Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Greeneview junior Landon Gardner shut down one of the best teams in the area with four scoreless innings allowing three hits and striking out five.
Sprinting home on the suicide squeeze attempt is Greeneview sophomore Chase Walker. He slid in safely, but the umpires ruled it was a foul ball after a discussion.
Getting a hat tap from Greeneview senior Ben Myers (5) is junior Keegan Phillips (3) as he heads back to the dugout after his second inning home run.
Bellbrook senior Brayden Hubbell (11) scoops and throws from shortstop to first to get Greeneview senior Ben Myers (5) as he races down the line.
Beating a pickoff attempt back to second base for Bellbrook is senior Luke Driskell (12) as Greeneview senior Kaden Kinsley covers from short.
Laying out in foul territory and making the diving catch from third is Greeneview senior Tanner Thornton.
Bellbrook senior Bennett LaPalm sends a ground ball into the field during his at-bat in the third inning.
BELLBROOK — Greeneview’s dugout brought the energy right from the opening pitches and the runs came with them on the trip to Bellbrook.
The Rams were near flawless in all phases of the game in building a big early lead and defeated the Golden Eagles 11-4 to pick up a defining non-conference win.
“I feel like these guys are setting the tone for years to come,” Greeneview head coach John-Marc Brooks said. “They’re really doing a good job of making sure that baseball here is energetic, it’s fun and that nobody initimdates us whether it’s Division I, II or whatever as we try and treat everyone the same and play the best we can.”
A showdown between two of the best teams in Greene County was one sided early as the Rams used an aggressive mindset at the plate from the outset.
Loading the bases in the first, an attempted suicide squeeze by Kaden Kinsley worked well but was called foul by inches. After he went on to hit a sacrifice fly, Landon Gardner put a stamp on the big inning with a line drive roped into left field which scored two and doubled the Rams’ advantage to four.
Greeneview (6-1) would add another run after a delayed steal with runners at first and third confused Bellbrook’s defense on where to prioritize trying to get the final out of the inning which resulted in a errant throw toward home. It was one of three Bellbrook errors in the opening frame.
Keegan Phillips made sure the Greeneview bats didn’t let up in the second as he blasted a leadoff home run over the right-centerfield fence. Three more runners reached afterward which helped plate three more as the lead grew to 9-0.
Bellbrook head coach Jon Venters felt the Rams beat his team in every facet of the game.
“They out hit us, they ran the bases better than us, they played defense better than us, they pitched better and they coached better,” he said. “We messed up a couple situations that we practice and we’re better than, but they took advantage of every single opportunity that we gave them. I was really impressed, they played very well.”
Gardner started on the mound and faced only one over the minimum through three as he was aided by a diving catch and heads up play off ricochets by his defense.
“They made tons of plays,” Gardner said of his defense. “It helps a lot as good defense wins games.”
He found himself in his first jam of the game as the Golden Eagles loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but consecutive strikeouts didn’t allow Bellbrook a chance to draw closer.
“When it’s going you way, it seemed like every time the ball went up it landed in our gloves and it all just worked out for us,” Brooks said. “I just looked at one of the coaches and said if everyday could like this, it’d be amazing.”
Bellbrook (6-5) extended the game to the final inning after being down to its last out in the sixth. Ben Bayer produced a seeing-eye grounder into right field which plated the team’s first two runs.
“We’ll learn from this,” Venters said. “It’s why we play non-league game and we just gotta come back and be ready to go for a big league contest tomorrow.”
Bellbrook staves off the run-rule after being down to its final out in the sixth. 11-2 Greeneview. pic.twitter.com/Zq3kQneno2
— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) April 13, 2023
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on Twitter @Steven_Wright_.
