Greene Central late-game heroics pushes Rams to best start since 2011
The Rams (14-3, 9-0) mounted an impressive comeback with late-game heroics and an outstanding performance by freshman Riley Radford on the mound, securing a thrilling 6-5 win over West Craven (11-6, 5-2). In the last three seasons, West Craven has been a problem for Greene Central defeating the Rams four of the last five times.
Despite an early lead by West Craven, the Rams remained unfazed, as Radford took control of the game after coming in during the first inning. The freshman earned the win throwing 50 strikes on 77 pitches. Radford pitched 6.1 innings, allowing only four hits, one earned run, and striking out six batters.
"I felt good," Radford said. "I just wanted to do my job on the mound."
West Craven's initial offensive onslaught saw Ricky Cooke hitting a two-run dinger, putting the Eagles up by four. However, Greene Central's Braden Burress and Leland Barrow had different plans, each hitting a triple in the first inning to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Rams continued to rally, with Brady Anderson shot to right-center off Batten for a standup double next to be drilled in by an Will Radford single. After several innings of back-and-forth pitching between Radford and West Craven's Taylor Batten, Brady Stevenson brought the score to 5-3 with a triple and an extra base due to a mishandled throw in the sixth inning.
With their winning streak on the line in the seventh inning, the Rams were ready for the task. Coach Ben Brann expressed confidence in the top of his lineup.
“I felt good we had the top of our lineup coming up. When we get to the top of our lineup I feel like they are going to score every time they are up." which included Burress, who boasted a .547 season batting average.
The Rams' late-inning rally began with Burress' single, followed by W. Radford and Leland Barrow's base hits, loading the bases. Senior Wilkes Thomas then tied the game with a clutch two-RBI single. The winning run was scored by Elijah Monroe on a wild pitch extending the Rams' win streak to 12 games.
"We didn't quit; we fought back and got it done in the seventh," Coach Brann said, praising his team's resilience. The Rams are enjoying one of their best starts in years, with the most wins in a season since the 2010-11 season (15) and several games still left to play.
The Rams will face West Craven again on Friday night at 7:00 pm at West Craven's field, looking to extend their winning streak even further and possibly clinching a conference championship.
