The Greenbrier East Spartans survived yet another pitching battle with Woodrow Wilson and beat the Eagles 1-0 on Tuesday, May 10, and will now advance to the regional finals.
The Spartans had only two hits in the game against Woodrow’s freshman star pitcher Aubrey Smallwood, but it was still enough to advance.
In the top of the sixth inning, with the game still scoreless, Brooke Davis drilled a 2-2 pitch to centerfield for a home run and a 1-0 Spartans lead.
And with East’s pitching performance, that is all it took.
Josi Ervin, who has blossomed into stardom as one of the best pitchers in the state, was good again. She pitched a complete game, gave up only five hits and struck out seven.
However, the pitching was strong on both sides as Smallwood sat down eight batters in her seven innings of work, but Davis’ home run put a damper on her night.
Ervin had the only other hit for East.
The Eagles never really threatened outside of the fourth inning when they had runners on first and second, but Ervin recorded two quick outs to survive the mini jam.
With the victory, East improves to 13-10 and will play the winner of Saint Albans and South Charleston in a best-of-three series beginning next week.
