In their final regular season game before the playoffs Monday at Northview, the W.S. Neal Eagle baseball team scored early and often in the first four innings to hold a big lead early and win 10-2 over the Chiefs.
With the win, W.S. Neal improved to 20-6 overall.
W.S. Neal scored four runs in the first innings, one in the second, two in the third, and thee in the fourth to hold a 10-0 lead after four innings.
Northview would plate one run in the top of the fifth and one in the sixth while W.S. Neal remained off the scoreboard in the final innings, but took the win by eight.
“This was a good win for us,” W.S. Neal Eagle head coach Coy Campbell said. “We got a lot of guys on the mound tonight. I was not expecting to get that many guys in, but we did and we had some guys that have not been swinging the bat, swing the bat tonight early for us. I know we did not play real tough pitching early, but I thought the last guy they brought in threw OK. We may have to face that in the playoffs which is good.” Campbell said everyone got to play Monday night in the win and it was good to get back on the winning side after losing last week at Jay during spring break.
“This was a good win for us going into the playoffs after last weekend (Monday) at Jay getting shutout for the first time this year (WSN lost 1-0),” Campbell said. “We have been averaging seven or eight runs a game so I was kind of worried what might happen tonight for us just coming off spring break. So, I thought our guys played well. We had a few mental errors late, but if we can cut that down, I think we will have a chance to make a good run here (in the playoffs).”
W.S. Neal scored four runs in the first inning after loading the bases with no outs.
After Reid Johnson singled to score Hunter Mullins who reached on a single and Brian Settle followed with a single. Keith Bradley executed a squeeze bunt to score Damion Williams who reached on an error and after a missed squeeze bunt, Johnson stole home for the Eagles to make the score 3-0.
Northview coaches argued the call at the plate against Johnson, which led to one Chief coach getting ejected. Dylan Godwin drove the fourth run across for the Eagles as they led 4-0 after the top of the first.
Leading 7-0 in the top of the fourth inning, Logan Williamson connected for a two-run homerun to put the Eagles on top 9-0. Christian Purvis would drive in the final run of the game for the Eagles with an RBI double later in the fourth.
At the plate for the Eagles, Mullins was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Johnson was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Settle was 2-for-2 and Williamson was 1-for-4 with a homerun and two RBIs. Keith Bradley was 1-for-3 with one RBI and Godwin was 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Purvis was 1-for-2 with a double and one RBI and Tyler Sawyer was 1-for-1.
On the mound, Bradley got the start and the win going two innings allowing two hits, walked and hit one.
Mullins went two and allowed two hits and Godwin went one allowing one hit, one run, and one walk.
Jeremy Myers went the sixth inning and allowed one run, one hit and hit one and Settle went the final inning allowing one hit and hit one.