off the side by tracing the third-base line with a hard groundball that turned into a double. He went on to score on a pair of balks to tie the game at 6-6.
Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases, and then a groundout by Ethan Carpenter scored Carter Stills to give West Greene the lead it would hold on to the rest of the way.
With two outs a dropped pop fly allowed two more runs to score and West Greene’s lead reached 9-6.
“These guys showed some heart and responded to adversity, and that was good to see,” Sauceman said. “We saw encouraging things today and hopefully that carries on.”
In the sixth inning North Greene was able to close the gap to 9-8. Jaiden Bailey led off the side with a single to left field, and he scored when Isaac Gaby bounced a groundball through the right side.
Gaby stole second and third, and he scored when Tyler Britton dropped a single into shallow centerfield.
West Greene added one more run in the sixth inning. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases and Bath scored from third on a fielder’s choice.
West Greene scored Thursday’s first run in the first inning. Brandon Hunter slammed a ball deep into the right-center that easily scored Julian Greenlee from second. Hunter would have had a standup double, but a great relay from the Huskies caught him trying to stretch it into a triple.
North Greene went in front for the first time with two runs in the second inning. With two outs Wyatt Burns fired a line drive into left field that pushed across Owen Pierce and Colten Suggs.
West Greene tied things at 2-2 in the bottom of the second. Stills landed a pop up in no-man’s land behind third base and he scored when Bronson Brown grounded into a fielder’s choice.
North Greene’s Gaby led off the third inning by bouncing a ground-rule double out of the park. He gave North Greene a 3-2 lead when he stole home on the throw back to the mound.
West Greene evened things at 3-3 when Jayden Cox scored on a groundout.
The Buffaloes took a 5-3 lead in the fourth inning. Brown reached on a fielder’s choice and scored when Ethan Carpenter sent a slow roller down the third-base line that the Huskies could not handle. Cox knocked in Carpenter on a line drive to right field.
North Greene swung the game again in the fifth inning by plating three runs. Gaby was hit by a pitch to lead off the side, and he scored when Christian Cogdill sent a line drive into center field that bounced past a diving Cox.
Suggs followed with another hard hit up the middle that tied the game at 5-5. A delayed double steal allowed Britton to put North Greene in front for the last time at 6-5.
North Greene lost that lead two batters into the bottom half of the fifth inning.
Eli Brown earned the win in relief for the Buffaloes. In two innings of work he walked one and allowed two hits.
Brandon Hunter was credited with the save. In two innings he struck out three, walked one and allowed three hits.
Colton Cutshall took the loss for North Greene. In 1/3 of an inning he walked one, allowed one hit and gave up the go-ahead run.
Gaby was the Huskies’ most effective arm. In two relief innings he struck out four, walked three and allowed no hits.
At the plate Gaby was 2-for-3 with a double, four stolen bases and three runs scored. Suggs was 2-for-3 for the Huskies as well. North Greene produced a total of eight hits on Thursday.
West Greene earned six hits on Thursday. Bath and Brandon Hunter both had doubles.
