FAIRLEA- Much like the Lady Spartans the night before, the Greenbrier East baseball team took care of business and got a big 11-2 senior night victory over the Shady Spring Tigers on Wednesday night, April 24.
Before the game, seniors Peyton DeHaven, Rylee Wilson, Gavin Bennett, Gabe Patton, and Logan Hudson were all honored with a small ceremony for their last four years at Greenbrier East.
Once the game got going and the Spartans got their emotions out of the way and after trailing 1-0 early, they decided to take care of business.
Shady jumped out to an early lead in the first inning against East pitcher Eli Green, but it was all Spartans from that point forward.
East (8-17) tied the game at 1-all in the second inning when Gavin Erskine reached on an error and Green scored. Erskine would then score on another miscue later in the inning and after two, the Spartans held a 2-1 advantage.
After Green sat the Shady lineup down in order in the top of the third, East came to bat and made a bigger gap in the lead. DeHaven walked and then two batters later, fellow senior Bennett doubled to left field that scored DeHaven and East took a 3-1 lead. Bennett would score later in the frame and Brandon Upton singled home Zion Detko for a 5-1 East lead. Upton ended up scoring on a wild pitch and Patton got an RBI groundout as the Spartans took a commanding 7-1 lead into the fourth.
Ashton Cochran knocked DeHaven on the next East at-bat with a triple and Green ripped a 2-run single that made the score 11-1 on a night that the Spartans just had it going for their exiting teammates. They cruised in the final three frames for the relatively easy victory.
Green was productive at the plate and on the mound. He went 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. In the pitching circle, he pitched seven innings, allowed just four hits, two runs, and struck out seven. Bennett (2-3) also had two hits and scored three runs. He also knocked one in. Upton was 2-3 with an RBI and a run and DeHaven scored twice.
Even though senior night happened, the Spartans aren’t done yet. They will head to Cooperstown, New York on Thursday for a double-header this weekend.
All photos by Nikki Bennett:
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