COVINGTON – The Greenville rode the bat of Mahayla Cook and a 19-hit Lady Wave assault for a 17-9 non-conference win over the Covington Lady BUCCS in a Friday night game played on the BUCCS home field.
“I like where we’re at, we’re going to hit the ball and we are going to score runs,” said Greenville coach Jerrod Newland. “We’re going to get better every day and today is one of those rungs on the ladder.”
The Lady Wave took advantage of game-opening back-to-back doubles of the bats of Kylar Arnett and Zoey Burns setting up Mayhala Cook’s first of 3 homers on the night giving Greenville an early 3-0 lead with the Lady BUCCS coming to the plate.
Covington came out swinging in their opening at bat with back-to-back doubles, 3 singles, and 2 GHS errors to lead 5-3 with one out. Greenville settled in to get consecutive outs sending the game to inning No. 2.
“The balls fly, you hit the ball, you play and that first inning we gave them 5-6 outs – you just can’t do that,” Newland stated. “We get off the bus get the three, one, two, three batters we’re up 3 zip. The bottom half of the inning they get a hit-hit and all of a sudden we give them five to six outs and they score 5 runs. We just can’t do that. We have to make plays. A couple doubles there, you tip your cap, you give them a run or two but when you give them 5-6 outs it just doesn’t work.”
A Covington error, a Marissa Hicks single, and an Arnett RBI double cut the BUCCS lead to 5-4. Covington rebounded with a run in the bottom of the inning to lead 6-4 with 2 innings in the book.
“Those first two innings they scattered some hits between some plays we didn’t make but we made some plays out here today,” said Newland.
Both teams went quietly in their half of the third before the Lady Wave broke the game open in the top of the fourth.
Lily Brubaker knocked a one-out single to center, Arnett followed with a single to right putting runners on the corners setting up a crushing Zoey Burns deep homer well over the centerfield fence giving the Lady Wave a 7-6 lead. Cook singled on a hard ground ball to left, Burke singled to center and Ella McLear sent a 2-run double to deep right upping the LWSB lead to 9-6. Kendall Cromwell made it a 10-6 lead with a run-scoring single making it 7 straight Lady Wave coming to the plate without an out.
“Zoey hit one square and she hit that ball good,” said Newland. “That put us back up when we were down. She helped herself out there.”
Cook drilled her second home run of the game, a two-out two-run blast to center giving Greenville a 12-6 advantage with Covington coming to the plate to score a single run for a 12-7 score after five.
The Lady Wave continued its torrid hitting with a two-out RBI double off the bat of Savannah Leach and a Covington error leading to a run for a 14-7 Greenville lead. The BUCCS added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to trail 14-9 with one inning to play.
Cook drilled her third home run of the night leading off the top of the seventh and Haleigh McDermitt drove a run-scoring single to center for the final run of the night.
“Cook hits the ball square and solid and when she hits it it goes,” said Coach Newland. “The one she hit went over by a lot and the other two made it. Just a good kid, gets her money’s worth, and works at it. Her hard work is paying off.”
Morgan Thompson set the home team down in order in the bottom of the seventh preserving an 8-run Lady Wave win.
“All year we’re preaching scoring runs and we’re going to score a lot of runs,” Newland said. “We’re going to hit the ball square and tonight obviously we needed them but hats off to them, good group, year in and year out one of the better teams that’s why we’re over here playing tonight and just excited to get out of here and move on 3-0 on the year.”
Burns picked up the win for Greenville going 3.0 innings allowing 3 earned runs, 8 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Thompson tossed 3.1 innings in relief allowing 0 earned runs, 4 hits, no walks, and no strikeouts. Liz Shaffer went 0.2 innings allowing no earned runs, 1 walk, and no strikeouts.
“All three pitchers got in the mix – we have to play better defense to be a great team,” said Newland. “We’re going to get there but it’s contagious.”
Cook paced the Lady Wave at the plate going 4-4 including 3 home runs, a single and a walk, 6 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Arnett went 3-5 including 2 doubles, 2 runs; Burns was 2-3 including a double and home run, 4 RBIs, 1 run; Kendall Cromwell 2-5, 1 RBI; Ella McLear 2-4 including a double, a walk, 1 RBI, 1 run; Lily Brubaker 1-3; Burke 1-5, 1 run; McDermitt 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 run; Savannah Leach 1-5, 1 RBI, 2 runs; Clair Royer 1 run; Skylar Bryson 3 runs; Kara Blumenstock 1 run.
Both teams struggled in the field, Greenville with 5 errors, and Covington saddled with 6 errors.
The Friday night game was bittersweet for Coach Newland as his seventh grade son Andrew was playing his first organized school baseball game.
Today was a rough game for me personally because I had to miss my son’s first baseball game,” noted Newland. “Today I had to be the absent father and Drew’s first Middle School game. That was very tough for me. My son’s playing his first one and that’s tough on me. I got to spend the day earlier with him. Just bittersweet because when the rubber band gets pulled a lot of ways you have to make sure you’re doing the right thing.”
BOX SCORE
123 456 7 R H E
310 622 3 17 19 5 Greenville
510 012 0 9 13 6 Covington
