FAIRLEA- If offense is your thing, this game may have not been for you.
But if excellent pitching, steady defense, and a whole lot of nerves piques an interest, there is a good chance Friday’s game between the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans and Woodrow Wilson Lady Eagles was the perfect choice.
After a back-and-forth battle of scoreless innings, the Spartans’ Gracie Gumm drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, Taylor Boswell crossed home plate, and East (5-1) toughed out a 1-0 victory over their biggest rivals.
There really is not a lot to say about the win for East other than their resilience was impressive. Held to just four hits on the night from Beckley’s all-state pitcher Aubrey Smallwood, it was the Spartans that showed patience in the end.
East’s Kayla Bartley was about as good as one can be on the pitcher’s mound and her numbers back up that claim. She went the whole seven innings, gave up just 1 hit, and had 14 strikeouts. She hit her spots consistently and got a lot of swings and misses from Woodrow hitters. Of the 93 pitches Bartley threw, 70 of them were for strikes.
Alanis McClary, Bartley, Lily Carola, and Jenna Groves each had one hit.
Smallwood went 6.1 innings, allowed 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 9.
In what is highly likely to be a sectional championship preview, these two teams will meet again on April 9 in Beckley.
