FAIRLEA- A 3-run third inning played a vital role in the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans 4-0 victory over the Independence Lady Patriots on Tuesday night, April 23.
The game was a scoreless battle through the first two-and-a-half frames as East pitcher Kayla Bartley and Indy pitcher Peyton Brehm allowed no runners to cross the plate.
But that all changed in that bottom of the third inning for the Spartans.
Bartley led off with a first-pitch swinging home run then Lily Carola got hit by a pitch. A walk to Aly Martin put runners on first and second for the Spartans, and after two quick outs, two more consecutive walks put an East run across the plate for a 2-0 Spartan lead. Finally, Haley Ervin got hit by the ball with the bases loaded for another run and East led 3-0 after three.
Bartley was cool, calm, and collected all night. She routinely sat the Patriot hitters down in order and even pitched out of a couple jams to keep them at bay as well.
East picked up an insurance run in the sixth when Ervin reached on an error and Gracie Gumm scored and the Spartans wrapped up their 15th victory of the season.
Alanis McClary, Ervin, and Bartley all had one RBI apiece. The Spartans totaled five hits on the night.
On the hill, Bartley continued her dominance and went the full seven innings, allowed just three hits, and got 12 strikeouts.
Brehm pitched 2.2 innings and walked seven batters and allowed three runs. She was replaced in the third by Savannah Stanley who walked three batters in 3.1 innings.
East (15-8) travels to Woodrow Wilson for their second game against the Flying Eagles this season. In the first one, the Spartans won 1-0 when Gumm walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.
