Short-handed Greene Central falls to Washington
SNOW HILL — In a tough Eastern Carolina Conference, Washington remains unscathed.
The Pam Pack defeated Greene Central 9-1 Thursday, maintaining their undefeated record in the process. Washington (11-0, 7-0 ECC) scored three in the first inning and never looked back against a Greene Central (7-3, 4-3) team missing starters Elexie Sutton and Allison Wade due to injuries sustained in Wednesday’s 7-6 victory over Ayden-Grifton.
It may not have mattered as Washington’s Abbi Tucker didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and just five all game.
“It makes this job that much easier when you have a pitcher who can throw strikes and get ahead of batters,” Pam Pack coach Doug Whitehead said. “We hit the ball well and matched it with good defense, which has helped us all season.”
Emme Davis has been on a tear lately, hitting a two-run home run to left during Washington’s strong first inning. It was Davis’ third blast this week and essentially set the tone for the evening.
“I don’t know what it is — I’ve just been seeing the ball really well and getting some good swings,” Davis said.
The Pam Pack would score another run in the second and two in the fourth, which was more than enough for Tucker. The junior pitcher didn’t allow a hit until Katelin Uzzell’s bunt single to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Three batters later, Daly Keel would get an RBI single to get Greene Central on the board, but Tucker struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Washington tacked on three more runs in the sixth to provide the final margin as Tucker quieted the Greene Central bats.
“I just go out there and try not to overthink things,” Tucker said. “I’m just trying to throw strikes, let the defense work and get hype to the other team’s walkup songs.”
Although the Rams couldn’t avenge a 6-0 loss to the Pam Pack from March 12, Coach Kim Jones said there were positives to take from Thursday’s contest.
“We didn’t have the strongest start, but they continued to fight,” Jones said. “We had several girls play different positions to help the team out — I don’t think Daly ever played first base. We had our freshmen: Starr (Benton), Cori (Sutton) and Carson (Howell) come in and try to make big things happen for us. I love these kids — they’ve done everything we’ve asked for and more.”
