PIGEON FORGE – The West Greene Buffaloes fought valiantly, but let a 3-1 lead slip away in the late innings and suffered a season-ending, 13-3 loss to Eagleton in the Region 1-2A Tournament.
“It’s tough to see it end. It’s a good group of boys and I’m glad to have been able to coach them. It’s hard to see it end, but it’s got to end some time,” Buffs Head Coach Adrian Sauceman said.
For the fifth-straight season West Greene’s season came to an end in the Region 1-2A Tournament. The Buffs used to be strangers to the regional round, but have since made it a yearly occurrence. Pigeon Forge handed them an 8-0 loss on Friday and they marched into Saturday needing two wins to keep their season alive.
Eagleton stood in their way after losing to Unicoi County yesterday. West Greene held Eagleton in check with only one run through four innings, but the wheels fell off the bus and there was no stopping it as it came down the hill. The Royals scored a dozen runs in the fifth and sixth innings and walked it off early to end West Greene’s season.
West Greene finished with three runs on four hits and committed four costly errors on defense. Aiden Willett went 2-for-3 and led the Buffs in the hit column. Ethan Carpenter had the only RBI. Carter Stills, Julian Greenlee, and Skylar Thornburg scored the trio of runs. Christian Hunter and Greenlee drew two walks each and Stills walked once.
The Buffs finished the season with a 16-18 record after the loss.
Bryan College signee Ethan Carpenter started on the bump for the Buffs. Carpenter walked the first batter he faced and hit the next batter and started the game with two runners on and no outs. He found a way out of it and allowed no runs in the first.
Eagleton scratched one run across in the second inning with an RBI groundout from Evyn Wheelon and led 1-0 after two.
It took until the fourth inning for West Greene to find any runs. Stills and Greenlee walked to put runners on first and third. Stills scored on a passed ball and Greenlee scored on a wild pitch to lift the Buffs ahead 2-1. Aidan Willett singled and pinch runner Thornburg was driven home by Carpenter’s RBI-double with two outs. West Greene led 3-1 after the fourth.
“We felt good about it. That’s the first lead we’ve had down here this weekend,” Sauceman mentioned.
The fifth inning was when the game shifted into Eagleton’s favor. Back-to-back walks and a sac bunt that reached safely led to the bases loaded with no outs. The momentum quickly switched hands when a no-out walk made it 3-2 and an error tied the game at 3-3. Ethan Anderson singled to left field and made it 5-3 next. Lane Cope singled and lifted Eagleton’s lead to 7-3 after five.
The Royals put the game away in the sixth with six runs to walk it off. An error, a walk, and a fielder’s choice led to the bases loaded again with no outs. Evyn Wheelon singled to score one. Cope doubled next to drive home two. Jayce Simon doubled and cleared the bases to walk it off.
Eagleton defeated West Greene and ended their season with a 13-3 victory.
“I’m proud of them. I love those boys. It’s hard to see it end,” Coach Sauceman said.
