FAIRLEA- Greenbrier East jumped out to a nice lead on Saturday afternoon against the Independence Patriots, then had to hold off the visitors to secure a 4-3 victory at Spartan Yards on a cool, windy April day.
The Spartans, who have bounced back from two straight losses now with two straight wins, moved to 9-4 on the season.
The Spartans went with Eli Green on the mound and for the most part, the senior was stellar. He got through the first inning unscathed which brought the Spartans offense to the plate.
Zion Detko started things off with a double and following two consecutive outs, Brady May knocked in Detko with a base hit to second that made it 1-0 Spartans after one.
Green would help his own cause with a triple in the second, but Indy pitcher Cole Cunningham got out of the jam and no harm was done to the Patriots. After two innings, the Spartans still led 1-0.
East extended their lead in the third frame when they put a couple more runs on the scoreboard. Brayden Bascombe and Detko hit back-to-back singles to lead off. Two batter later, May ripped a 2-run single to the left side for a 3-0 Spartan advantage.
Nelson Lynch then extended that lead to 4-0 with a home run in the fifth.
Green was on cruise control for much of the contest but ran into some problems in the top of the sixth inning. Levi Barnett, Degan Williams, and Cunningham all singled to start the frame. Then, Orion Willis worked a 4-pitch walk as Barnett scored and the Pats cut their deficit to 4-1. Independence put up two more runs in the inning on a hit batsman and a fielder’s choice and trimmed the lead down to 4-3.
East went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth which brought the Patriots up in the top of the seventh for their last chance to tie or take the lead. They got two runners on, but Braden Teaney who came in to relieve Green, got two critical outs to end the game and the Spartans celebrated their ninth victory of the season.
Detko was 2-3 with a double and two runs scored. May went 2-3 with two RBIs and Lynch hit his home run as well.
Green went 6.1 innings, allowed four hits, gave up three runs, and struck out 10.
Cunningham and Williams each had two hits for Independence. Cunningham also took the loss on the mound.
East will head back on the road for their next seven games beginning this Monday, April 14 at James Monroe.
