It was a Good Friday at Dale Alexander Field as the Greeneville baseball team showed it could pitch, play defense and slug the ball on the way to winning both ends of a midday double-header.
The day started with a 3-1 win over David Crockett where the Greene Devils had to rely on pitching and defense. Game two took a different recipe, but Greeneville proved it could outslug an opponent on the way to an 11-7 win over Gate City, Virginia.
“This is two good wins, and we got through a tough week of baseball where we played 11 games between JV and varsity. Our guys are tired, and things looked hard at times, but they found a way to win,” Greeneville coach Andy Collins said. “It’s good to see that these guys can win in different ways. At this point in the year we know what our pitching is, but it was good to see some guys come through with good at bats when we needed them.”
In game one the Greene Devils got a strong showing from Randen Fillers on the mound. He worked through batters and innings quickly in the complete-game effort. He sat the side down in order three times and his best effort came in the fifth inning when he needed just four pitches to complete the frame. He finished with four strikeouts, three walks and three hits allowed.
“Randen was dominant, and when we play defense behind him we can be dominant,” Collins said. “I can’t say enough about what he did today. It was awesome to get through batters quickly. That’s the way we want to play, we want to play an hour-and-a-half game.”
The Pioneers did take the lead in the top of the first inning. Lukas Easterling started the day by reaching on an error. A bunt single and a hit batter loaded the bases. Marcus Greenway hit into a double play, but it allowed Easterling to score from third for a 1-0 advantage.
Greeneville tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning. Kaine Ricker led off the side by sending a double to right field. He moved up one spot on a ground out and scored on a passed ball.
Greeneville went in front 2-1 in the fourth inning. Kobe Mundy reached on a fielder’s choice and his pinch runner, Cole Smith, scored from second when Ricker drove a line drive into centerfield.
In the sixth inning Noah Murray fired up the Greeneville dugout by blasting a leadoff triple into the left-center gap. Courtesy runner Jeriah Griffin scored to make it 3-1 when Ricker sent a sacrifice fly to right field. Greeneville hoped to do more damage, but ended the inning with the bases loaded.
At the plate Greeneville earned nine hits against Crockett. Murray was a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple. Carson Quillen was 2-for-4 with a double, and Ricker was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.
Greeneville 11, Gate City 7
In the second game of day Greeneville had to rely on its offense to outscore Gate City, and it used nine hits, seven walks and three hit batters to get around the base path in an 11-7 win.
Gate City struck first in the top of the third inning when Brayden Cox launched a two-run home run over the wall in right center.
It was a big swing by Murray that turned the advantage in Greeneville’s favor in the bottom of the third. Jack Lister got the side started with a single through the left side of the infield. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases for Murray. With two strikes and two outs the senior found a pitch he liked and blasted it over the left-field wall for a grand slam that put the Greene Devils on top 4-2.
Murray has been a tear at the plate recently and on Friday he reached base a combined five times, with a triple, home run, four RBIs and four runs scored.
“Noah has been huge for us recently. He’s absolutely locked in offensively, and it’s at time we need him to be. When other guys cool down you need a guy to heat up, and Noah is doing that right now,” Collins said.
The Blue Devils’ bats found some life in the fourth inning as they pushed across five runs for a 7-4 lead. The highlight of the side was a three-run home by Cox.
Greeneville got one run back in the fourth inning when Carson Norris hit a hard ground ball to first base that split the wickets of Collin Wood and allowed Maddox Bishop to score from third with two outs.
A big fifth inning gave the Greene Devils the lead. They earned two hits and used the loss of control from some Gate City bullpen arms to score six runs. Murray walked to start things and Kobe Mundy put two aboard with a groundball that skipped by the third baseman. Grayson Crosby then took a big swing that tied the score at 7-7. He slammed a double right into the 315-foot marker on the left-field wall for a two-run double.
Two walks and two hit batters gave Greeneville the lead at 8-7. Norris hit into fielder’s choice that eliminated Bishop at the dish, but when the Blue Devils threw the ball away at first trying to turn a double play Jack Lister came around to score. Ricker put a sacrifice fly into left field that scored Quillen and put the Greene Devils in front 11-7.
Relief pitchers Jaxon Winter and Branton White threw the final 3 2/3 innings, controlling Gate City and preserving the win. Winter threw 1 2/3 innings with no hits, no walks and no runs allowed. Winter covered the final two innings with three strikeouts, two walks and one hit allowed.
The Greene Devils earned nine hits in the win. Murray was 1-for-2 with a grand slam, four RBIs and two runs scored. Crosby was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Mundy was 2-for-4 with a double, and Lister was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
