COVINGTON, Va. (TVR) – The Alleghany Mountaineers held off a fierce rally by the Greenbrier East Spartans in the fifth inning when the Mounties allowed six runs, but Alleghany still picked up a 14-8 win on Wednesday, March 15.
For the Spartans, Ashton Cochran and Clayton Morgan each hit 3-run homers in that fifth frame, but East never threatened after that mini rally.
Alleghany opened up the scoring in the first inning and rarely had to swing the bat. Spartan pitcher Gavin Bennett struggled early to find the strike zone and walked the first four Mountaineer batters, sandwiched around two wild pitches that scored Elijah Weese and Connor McPeek. A couple batters later, Hunter DePriest got a 2-run single and Alleghany led 4-0.
And that is the kind of day it was for Alleghany. After the fifth inning in which the Spartans put up six runs, it was smooth sailing for the Mountaineers.
Anthony Webb got the start for the Mountaineers, allowing 12 hits and eight runs over seven innings and struck out six. He was the winning pitcher.
Bennett took the loss and surrendered five runs on zero hits over one-third of an inning. Rylee Wilson, Darris Boswell, Eli Green and Gabe Patton each entered the contest on the pitcher’s mound, as well. Green threw a shutout in his inning of work. The Spartans (0-1) also committed five errors in the field which did not help their cause.
Alleghany (2-0) smacked one home run on the day, when Wyatt Griffith went deep in the second inning on a 3-run shot to center field off of Boswell.
The Mountaineers had eight hits in the game. McPeek and Hunter DePriest collected two hits apiece. They each drove in three runs, and McPeek scored three himself, as well. Griffith’s 3-run homer was his only hit, and he also crossed home plate twice.
Greenbrier East’s offense played well with 12 hits. Morgan, Bennett and Patton all managed multiple base knocks with Morgan leading the way with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Morgan drove in four runs and Cochran knocked in three on the evening.
Alleghany will face Riverheads on Friday, March 17.
The Spartans will look to regroup when they travel to Ripley on Saturday, March 18.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
GE: 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 8 12 5
A: 5 3 2 2 2 0 X 14 8 0
