Rams win 1-0 with Hardy's 17 strikeouts
SNOW HILL--Riding a three-game winning streak, the Greene Central Rams, with (6-3, 2-0) triumphed over conference opponent SouthWest Edgecombe in a nail-biting 1-0 victory on Tuesday. Austin Hardy pitched six perfect innings before giving up a walk and hit in the seventh inning.
SouthWest Edgecombe came into the game with a 6-2 record. They had just lost a game by a score of 14–12, and in their last three games, they had scored an impressive 42 runs. However, Greene Central's defense and Hardy's pitching prowess kept them at bay.
Both teams had great pitchers. Hardy struck out 17 batters, and Parker Gay for SouthWest Edgecombe retired 10. Southwest Edgecombe's offense managed a single hit from Derrick Davis in the seventh inning, but that was not enough to overcome the Rams' determined defense.
Hardy's outstanding performance spanned seven innings, during which he allowed no runs, only one hit, and walked just one batter. His counterpart, Gay, took the loss for SouthWest Edgecombe after giving up one run on four hits, striking out ten, and walking none in six innings of work.
At the plate, Braden Burress led the charge for the Rams, going 2-for-3 in his at-bats and a triple to set up the games only score. The Rams were perfect in the field, making no mistakes.
SouthWest Edgecombe's defense was also error-free, and Davis was the only player to get a hit.
"Austin threw the ball really well tonight," GC coach Ben Brann said. "He had command of every pitch, and the defense backed him up and made plays when we needed them. His outing was huge for us. It was a great team win tonight!"
Junior Rams pitcher Hardy was in a complete zone. After pitching a complete game, one-hitter shutout, he had no clue how many batters he rung up.
"I didn't realize it until after the game," Hardy said. "I was just locked in trying to get a win for the team."
The next matchup between Greene Central and SouthWest Edgecombe is scheduled for Friday night in Pinetops.
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