BRIDGEPORT, WV- At the time it seemed almost impossible, but the Central Greenbrier 10-12 all-stars got it done again on Tuesday, July 18 in the state tournament when they got revenge on Hurricane with a 2-1 victory.
With the bases loaded and just one out in the top of the sixth inning, it seemed as if things were about to take a negative turn for the boys from Greenbrier County. But then, Elijah Sherman struck out a Hurricane batter and now the bases were still packed full, but with two outs. The next batter hit the ball pretty hard, but CG first baseman Carter Huffman laid out and made a game-saving diving catch that put Central Greenbrier into the final four of the tourney.
The players, fans, and coaches jumped into the air in celebration.
Hurricane went up 1-0 on an RBI groundout n the opening inning, but not to be outdone, CG answered quickly in the bottom half.
A single from Bo Bundy followed by another from Sherman, and CG was threatening. An error loaded the bases and Peyton Ervin took advantage with a run-scoring single to center field to tie the game at 1-all.
It was a will of the pitcher for the next few innings between Sherman and Hurricane’s Colton Davis. Both pitchers have several strengths and with Davis being a lefty, he can be a little harder to hit, but Central Greenbrier would get to him again in the fourth.
Huffman tripled to right center and Kayden Hinkle singled immediately after and drove him in as CG took the 2-1 lead.
Up until that final thriller of a sixth inning, both teams pitched and defended about as well as they could, and Huffman’s catch sealed the deal in the end.
Sherman pitched six innings, allowed five hits, one run and struck out seven batters.
Davis struck out six in four innings for Hurricane but did give up 10 hits.
Bundy (2-3, run) and Huffman (2-2, run) led the way on offense for Central Greenbrier. All but three players had at least one hit.
Unfortunately, in the double-header nightcap, CG lost to Martinsburg 6-5 and were eliminated from the tournament just one game before the state championship game.
A full recap of that game is coming soon.
