FAIRLEA- On Monday evening, the Greenbrier East baseball team welcomed the James Monroe Mavericks to Spartan Yards for a border battle of Route 219.
After playing a neck-and-neck game for the first four innings, the Spartans picked up six runs in the fifth frame and put a ‘W’ in the win column with a 10-6 victory.
The Spartans were glad to be back home after playing their last seven games on the road and got off to a quick start to prove that fact.
With the Mavs up early 1-0, Greenbrier East got a two-out, RBI double from Ashton Cochran that scored Brady May. Nelson Lynch had scored on an error the pitch before, and the Spartans took a 2-1 lead. That advantage extended to 3-1 on the very next batter when Wyatt Thorton hit an RBI single and that was the score after one inning of play.
But the Mavs came back out in the second and put three runs on the board but got some help in doing so from the Spartans. Bodie Zickefoose got hit by a pitch from East freshman Sonny Herbert. Levi Taylor then singled and both players moved up a base on a passed ball. Jordan Baker bunted home Zickefoose and two batters later, an error from the East defense allowed Taylor to score to tie the game at 3-all. Peyton Gardinier’s sac fly capped the inning as the Mavericks held a 4-3 lead.
East tied the game in the bottom half on Zion Detko’s RBI single that plated Braden Teaney.
The Mavericks stayed resilient and regained the lead in the fourth inning when Cameron Crislip laced an RBI triple to put James Monroe up 5-4.
However, that lead was short lived and never taken back.
With the score locked at 5-5, East’s Brayden Bascombe laid down a bunt single that scored Josiah Spencer. Detko then got a base hit, stole second, and scored on Graham Brewster’s line drive hit to right field. A couple batters after that, Cochran singled home Lynch and East had taken control of the game and led 10-5.
James Monroe put together a mini rally when Gardinier led off with a triple and scored on a groundout from Kadyn Hines. But with two runners on and two outs, Parker got caught stealing third to end the game as the Spartans picked up the home victory.
East was led at the plate by Bascombe (2-3, run, RBI), Detko (2-4, run, RBI), and Cochran (2-4, run, two RBIs).
Carson Koen scored two runs for James Monroe.
Teaney picked up the pitching win. He went 5.2 innings, gave up five hits, two runs, and struck out three out of the bullpen.
East is back in action tonight, Tuesday, April 22 at home vs. Shady Spring at 6:00 PM.
