FAIRLEA- At the start of this baseball season, the Greenbrier East Spartans struggled out of the gate to consistently hit the baseball which resulted in some close, low-scoring losses that dug themselves a small hole in the standings.
Fast forward to the last week or so, and those days seem to be clearly in the rearview mirror.
East pounded out 13 hits on Tuesday night, April 9 and also scored that many runs in a 13-0 rout of the Princeton Tigers. The Spartans had defeated Princeton 12-4 a couple weeks ago.
Freshman Nelson Lynch led the way and was an extra base-hitting machine all game long. He went 4-4 with two doubles and two triples. He also drove in three runs and scored two of his own. Basically, he set the tone from the get-go.
The Spartans used a 9-run first inning and never looked back as the Tigers looked defeated in the field from that point forward.
It was more than enough run support for senior Gavin Bennett who pitched a near flawless game. He threw five innings, allowed just one hit and struck out five.
Other notable performers for the Spartans were Zion Detko who showed a 2-3 stat line with a double, triple, three runs scored and two RBIs. Brandon Upton (2-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Peyton DeHaven (2-3, run, RBI), and Eli Green (1-2, run, 2 RBIs) also stood out.
But they were not the only ones. It was a true team effort from top to bottom.
The Spartans are scheduled to host Oak Hill this Friday before hosting a double-header against Martinsburg on Saturday.
It remains to be seen if the Hurricane win from last weekend will propel this team in the right direction for the stretch run, but all signs are pointing to that being the case.
East is now 5-10 on the season.
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