The Greenbrier East Spartans baseball team suffered a tough extra innings loss to the Independence Patriots on Friday May 21 but rebounded in a big way the following Saturday when they hammered their arch-rival, the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles 18-5.
In the Independence contest, with the Spartans down 1-0, Chris Heater laced a double that scored Logan Carr and made the score 1-1.
East took the lead in the third frame after Noah Hanna doubled home Darris Boswell, and Jordan Mize hit a sacrifice fly that scored Hanna. After that it was 3-1, East.
The Spartans extended their lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning on Mize’s RBI double, then Mize scored later in the frame on error by the Patriots.
With the Spartans leading 5-3 heading into the final inning, they needed only three outs to secure the important victory. But later, Caleb Daniels ripped a two-run double that tied the contest up at 5-all and the game went to extra sessions.
The score stayed the same until the 10th inning when Independence put up three runs on two bases loaded walks and a passed ball.
East threatened with a couple runners on base in the bottom half, but the Patriots got out of the jam and won the game.
Hanna, Mize, Carr and Zac Trump each had two hits to lead the Spartans. Mize had two RBI’s and Hanna scored twice.
Clay Basham picked up the pitching win for the Patriots. He came out of the bullpen and went six innings with 10 strikeouts.
East (14-4) did not have time to dwell on the heartbreaker as they hit the field against Woodrow. They took out all their anger on the Eagles and it started early.
The Spartans scored in every single inning including 14 runs from innings four through seven.
Boswell lit it up at the plate as he went 4-4 with a triple, three runs scored and five RBI’s.
Heaster went 3-5 with three runs scored and one knocked in. Mize, Trump, Henry Goodwin and Daniel Wygal all had two hits each as East pounded out 18 hits on the day and every starter had at least one.
Carr picked up the win on the mound.
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