Rebels Bounce Back To Knock Out Hampton, 11-0

BY DALTON LAMB

On a win-or-go-home night at Chuckey-Doak High School, the South Greene baseball team answered the bell in resounding fashion. Fueled by early offense, sharp defense, and a composed effort on the mound, South Greene defeated the Hampton Bulldogs 11–0 in five innings on Thursday evening to advance in the District 1-2A baseball tournament.

With the win, South Greene advances to the semifinals where the Rebels will take on Chuckey-Doak at 5:00 p.m. Friday with a spot in the district title game, and Region 1-2A Tournament on the line.

“I told the team last night we had to play cleaner baseball,” said South Greene Head Coach, Dalton Ramsey. “I think we ended up with four or five errors last night and out of those errors they had crucial runs added to them. We had to play clean baseball and that is what we talked about all of last night, and that is what we did today.”

The Rebels wasted no time jumping on the Bulldogs. In the bottom of the first inning, Charlie Lane led off with a bloop single to left, followed by Brendan Lisenby reaching on a fielder’s choice. A passed ball allowed Lisenby to take second, and a walk to Colby Brooks put two on. That’s when Seth Franklin, with two strikes and after narrowly missing a home run that hooked foul, connected on a no-doubt shot over the left field fence. The three-run blast that finished on the football field gave South Greene a jolt and an early 3–0 lead.

South Greene’s pitcher, Tyler Davis, and the Rebel defense held Hampton in check, retiring six of the next seven batters. Hampton’s best contact early on was a bunt attempt that resulted in a strikeout and a soft pop-up to first.

In the bottom of the third, South Greene’s offense erupted again. Franklin reached on a throwing error, Davis walked, and Jacob Susong loaded the bases with an infield single. Cameron Kinser delivered a two-RBI single through the infield, pushing the score to 5–0. Colton Fillers followed with a strikeout, but Susong stole third, and Mason loaded the bases again by wearing a pitch. Lane was hit by a pitch to bring in another run, and Lisenby laced a two-RBI single into left. The five-run frame ballooned the Rebels’ lead to 8–0 and chased the Hampton starter from the mound.

“Offensively, all season for us, has been our strongest point of the game,” said Ramsey. “It is one of the things that we try to do every day in practice get at least some form of batting in and it shows in our late season games.”

Despite a three-hit fourth inning, Hampton couldn’t capitalize. They broke up Davis’s no-hitter with back-to-back singles, then loaded the bases with a third, but a groundout ended their best chance of the night.

South Greene, unfazed, tacked on two more runs in the home half. Pablo Rosario was hit by a pitch, and Susong followed with a walk. Kinser’s groundout moved them into scoring position, and Fillers dropped down a bunt single to score one. When Fillers stole second, Susong broke for home on the throw and scored easily, giving South Greene a commanding 10–0 lead.

With just three outs to get, Davis returned to the mound and made quick work of the top of the fifth. Hampton got a single with two outs, but a strikeout ended the game and sealed South Greene’s elimination-game victory via the run rule.

“Man, as a freshman, he [Davis] comes out and has the grit to play baseball, and it is one of those things that you can’t teach and does an amazing job at it,” said Ramsey of Tyler Davis’s performance on the mound for the Rebels.

Franklin’s three-RBI night led the Rebels offensively, while Susong went a perfect 2-for-2 with a run and a steal. Kinser added two RBIs, and Lisenby drove in two more in a breakout performance. In total, South Greene collected 10 runs on seven hits, with contributions up and down the lineup. Defensively, the Rebels committed just one error and stranded five Hampton runners to preserve the shutout.

Now riding the wave of a dominant win, South Greene turns its attention to Chuckey-Doak, knowing another win would put them within striking distance of a district title.

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