Chargers get even with Greenfield, claim 4-1 victory
By Tom HamSenior Staff Writer
The young inner-city varsity baseball series between private school opponents Wilson Christian Academy and Greenfield School stands even at 1-1 after the Chargers claimed a well-played 4-1 triumph in the Wilson Tobs High School Classic in Fleming Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In a clash of programs that produced state champions in 2015, the Chargers, reigning North Carolina Christian School Association 2-A champions, pushed across their four runs in the first three innings and settled behind the four-hit pitching of senior right-hander Brandon Krob.
Wilson Christian, a 5-3 loser to the Knights last season, upped its record to five wins, one loss and one tie, while Greenfield, the current North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A king, fell to 2-3. The Wilson teams tangle again this season at Wilson Christian on April 11.
"You can call it an inner-city rivalry,” said junior Greenfield center fielder Cedric Kirby, "but it’s just a fun game. Five of their players play travel ball with me and I kind of know how they play. I was looking forward to playing them because I wasn’t able to play last year (Achilles injury).”
Of the victory, Krob commented: "It feels pretty good. Our team knows them and they know us. It’s a fun game.”
Krob bested Greenfield senior Luke Taylor in a duel of right-handers who didn’t overpower but threw strikes and worked quickly. The seven-inning contest was completed in an hour and 25 minutes.
Krob (3-0) scattered four hits, allowing an unearned run He did not issue a walk and struck out seven.
The Chargers nicked Taylor for nine hits. Taylor yielded one walk and struck out a pair.
Greenfield took the lead in the top of the first inning. Lead-off hitter Kirby reached on a throwing error, the game’s only miscue. He stole second base and scampered home on third baseman Gabe Torres’ two-out single.
Krob allowed but three hits the rest of the way and worked out of a sixth-inning jam. The Knights opened the inning with singles from Kirby and senior shortstop Jake Taylor. Kirby took third on Luke Taylor’s fly ball to right field and Jake Taylor stole second base. However, Krob retired Torres on a bouncer back to the mound and got first baseman Stefan Lemaire to ground out to Wilson Christian third baseman Brad Batten.
The last five hitters in the Greenfield order went 0 for 14, and Krob said: "I trusted my team, kept throwing strikes and let them hit it.”
"If we could have gotten one to eek through somewhere and get a couple of runs, it could have changed things,” reasoned Greenfield head coach Daniel Johnson.
Krob then retired the Knights in order in the top of the seventh.
Singles by junior center field Kevin Teague (3 for 3) and senior shortstop Jared Burrell (2 for 3) and junior first baseman Will Whitley’s sacrifice fly enabled the Chargers to tie the score in the bottom of the first.
Wilson Christian went ahead with a run in the second. Junior right fielder Austin Holland, Teague and Burrell singled in succession with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Batten and Whitey, a walk, sophomore catcher Preston Skinner’s RBI single and freshman left fielder Bryce Murray’s run-scoring ground out resulted in two runs in the third. Luke Taylor then retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.
Head coach Ty Bissett noted his Chargers played pretty solid "except for the first play of the game. I feel good because of the way we played defense and because of Brandon pounding the strike zone. We have to work on his curve a little bit; it’s a little bit flat. We came alive (offensively) the first three innings. Then, I ran us out of an inning and we kind of settled down.”
Greenfield’s Johnson said he was "very pleased.”
"We have a lot of guys that are still inexperienced,” he explained "and it’s still a learning curve. But this was our best game defensively and I could not have asked any more out of Luke on the mound.
"They’re a good baseball team. Brandon is a pretty good pitcher and they hit Nos. 1 through 9.”
By Tom HamSenior Staff Writer
The young inner-city varsity baseball series between private school opponents Wilson Christian Academy and Greenfield School stands even at 1-1 after the Chargers claimed a well-played 4-1 triumph in the Wilson Tobs High School Classic in Fleming Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In a clash of programs that produced state champions in 2015, the Chargers, reigning North Carolina Christian School Association 2-A champions, pushed across their four runs in the first three innings and settled behind the four-hit pitching of senior right-hander Brandon Krob.
Wilson Christian, a 5-3 loser to the Knights last season, upped its record to five wins, one loss and one tie, while Greenfield, the current North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A king, fell to 2-3. The Wilson teams tangle again this season at Wilson Christian on April 11.
"You can call it an inner-city rivalry,” said junior Greenfield center fielder Cedric Kirby, "but it’s just a fun game. Five of their players play travel ball with me and I kind of know how they play. I was looking forward to playing them because I wasn’t able to play last year (Achilles injury).”
Of the victory, Krob commented: "It feels pretty good. Our team knows them and they know us. It’s a fun game.”
Krob bested Greenfield senior Luke Taylor in a duel of right-handers who didn’t overpower but threw strikes and worked quickly. The seven-inning contest was completed in an hour and 25 minutes.
Krob (3-0) scattered four hits, allowing an unearned run He did not issue a walk and struck out seven.
The Chargers nicked Taylor for nine hits. Taylor yielded one walk and struck out a pair.
Greenfield took the lead in the top of the first inning. Lead-off hitter Kirby reached on a throwing error, the game’s only miscue. He stole second base and scampered home on third baseman Gabe Torres’ two-out single.
Krob allowed but three hits the rest of the way and worked out of a sixth-inning jam. The Knights opened the inning with singles from Kirby and senior shortstop Jake Taylor. Kirby took third on Luke Taylor’s fly ball to right field and Jake Taylor stole second base. However, Krob retired Torres on a bouncer back to the mound and got first baseman Stefan Lemaire to ground out to Wilson Christian third baseman Brad Batten.
The last five hitters in the Greenfield order went 0 for 14, and Krob said: "I trusted my team, kept throwing strikes and let them hit it.”
"If we could have gotten one to eek through somewhere and get a couple of runs, it could have changed things,” reasoned Greenfield head coach Daniel Johnson.
Krob then retired the Knights in order in the top of the seventh.
Singles by junior center field Kevin Teague (3 for 3) and senior shortstop Jared Burrell (2 for 3) and junior first baseman Will Whitley’s sacrifice fly enabled the Chargers to tie the score in the bottom of the first.
Wilson Christian went ahead with a run in the second. Junior right fielder Austin Holland, Teague and Burrell singled in succession with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Batten and Whitey, a walk, sophomore catcher Preston Skinner’s RBI single and freshman left fielder Bryce Murray’s run-scoring ground out resulted in two runs in the third. Luke Taylor then retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.
Head coach Ty Bissett noted his Chargers played pretty solid "except for the first play of the game. I feel good because of the way we played defense and because of Brandon pounding the strike zone. We have to work on his curve a little bit; it’s a little bit flat. We came alive (offensively) the first three innings. Then, I ran us out of an inning and we kind of settled down.”
Greenfield’s Johnson said he was "very pleased.”
"We have a lot of guys that are still inexperienced,” he explained "and it’s still a learning curve. But this was our best game defensively and I could not have asked any more out of Luke on the mound.
"They’re a good baseball team. Brandon is a pretty good pitcher and they hit Nos. 1 through 9.”
