Rams Win Tight Battle with South Central, 4-3
In an intense battle on the diamond, (11-0) Greene Central Rams eked out a nail-biting 4-3 victory over the (9-2) South Central Falcons, a win pitched by Braden Burress's commanding presence on the mound. Burress pitched 6.1 innings, yielding four hits and three runs, while striking out ten batters and giving up just one walk. His ERA on the season remains an untouchable 0.00 over 27.1 innings, with a 4-0 win-loss record to his name.
Even though Burress dominated the mound, this no doubt was a collective team win by the Rams. The batting efforts were distributed, with Easton Creech and Riley Radford driving in the essential runs, and Austin Brock and Will Radford contributing hits that kept the offense ticking. Creech, Brock, and Radford showcased their timely hitting, clutch at moments when the Rams sought to claw back and eventually take the lead.
The game's crescendo came in the decisive seventh inning. Burress's last pitch—a crucial strikeout to Mason Hobbs—was followed by a show-stopping play at shortstop, where he demonstrated he indeed had "a little bit" of hops, as he put it with a grin post-game. Riley Radford took over on the mount securing both out for the Rams to end the game and to pick up the save.
Coach Ben Brann encapsulated the game's essence by noting the team's overall good performance, with a nod to both the stellar and the work-in-progress aspects. Burress, stepping off in arguably the biggest situation of the game, showed his leadership by boosting Radford, confidently telling him, "he was the best pitcher in the world for two outs."
As a reflection of the match, unsung heroes also had their share of limelight.
“They did a heck of a job,” Brann said. “One thing I said in the huddle, we did some good things, like Austin Brock hitting the longest single in history in the left-center gap, Mason Dillon playing some good defense and base running when needed, it was awesome.”
Playing big time match ups like this no doubt helps the Rams. Rams skipper knows what these games do for the team, “A lot of confidence”.
The win moves the #20 ranked Rams (20th out of all classifications in the state 1A-4A) to 11-0 on the season. Greene Central looks forward to a strong matchup with conference opponent Ayden Grifton next week.
RAMS
Austin Brock 1-4 1 run
Will Radford 1-4
Noah Uzzell 1-4
Riley Radford 1-4 1 rbi
Easton Creech 1-3 1 run 1 rbi
Braden Burress 1-3 1 run , Pitched 6.1 innings 4 hits 10Ks
Cameron Taylor 0-2
Brady Anderson 1-4
Elijah Monroe 0-3 1 run
Attention all local sports enthusiasts! Do you have insider information on your favorite local sports team? Submit to The Score below and let our team of experts bring it to life. Don't miss out on the chance to share what happened at your local sporting event - submit now and become part of the story!
Neuse News Sports is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to cover all schools, all sports, and all athletes in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties.
We provide this free sports news by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local sports news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News Sports with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
