PRINCETON, W.V. – Shane Tucker (LIU) and Andrew Morones (San Joaquin Delta JC) struck out eight batters over the last six innings, willing the Greeneville Flyboys to a 7-6 win over the Princeton Whistlepigs on Tuesday.
The scoring started early for the Flyboys (12-12) after a Brock Daniels (Missouri) double brought home Myles Smith (UC Irvine) in the top of the first inning to make it a 1-0 game.
The Whistlepigs (10-14) answered right back in the bottom half of the first frame, with a two-run single by Irvin Weems III (San Diego State) scoring Jesse Robinson Jr. (VCU) and Woody Hadeen (UC Irvine), and giving Princeton a 2-1 lead.
Greeneville took the lead back in the top of the second inning, first tying it up with a Shemar Dalton (NC A&T) sac fly scoring Jack O’Reilly (Villanova). A Cameron LaLiberte (Arizona) single scored Beau Ankeney (Grand Canyon) to give the Boys a 3-2 lead.
On the second pitch of the bottom of the second inning, Henry Cooke (Virginia Tech) hit his first home run of the season in his first at-bat of the year, tying the game at three runs apiece. A Hadeen sac fly scored AJ Solomon (Gardner-Webb) to give Princeton the lead again, going up 4-3.
The Whistlepig lead swelled in the bottom of the third after Owen Blackledge (TCU) hit the first pitch he saw for a home run over the right field fence to go up 5-3. Cooke earned his first triple of the season later in the inning, scoring Jag Burden (Cal) and doubling the Princeton lead to 6-3.
In the top of the fourth, Dalton scored off of a throwing error by Weems III, cutting the Princeton lead to 6-4. After a Smith single scored LaLiberte, Smith came in to score himself later in the inning after an RBI groundout by Daniels, tying the game at six runs apiece.
Ian Daugherty (Oklahoma State) gave the lead back to the Flyboys in the top of the fifth inning with a solo shot for his third home run of the season, putting Greeneville ahead 7-6.
Tucker came into the contest to pitch, retiring the first nine batters he faced, walking one and allowing just one hit over five innings and keeping the Whistlepigs off the scoreboard.
After a dropped strikeout in the bottom of the ninth allowed Jalen DeBose (FAU) to reach first, Morones was able to force a flyout in foul territory before striking out the last two batters of the inning, ending the game and giving the Flyboys the 7-6 win and moving them to 12-12 on the season.
Tucker (2-0) earns the win, going five innings while allowing just one hit, walking one and striking out five. Morones earned his first save, striking out three batters in the ninth inning. David Vizcaino (UC Irvine) started the contest for the Flyboys, giving up six runs, five of those being earned, off seven hits, walking two and striking out one.
Jacob Morrison (Coastal Carolina) (0-1) was handed the loss, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, off seven hits in four innings, striking out three. Luke Delongchamp (Boston College) started the game for the Whistlepigs, giving up three runs off six hits, walking one and striking out another over three innings of work. Andres Galan (Cal) closed out the game for the Pigs, giving up one hit and striking out three over two innings of work.
The Whistlepigs and Flyboys will close out their two-game series at Hunnicut Park tomorrow, June 29. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Fans can check out all of the action for free with a live radio broadcast beginning at 6:45 p.m. at flyboysbaseball.com.
