The Dalton Ramsey era of South Greene baseball started on a good note Monday night with a two-game sweep of the Johnson County Longhorns.
“It’s very special for us. Last year we came off of a couple bad reps and stuff like that. We were losing games left and right and luckily this year I have a good team attitude that we’re hungry and want to win games,” Coach Ramsey mentioned. “So, coming out with these two wins is definitely good for our team. But I will say this, we still have to keep getting better.”
What better way to start your tenure as a head coach than to get two wins on the same night? The Rebels weathered the early storm in both games and relied on shutout pitching performances down the stretch to fuel them to victory. Southe Greene took game one 8-2 and game two 3-2.
Only four runs were allowed in both games and all four came in the third inning or sooner. None of those runs were earned and after making the necessary adjustments in the field, South Greene played lights out down the stretch and never put themselves in danger of losing.
“Johnson County is a great hitting team and they’re going to put it in play,” Ramsey said. “We adjusted a little bit and started mixing up our speeds. The top of the lineup started catching up on our pitchers so we started throwing in some off-speed and it started working out really well.”
The Longhorns opened up the top of the first inning by taking a quick 1-0 lead.
South Greene went right to work once they started from the top of the order. Graydon Rader legged out an infield single at the leadoff spot and Alec Jones slapped another single past Peyton Pavusek at shortstop to put two on with no outs. Levi Treadway grounded out to first and Rader tried sneaking home, but was tagged out at the plate.
Brendan Lisenby drew a walk and advanced to second base without any trouble. Dustin Crum stepped to the plate and delivered an RBI-single that scored Jones from third to tie the game.
The Rebels and Longhorns sat tied at 1-1 after one inning.
Both pitchers started settling into the game and put a pair of zeros on the board for their teams. Graydon Rader made quick work of the next set of batters in the top of the 2nd allowing no runs while only walking one. Tanner Bulliner completed the inning in one less batter forcing the Rebels to go three up and three down.
The Longhorns put together another strong inning in the third. Dakota Holt smacked a double into right field and Kayden Blevins tried to advance to third, but was thrown out by Jacob Susong in right field. Peyton Pavusek reached first on an error and Holt came sprinting home after the infielders had trouble handling the ball.
Grayson Holt provided a hard-hit single into right field that moved Pavusek to third base.
Bulliner grounded out to end the inning with the Longhorns going ahead 2-1 in the top of the 3rd. Bulliner didn’t slow down once he stepped back on the mound by forcing another 1-2-3 inning for South Greene.
The Longhorns couldn’t get their bats hot in the fourth frame and settled for zero runs.
Dustin Crum hit a missile over the right fielder’s head for an easy lead-off double in the bottom half of the fourth. Seth Franklin was hit by a pitch and took his base. Colby Brooks grounded out to first and Crum attempted to make a dive towards home plate to squeeze in a run but was tagged out.
The Rebels couldn’t put any runs on the board in the 4th inning and settled with trailing 2-1 entering the 5th frame. They’d make it out of the top half without allowing a single run after ending the inning on a rare 9-3 double play.
The bottom of the frame is when the Rebels caught the break they were looking for on offense. A double from Levi Treadway advanced Alec Jones to third base. Jones would score on a sac-fly from Brendan Lisenby and Dustin Crum scored Treadway with a rip down the third base line.
South Greene held a 3-2 advantage after the 5th inning.
The Longhorns seemed to be putting together another solid push towards the lead, but a 4-6-3 double play by the Rebels halted their momentum. A line-out to Rader at shortstop ended the top half of the 6th.
South Greene made sure to put the Longhorns to rest in the bottom part of the 6th inning with a five-run explosion.
Jacob Susong advanced Colby Brooks to third on a perfectly placed hit to shallow right. Graydon Rader drove Brooks home on an RBI-single.
With the bases loaded Levi Treadway stepped up to bat. Treadway barreled a 3-RBI Triple that plated three runs and cleared the bases to put South Greene ahead by five runs. Brendan Lisenby drove Treadway home to complete his trip around the bases providing four runs on his own.
“Levi’s been struggling this offseason to get a few hits here or there but finally he’s starting to figure it out where he can get hits. That triple right there definitely boosted some of his confidence,” Coach Ramsey stated.
The Rebels put the game away in dramatic fashion. Jacob Susong caught a routine fly ball in right field for the second out and fired it back into the infield. Johnson County’s base runners were in shambles scrambling around in a double rundown at third base and home plate. Graydon Rader used his quick feet and quick thinking to run down a man at home plate for the third and final out of the game.
South Greene finished the first leg of their doubleheader with an 8-2 win.
Levi Treadway went 1-4 with 3 RBI’s and 2 runs. Dustin Crum was 3-4 with an RBI and Brendan Lisenby added two more RBI’s. Graydon Rader provided five innings on the mound allowing four hits, no earned runs, and three strikeouts.
The second leg of the doubleheader boasted a very peculiar box score. The Rebels defeated Johnson County 3-2 while committing five errors but allowing zero hits in the winning effort.
Both teams picked up right where they left off in the game before with four of the five total runs coming in the first inning.
Carson Jennings crossed the plate for the first run of the second game to put the Longhorns ahead first. He reached base on an error and scored on an error as the Rebels had trouble corralling the ball in the opening stages. Peyton Pavusek helped add another run to put the Rebels in an early hole.
Graydon Rader led off again for South Greene and slowly made his way around the bases to score their first run. He drew a walk at the plate and advanced to second base with no problems. Alec Jones grounded out but moved him over to third. Levi Treadway’s sac-fly allowed him to tag up and dive into home plate safely.
Dustin Crum delivered another RBI with a double into right field that gave Brendan Lisenby the opportunity to score the tying run.
The 1st inning ended with both teams tied 2-2.
The Longhorns started the 2nd frame by putting two men aboard, but South Greene adjusted accordingly and got out of the jam without allowing a run.
Kayden Blevins tightened up on the mound for Johnson County and produced a 1-2-3 inning to keep the score knotted at 2-2.
Brendan Lisenby controlled the mound with a quick three up and three down inning also. Dustin Crum’s impressive scoop-and-throw from the hot corner highlighted the inning.
Graydon Rader delivered a lead-off single for South Greene and turned that base-hit into a run once Alec Jones stepped up to bat. Jones laid down a perfect bunt that not only allowed Rader to advance, but allowed him to reach base safely after an overthrown ball to first base resulted in an error. Rader used his speed to score all the way from first base after the miscue by the Longhorns.
South Greene would jump out in front 3-2 at the end of the third inning.
Brendan Lisenby looked to be in another jam with two men on first and second, but forced another pop-up in the infield which he caught himself to end the third frame.
“Brendan is one of those guys that if you tell him to get out there and get it he’ll get out there and get it. He definitely struggled a little bit tonight throwing some balls early and walked a couple of guys, but if he gets it dialed in, he’s a force to be reckoned with,” Ramsey expressed.
In the fourth inning, Jacob Susong came through with a single to push Colby Brooks from first all the way over to third with only one out. Rader laid down a bunt to try to get Garett Ricker home, but he wouldn’t get to the plate in time and be called out.
The Rebels managed to load the bases with two outs. Levi Treadway stepped into the box again with another bases clearing opportunity. He’d find the pitch he wanted and drive the ball into right field, but a great defensive effort by the Longhorns spoiled South Greene’s opportunity at more runs and ended the frame.
Brendan Lisenby remained on the mound for the fifth inning and completed his zero-hit effort to lead the Rebels to a 3-2 win in the second game of their opening night doubleheader.
Graydon Rader finished 1-2 with 2 runs. Dustin Crum was an efficient 1-1 with an RBI and a walk. Brendan Lisenby pitched a complete five innings while allowing no hits, no earned runs, and provided four punch-outs.
The Rebels begin the season 2-0 with two conference wins.
South Greene travels to Mountain City on Wednesday afternoon to complete their season series with Johnson County.
