Greenfield run rules Miller on combined one-hitter

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Greenfield’s Collin White came up one batter short of authoring a no-hitter.  He didn’t even get to complete the game, but White should still be satisfied with his performance, resulting in a 10-0 Wildcats victory in five innings over the Miller Cardinals.

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White struck out seven and walked four before giving up a two-out single to left field by Miller leadoff man Jake Epps in the bottom of the fifth.  Coach Nick Engleman pulled his starter after that and gave the ball to closer Jalen Roby, who got Isaac Stover to pop out to first to end the Spring River Conference affair.

“We’re in a stretch where we’re gonna play seven games in about ten days,” said Coach Engleman.  “We threw our [number] four guy out there, we said, ‘Just go out there, pump strikes, and let your fielders work.’  And he did exactly that.  He took a no-hitter into that last inning, he got two outs and needed one more, [Stover] got the hit and we went to our closer Jalen, who always does a good job for us.”

Asked if White was given the traditional “silent treatment” from his teammates, Engleman replied yes—but not intentionally.

“I don’t think our guys were really aware of it,” he said with a chuckle.  “Coach [Gavin] Kenney, my assistant, asked in the second or third inning if he’d given up a hit yet and I said, “No, I don’t think so, but we probably jinxed it.”  We try to keep the baseball code and don’t talk about it, but honestly, I don’t think some of our guys are aware of it.”

To be fair, Greenfield (8-4, 4-1) had its problems as well in solving Miller starter Dylan Hill, but the Wildcats took advantage of aggressive baserunning and three Cardinal errors to force the issue.

The Wildcats initially broke through with a run in the second as Marcus Wright legged out an infield single, stole second, and came home on a pair of wild pitches by Hill.  Greenfield added two more runs in the third without the benefit of a hit, and could have had more if Wright had not lined into a double play.  White helped his own cause in the fourth as he drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second on a nice bunt by Collin Allen, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a single to right field by Roby.

The floodgates opened on Miller (2-5, 1-4) in the top of the fifth as the Wildcats plated six runs, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Gage Burns.

Hill allowed just four hits and fanned four, but he also walked seven, hit a batter, and threw three pitches.

“We really struggled hitting,” Engleman admitted.  “We came in hitting .370 as a team and they said Hill was a little sneaky and difficult to pick up.  He kept our hitters off balance a little bit but we took advantage of it and got guys on base, running around and bunting guys over.  When you put the ball in play, you find ways to score runs and that’s what we try to do.”

Miller coach Adam Grisham said of the Wildcats, “They took their momentum and built off it.  I think we peaked and leveled off.  I think we beat ourselves.  Greenfield is a talented team and I think they knew how to push their momentum forward…

“We’ve just to got to stop the mental errors and the little mistakes we’re making every inning and back [Hill] up and be walls because he pitched a great game.”

Greenfield returns to action on Friday at Pierce City while Miller is off until Monday when they face Purdy.

Greenfield 012 16—10 4 0

Miller         000 00—  0 1 3

Collin White, Jalen Roby (5) and Sawyer Dodd; Dylan Hill, Jake Epps (5) and Dakotah Sanders.

Hits:  Greenfield—Jalen Roby, Gage Burns (2B), Marcus Wright, Hunter Jeffreys.  Miller—Jake Epps.

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