Head Coach Brandon Brewer and his Diamond Dogs are on quite a run, winning five consecutive games starting just before school recessed for spring break on Friday, March 20th. Only one of those wins was in conference play against Farmington followed by four non-conference victories in tournament action last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday against solid competition. Four of the five wins were blowouts and the other was a three-run victory.
However, the Bulldogs suffered their second loss of the season on the Thursday before spring break, giving them a 10-2 overall mark just three weeks into the season. That second loss was against the Class 6A Bryant Hornets, followed by wins over Farmington, Monticello, Little Rock Christian, Fort Smith Northside, and Sylvan Hills.
Last weekend’s games were played in Little Rock at the Joe T. Robinson Invitational tournament, perhaps the largest tournament ever held in Arkansas, featuring at least 77 teams representing eight states with games played at several different locations around the Little Rock area.
Bryant Hornets
There wasn’t much to talk about on Thursday the 19th when the Bryant Hornets came calling, beating the hometown Bulldogs, 6-0, behind the stellar pitching of Bryant starter Blake Brower, who went the distance, giving only three hits and one walk. The visitors scored a solo run in the top of the second off GHS starter and tough-luck loser Brayden Brewer, who pitched 3.2 innings before being relieved by Cooper Webb and Lawson Leath, each going one inning.
The Hornets put the game away with five tallies in the top of the seventh off two more Greenwood relievers, Carter Koch and Ty Karnes. Koch gave up three runs, all earned, while the rest of Bryant’s runs were unearned, aided by five GHS defensive errors. The visitors had just seven hits while the Bulldogs had three knocks, one each by Jayden Campbell, Brayden Renick, and Cooper Webb, who had the only extra-base hit for Greenwood.
Farmington Cardinals
The following day, Friday, March 20th, the Diamond Dogs traveled north to take on the Farmington Cardinals in 5A West conference play, winning handily, 10-2 in seven innings. Three Greenwood hurlers toed the rubber with starter Caden Mendenhall getting the win with 2.2 frames of scoreless work. He notched five strikeouts among his eight outs, giving up four hits and a walk. Lawson Leath relieved him, also going 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and two runs with four Ks. Cooper Webb finished the game with 1.2 innings in the sixth and seventh innings. He gave one hit, one walk, and no runs while fanning three Cardinals’ hitters.
The Bulldogs scored twice in the top of the first inning, twice more in the third, then three runs in the fourth and sixth innings for the 10-2 victory, keeping the Diamond Dogs unbeaten in league play at 3-0. The visitors out-hit the home team by a margin of 11 to 8 led by Jayden Campbell, Ty Karnes, and Brayden Brewer, all of whom had multiple hits on the day. Campbell had three knocks, including a double. Karnes also had a trio of hits plus an RBI. Both players scored three times each. Brewer added two hits, including a double and two runs batted in. Cruz Coatney also had an RBI.
Brayden Renick, Luke Wilson, and Aaron Taylor had one hit each, with Taylor whacking a two-bagger with two RBIs. Taylor, Brewer, and Cruz Coatney all had sacrifice flies and Brayden Renick laid down a sacrifice bunt. Helping the GHS cause, Farmington pitching gave up seven free passes and the Cardinals’ defense committed three errors, allowing two unearned runs for Greenwood.
Monticello Billies
After a few days off for spring break and a practice or two, the Diamond Dogs returned to action last weekend at the Robinson Invitational hosted by Little Rock’s Joe T. Robinson High School. More than six dozen teams took part in the event scattered around various sites in Central Arkansas. Greenwood’s first game against Monticello on Thursday the 26th was played at Little Rock Mills High School, ending with a 10-1 GHS rout of the Billy Goats.
Three Bulldogs’ pitchers toiled on the mound beginning with starter and winner Aaron Taylor. The lefty worked 3.2 innings and gave five hits, one earned run, with seven strikeouts. He was followed to the hill by Cooper Webb and Jake Gigerich. Webb went 1.1 innings giving up one hit with three Ks and Gigerich pitched one frame with no hits or walks and two strikeouts.
Monticello had six hits while the Bulldogs had eight knocks, scoring five times in the second, once in the third, three times in the fifth, and once more in the top of the sixth. Cooper Webb and Caden Mendenhall had two hits each and a big portion of Greenwood’s RBIs. Webb had a triple and single and two runs batted in. Mendenhall had a single and double and four RBIs. Carter Koch and Brayden Brewer had solo hits and RBIs with Koch getting a double. Ty Holt and Brayden Renick also had solo hits while Holt and Jayden Campbell each had a stolen base. Wyatt Frye had a sac fly and an RBI.
Little Rock Christian Academy
The next day (last Friday) the Bulldogs were the visitors at Benton High School against the Little Rock Christian Warriors. The contest was close through five innings before Greenwood blew the game open with six late runs, three each in the sixth and seventh innings for a 12-5 victory. The Diamond Dogs scored once in the first inning and another in the third before plating four tallies in the fourth. After the Warriors scored five times in the fifth, making it a one-run game, Greenwood surged back ahead in the sixth and seventh frames.
Two GHS hurlers kept the Warriors in check. Left-handed starter Lawson Leath pitched into the fifth inning before tiring and giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks. He was relieved by Cooper Webb, who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. The two hurlers combined for seven strikeouts, five by Leath.
With the metal sticks the Bulldogs banged out 10 hits, scoring seven earned runs and three unearned after two Little Rock errors. A trio of GHS hitters had multiple knocks, including Ty Holt, Brayden Brewer, and Cooper Webb. The three also combined for eight RBIs, four by Holt, three by Brewer, and one by Webb. Brayden Renick and Carter Koch had the other two hits and RBIs. Holt, Brewer, and Webb all had doubles among their hits with Brewer adding a homerun. Webb had two stolen bases, and Cruz Coatney had a pair of walks and scored three runs.
Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies
Last Saturday morning the Bulldogs tamed the Northside Grizzlies, 10-2, to remain unbeaten in tournament play. Caden Mendenhall started on the mound and pitched 4.1 frames, giving up one hit, two unearned runs, and three walks while fanning 12 Bears’ hitters. Only two Northside hitters put the ball in play against Mendenhall, one for an out and the other for a single. He was relieved in the fifth inning by Carter Koch who gave three walks but no hits or runs in 2.1 innings.
Offensively, the Bulldogs scored in five of the seven innings, starting with one run in the first. They added three more tallies in the third, one in the fourth, four in the fifth, and one final tally in the bottom of the sixth. Northside’s two runs came in the fourth frame. The Diamond Dogs swatted 11 hits led by four players with two hits each – Brayden Renick, Cooper Webb, Carter Koch, and Cruz Coatney. Renick had a triple and Coatney a double and an RBI. Catcher Ty Holt had no hits but two RBIs while Carter Koch also had two runs batted in. Aaron Taylor had a hit and RBI while Brayden Brewer also drove home a run without a hit. Ty Karnes added a hit and stolen base while three GHS hitters were plunked by pitches.
Sylvan Hills Bears
The Bulldogs played the equivalent of a doubleheader on Saturday, taking on the Bears of Sylvan Hills High School right after their win over Northside. The game lasted five innings due to time constraints with the Diamond Dogs winning the first four frames, building an 8-2 advantage before Sylvan Hills scored three times in the bottom of the fifth. There were five errors and just 10 hits between the two teams, and only seven of the 13 runs were earned. Three GHS hurlers toed the rubber.
Starter and winner Brayden Brewer had a big game on the bump and at the plate. He spun four quality innings, giving up just two hits and three walks. Both runs scored against him were unearned due to GHS errors. He also had a hit and two RBIs with the bat. He was followed to the mound by Jake Gigerich and Carter Koch in the fifth inning. Gigerich gave up two hits, two walks, and three runs, two of them earned.
Cruz Coatney had two hits to lead the GHS attack with a double and RBI. Jayden Campbell, Brayden Renick, Brayden Brewer, Cooper Webb all had solo hits while Campbell picked up an RBI. Carter Koch had two runs batted in while Caden Mendenhall had one RBI, though neither player had a hit. Brewer’s hit was a homerun, and Koch had a sacrifice fly. Aaron Taylor and Jayden Campbell each had a stolen base.
The upcoming schedule
With classes back in session, the Bulldogs will host two games this week against Russellville and Charleston before traveling to Siloam Springs on Friday. The Cyclones come to Greenwood on Tuesday in a return to conference play. As the calendar flips to April, the Charleston Tigers come calling on Thursday the 2nd in non-conference action. The Diamond Dogs will trek northward to take on the Panthers at the end of the week. The Diamond Dogs will then be off for several days before returning to action on Thursday, April 9th at Rogers High School. They jump back into conference play the next day at home against the Mountain Home Bombers.