Following a devastating senior night defeat to James Monroe on Wednesday, the Greenbrier East Lady Spartans rebounded on Thursday evening with a gutsy 4-1 victory over the Woodrow Wilson Lady Flying Eagles.
East (15-9) tagged Eagles pitcher Aubrey Smallwood, who has an incredible 712 strikeouts in her career, for 10 hits and three earned runs. Smallwood did, however, have 16 punchouts.
The game remained scoreless for the opening two innings as East starter Kennah Collins pitched efficiently and kept Beckley off the bases.
However, both teams scored in each half of the third. Reagan Cline doubled and Maddie Baker singled for the Spartans, who eventually scored on a wild pitch. That put Greenbrier East ahead 1-0.
But the Eagles responded. Smallwood hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Hadley Reott, who had walked earlier in the inning. This tied the game at one-all after three frames.
That score stayed unchanged until the top of the sixth inning, when East mounted a little rally. Jenna Groves hit a one-out single to right field, and Cline singled her to second base two batters later. Then, senior Ally Martin delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-run double that gave the Lady Spartans a 3-1 lead.
The Eagles threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch. However, Madilyn Wellman replaced Collins, who was really good, as she struck out two consecutive hitters to halt not only the inning but also the threat.
Collins added a key insurance run in the sixth, bringing Haylee Heaster home on a sac fly.
After the first two batters reached base, Wellman got through the seventh inning unharmed, and East secured its 15th win of the season.
Cline (2-3, 2 runs) and Groves (2-4, run) led the Spartans’ offense. Martin’s two RBIs paced the squad.
Collins pitched 5.1 innings, allowing only four hits and striking out two. Wellman recorded three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.
Woodrow (11-13) had only four total hits in the contest.
The Spartans’ final regular season game in 2025 is planned for this Saturday at home against Independence. Following that, postseason action will begin next week.
