Eagles ‘turn corner’ in losses at Greenville

GREENVILLE – St. Elmo came away from two games at last Saturday’s Greenville Round-Robin without any wins, but with some positive momentum.

In the first of back-to-back games, the Eagles lost a back-and-forth affair to Harvard, 8-7, and then stifled defending sectional finalist Greenville’s offense in a 2-0 loss.

“Today, I think we turned the corner,” said coach Ryan Beccue. “Last week, I thought we were so-so (in two games). Today, we were swinging better, so I’m not worried about being 1-3.”

vs. Harvard
Harvard tagged St. Elmo starter Connor Beasley, a junior, for two runs in the first inning, but a big strikeout with two outs and the bases loaded got the Eagles out of the jam.

The Eagles got singles from sophomore Dalton Parks, junior Garrett Bartels and senior Willie Magnus to get on the board in the top of the second.

Sophomore Levi Maxey took over from the mound in the bottom of the inning, but Harvard’s bat continued to stay hot, as the Hornets pounded out three more hits and added two more runs to move ahead, 4-1.

But the damage was again limited, as two runners were left on base.

“We got off to a rough start, but Levi really settled us down,” Beccue said.

Maxey then started a rally in the top of the third, getting a single to center. He later scored on a fielder’s choice by Magnus. Senior Ben Sperry walked and scored in the inning on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the frame, two Hornets struck out, as Maxey used 14 pitches to get through the inning.

Magnus then walked to open the fourth inning and Sperry and Beasley drove in three runs on a walk and double, respectively. Senior Blaine Scholes earlier scored on a wild pitch.

“That was a good at-bat, hitting that off the wall to put us in great shape,” Beccue said of Beasley’s double. “We were feeling pretty good at that point, but Harvard’s power hitters came up and showed that they are good players.”

In the bottom of the fourth, Harvard’s No. 3 and 4 hitters hit back-to-back home runs to tie the score at seven, and the winning would run would score in the bottom of the sixth after a single and a double.

vs. Greenville
The Eagles outhit Greenville, 6-4, but only had one multi-hit inning during the 2-0 loss to the Comets.

“It gives our guys confidence to know that we can play with anybody,” Beccue said. “I know that when we put our game together, we are capable of winning at any time.”

He doesn’t want the Eagles to just become the team that is competitive in games against tough opponents, though, and he believes that St. Elmo (1-3) will be able to win some tight games later in the season.

St. Elmo’s best chance to score came in the second inning, when senior Woodsen Savage and Parks had back-to-back singles, but a strikeout and a caught stealing ended the inning.

The Comets (4-0) were leading, 1-0, at that point, after leadoff batter Cy Perfetti singled and eventually scored on a passed ball in the first.

Both teams’ offenses were fairly quiet through the middle innings as just four hits were recorded from the third to the fifth.

Greenville added its second run in the sixth after a single was misplayed in the outfield, allowing Brady Huber to advance to third. He scored on a sacrifice fly from A.J. Childerson.

There could have been a third run score, but Bartels threw out a runner on a steal attempt prior to Huber’s hit.

Savage had his second hit of the game in the seventh, but he was unable to get past first base, as Greenville’s Tyler Hutchinson struck out two Eagles and induced a slow roller to end the game.

“Woodsen played good all day long,” Beccue said. “He didn’t have a ton of hits to show for it, but he hit line drives and hard grounders right at people.”

Savage also played solid defense, cleanly fielding five grounders for outs during the day to show his senior leadership.

Box scores
Saturday, March 17
at Greenville
vs. Harvard
SEHS: 0-1-2-4-0-0-0—7-7-0
HHS: 2-2-0-3-0-1-X—8-10-4
LP: Maxey (0-1); 5 IP, 7 K, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB
Offense: Beasley, 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Bartels, 2-for-4; Magnus, 1-for-1, 2 SB, RBI, run; Scholes, 1-for-3, run, SB; Maxey, 1-for-3, 2 runs; Parks, 1-for-3, run; Sperry, 2 runs, RBI; Savage, RBI.
Record: 1-2

Saturday, March 17
at Greenville
Greenville 2
St. Elmo 0
SEHS: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0—0-6-2
GHS: 1-0-0-0-0-1-X—2-4-0
LP: Sperry (0-1); 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB
Offense: Savage, 2-for-3; Bartels, 1-for-3; Beasley, 1-for-3; Parks, 1-for-3; Scholes, 1-for-3.
Record: 1-3