Greeneville’s Jacob Kennedy and Brock Toney won the pitcher’s duel against the Pulaski River Turtles, throwing a near-shutout game and giving up seven combined hits on Tuesday night at Pioneer Park. A late solo home run from Pulaski’s Seth Buchanan prevented the shutout, but the Flyboys scored two key runs in the third, which proved just enough in the 2-1 win.
“I think these are the games you have to win,” Greeneville manager Jack Wilson said. “We have a very talented offense, but today (Pulaski) pitched extremely well. They kept us off the base path and made a great play at home plate early in the game to keep us at two (runs). But these are the games you gotta win. These are tough.”
It took the Flyboys a few innings to find a rhythm against Pulaski’s arms but they managed to find a foothold in the third. Paul Taylor led off the bottom of the inning with a single to center field, and after a strikeout, Tyler Inge sent a pitch flying into right field for a double. Brady Francisco took one for the team, ducking just enough to have the ball bounce off the top of his helmet and loading the bases. Brodie Johnston hit an infield grounder, but scored Taylor on the hit, giving the Flyboys a 1-0 lead.
Next, Nicklas Williams hit a line drive to right field for an RBI single, but Francisco was thrown out at home, ending the inning, 2-0 Greeneville.
“We strung something together,” Wilson said. “Taylor started it off with a base hit and then Tyler hitting a shot in the gap. We just had good at bats that inning. Their (pitcher) had pretty good stuff today. He was really good but we were able to put together a few (hits) there. It was good to get something early and luckily our pitchers were on their game today.”
Those two runs proved to be the difference maker as the Flyboys’ defense staved off all Pulaski attempts to even the odds.
Things got tense in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back singles by Noah Rabin and Seth Buchanan started the inning, Wilson decided to give Kennedy a break, placing Toney on the mound.
Toney and the defense, with two runners on and no outs, held the River Turtles in check, but not without some excitement. Toney struck out his first batter, but a hard line drive to second baseman Inge resulted in an off-balanced throw to second. Rabin took advantage of a loose ball and rounded third for home, but third baseman Johnston was Johnny-on-the-spot and threw him out at home, preserving the shutout for the time being. A pop fly one batter later ended the inning, to the relieved sigh of the Flyboys faithful.
In the top of the ninth, Greeneville’s first baseman Dylan Jackson made a play that might have saved the game for the Flyboys. With a man on first and no outs, Pulaski’s Rabin hit a line drive right to Jackson, who tagged first for a double play. The very next pitch was Buchanan’s solo home run. A pop fly caught by the catcher Francisco ended the game, 2-1.
The two pitchers, combined with excellent defense, helped the Flyboys improve to 22-12 on the year.
“Toney did a great job and, obviously, Jacob Kennedy was amazing for us,” Wilson said.
Kennedy took the mound for six scoreless innings, giving up five hits and striking out six. Toney pitched the final three innings, allowing two hits, one run and struck out two.
“He’s a strike-thrower,” Wilson said of Kennedy. “He changes speeds and he did a phenomenal job throwing seven for us. He’s Mr. Reliable. He’s a good guy to start off the week just because he’s a great competitor. We love having him out there.”
“And Brock does Brock things,” Wilson said with a laugh. “He’s an all-star for a reason. He’s a fantastic pitcher. That was the great thing about Kennedy getting us to the seventh and then handing it over to (Toney) and letting him take us the rest of the way. He’s definitely one of our guys that we look to in clutch situations and he comes up clutch every time.”
At the plate, Greeneville had five hits from five different batters. Williams had one hit and one RBI, while Inge hit a double and Francisco, Taylor and Mycah Jordan all had singles.
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