Greenville Holds On To Split Double Header

Greenville Oaks earned a split on their two games Monday night. Both games proved to be close with the maximum 7 innings being played in both contests. They left the field Monday night in sole possession of 2nd place at 2-1 trailing only Allen Bible Church who handed Greenville their first loss of the season in the first game of tonight's double header.

The first game featured some great defense and supurb pitching for all seven innings, but Allen Bible Church proved to be too much for Greenville Oaks on this night. The final score said 13-6, but 5 of ABC's runs came in the seventh and final inning. At one point, Greenville held the lead 4-3 heading into the third, but they couldn't hold on.

"Our bats just fell asleep in the last five innings," said shortstop Dave Strickland. "We felt like we were in it the entire game, but they just came out on top this time." Strickland also added that the game may have turned out a little different had Dustin Swart and Clay Platt not carelessly allowed a warm up throw fly into the shin of Julie Mabry(an innocent spectator, X-rays were negative) before the game even started. "I thought that really set a negative tone for the first game," said Strickland.

The first game featured another 2 RBIs by cleanup hitter Dustin Swart, who seemed to be unphased by the pregame blunder. He brought in two runs with a triple that scored both Strickland and Clay Platt who both hit doubles. The second inning brought another pair of runs produced by a James Manley fielders choice and a sacrifice fly by Levi Carlson. Grant Glover and Michael Shivers provided the runs. Shivers quietly becoming one of the leaders in batting average for the team at .667 for the year.

Greenville was able to push across only 2 more runs in the next 5 innings courtesy of an RBI single by Blake Wattenburger scoring James Manley who had reached on a single. That run came in the 5th inning. The next run came in the bottom of the 7th with an RBI single by Grant Glover, with Shane Collins scoring the run having led off the inning with a triple. Collins also could be seen flying around in center field throughout the contest.

In the end it wasn't enough to overcome the solid play by Allen Bible Church who was able to touch up pitcher Shane Spencer for 13 runs, despite his second complete game of the season. It seemed as though Spencer would overcome some early control problems, but he couldn't overcome the lack of hitting provided by the offense.

The second game featured more excellent defense and solid pitching, and this time it paid off. Greenville was able to overcome the heat and take the second game, despite having another light offensive performance. The game was highlighted by a diving grab by left fielder Mike Mabry, an outfield assist by Mabry, a near spectacular diving catch by Cade Thompson, and an incredible leaping catch by Blake Wattenburger that he was able to turn into a double play.

The star, however, was on the flat mound. Shane Spencer going on 30 seconds rest came out and pitched his 3rd complete game and earned his second win. He only allowed 4 earned runs, and even struck out a few batters using his constant talking to distract them from the task at hand. More impressive than the pitching though was his 2 for 3 performance at the plate including a homerun and a double. Spencer managed 2 RBIs and scored three runs in the contest. It was a gutsy performance by the pitcher, who came into the two games with some question as to whether he was even awake. He could be seen sleeping on the concrete behind the bleachers just before the first game.

Joining Spencer on offense, Bryan Brokaw led off the scoring in the first with an RBI single driving in Strickland who had reached on a triple. David Strickland added an RBI single in the 3rd which drove in Levi Carlson. Mike Mabry came through with and RBI in the fourth as he drove in Spencer who had reached on an error. Levi Carlson drove in Michael Shivers in the 5th inning with an RBI single, and Shane Collins capped off the scoring with an RBI in the seventh scoring Spencer from second.

"I was really proud of the way we bounced back," said James Manley after the game. "It was a real tough test going out there because we were all feeling some serious fatigue. It was a good win for us to get because it sent us home on a good note." What a good note it is.

Greenville sits in second place, and looks poised for a fantastic season.