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’Jackets take winning trip across county

’Jackets take winning trip across county

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2012 12:00 pm

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
Greenfield won a pair of county rivalry games on Tuesday and Wednesday, beating Westview and Dresden.
The red-hot Yellow-jackets whipped up on the visiting Lions 15-1 in an early day game on Wednesday.
Greenfield had a little more of a problem in a home game against the Chargers, squeaking out a 7-6 win.
G’field 15, Dresden 1
Greenfield flexed its scoring muscle against visiting Dresden, pounding out 12 hits in their 15-1 win and improved to 8-1 on the season.
The Lions scored their only run in the top of first on a single by Eric Vandyke that brought Gatlin Hatchel in from second.
The ’Jackets answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning on RBIs by Graham Perkins and Zac Grooms. Greenfield added four more runs in the third on two hits as things fell apart for the Lions in the inning. Three passed balls by the Lions’ catcher and a pair of walks added the misery.
The Yellowjackets added two more runs in the bottom of the third on a pair of RBIs by Tanner Smithson on his base hit. Grooms got things rolling for Greenfield after Vandyke nearly made a spectacular catch in leftfield, but the ball got away from him and allowed Grooms to reach second base safely. Adam Bethel walked to put two on for Smithson.
“We were hitting the ball hard,” Greenfield skipper Willie Trevathan said. “I am pleased with that for sure.”
The Lions looked like they were about to mount a comeback in the top of the fourth when Josh Bone and Logan Thomas each got a base hit to start the inning. But Grooms, the ’Jackets starting pitcher, struck out the next three batters to end the Lions’ threat.
Grooms went the distance for the Yellowjackets and is now 2-0 on the season. He allowed only six hits, one walk, and struck out seven. He fanned the last six batters he faced in the five-inning game.
The game was shortened due to the 10-run mercy rule.
“Zac did well,” Tre-vathan said. “I am definitely pleased with that. He is not giving runners spaces for sure.”
Grooms and Smithson each had three RBIs in the game, and Tony Robinson had two. Grooms also had a pair of doubles. Heath Crouse had a pair of RBIs and leads the team with 17. He also went 2-for-3 to raise his team-leading batting average to .625 on the season.
Greenfield’s next game is at home against South Fulton in a District 14A contest Monday at 5 p.m., while Dresden’s next game is also on Monday at 5 p.m. at Gleason in a District 13A matchup.
G’field 7, WV 6
Adam Bethel picked up his third save of the season as he shut down Westview to preserve a 7-6 home win for Greenfield Tuesday afternoon.
Greenfield assistant coach, Tyler Jones, who was sitting in for head coach Willie Trevathan while he was absent due to the birth of his son, brought Bethel into the game to start the sixth inning with the Yellowjackets clinging on to a slim 7-6 lead. Grooms worked the final two innings, allowing only two baserunners on one base hit and one batter hit by a pitch. He got Zach Austin to fly out to Tanner Smithson in left field to end the game.
“Bethel has been our reliever all year, and he shuts teams down,” Jones said. “He has been one of our most dependable pitchers. When we need a couple of innings to shut teams down, we go to Adam. He has done that all year consistently.”
The Yellowjackets (7-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the visiting Chargers (3-4) behind a three-run homer from Heath Crouse in the bottom half of the second, he second of the season. But the Jackets starting pitcher Payton Page could not hold the lead in the top of the third.
With one and two out, Brent Gilbert sent a Page pitch over the centerfield fence. Jonathan Parker was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a double by Seth Coleman. Parker scored to make it one run game on a base hit by Kyle Coleman.
The Yellowjackets came right back in the bottom of the inning with three more runs to make it a 7-3 game. Page rounded the bases on a fielding error by Charger centerfielder Alex Ross and a throwing error by second baseman Blake Parham. After a walk to loaded the bases, Westview head coach Chad Levister made a pitching change. Greenfield scored two more runs in the inning with a walk and a sacrifice fly by Tony Robinson.
The Chargers made a game out of it in the top of the fifth with three more runs thanks to some Greenfield mistakes. Parham and Gilbert scored on a fielding error by Heath Crouse and Parker scored later in the inning on a passed ball by catcher Zac Grooms.
Page picked up the win with his five innings of work, striking out nine and allowing six hits. With the win he improves to 3-0 on the season. Published in The WCP 3.29.12