Greider Spins No-Hitter Over Vikes

Blythewood’s Jordan Flemming takes a tumble going hard into third Monday at Spring Valley. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)

Blythewood’s Jordan Flemming takes a tumble going hard into third Monday at Spring Valley. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)

COLUMBIA (April 13, 2016) – Justin Greider had his fastball working in a no-hitter Tuesday night at Spring Valley.

“Two-seam inside, and curve away,” the Blythewood senior pitcher said about his pitches. “I just located the fastball in and out and mixed it up with off-speed (pitches), and it worked.”

Greider kept Vikings batters guessing through six innings in the Bengals’ 11-0 rout shortened by the 10-run mercy rule.

“Justin’s been pitching well for us all year long,” Blythewood head coach Barry Mizzell said. “He throws a lot of strikes, is aggressive in the zone. He did really good tonight.”

Greider struck out eight and walked two. The only time he got into trouble was the bottom of the sixth inning, when Spring Valley loaded the bases.

With one out, Greider walked Baylor Berry. Chase Hayes would have been out on an infield popup, but the home plate umpire ruled that catcher Ryan Bland interfered with Hayes on the base path.

With Berry at second and Hayes at first, Greider hit Hayden Goff with a pitch to set the table for Ronald Hollins. Greider got out of the jam by striking out Hollins and getting Matt Ross to fly out to centerfielder Chris Brown to seal the win.

The Bengals (10-6 overall, 5-1 in Region IV-4A) put themselves in a position to close the game out in six innings with a six-run second, a three-run fourth, and a two-run fifth. All of those runs came on just eight Blythewood hits.

Three Vikings pitchers walked six batters and hit five others. The defense of Spring Valley (9-9, 4-4) committed six errors as well.

Spring Valley starting pitcher Hayden Goff never could find the strike zone in his four innings of work. His defense pulled two double plays in the first three innings, but Goff gave up six hits, walked three and hit two batters.

“Spring Valley made a mistake early and it kind of opened the floodgates,” Mizzell said. “We did what pretty good teams do, we took advantage of it and got some big hits right behind it and kept the pressure on.”

The Vikings put the pressure on themselves in the second, when walks, hit batters and errors enabled the Bengals to send 10 men to the plate and put six runs on the board. With one out and Bland on base with a hit, Goff walked Jordan Black and Jordan Fleming.

Jacob Davis then cleared the bases when his well-hit fly ball popped out of centerfielder Chase Hayes’ glove. Davis held up at second, but then Goff hit Jordyn Adams and Aiden Massey to load the bases again.

Davis, Adams and Massey all came home on Todd Mattox’s double. Mattox slid safely into third following a fielding error in the outfield.

Toby Robson, who led off the inning, struck out to retire the side.

Baylor Berry started the fifth and worked one-third of the sixth for the Vikings. He gave up two runs in the sixth on no hits but two walks and two hit batters.

Hayden Gowland worked the final two-thirds of the sixth, hitting a batter but striking out two.

BHS: 060 302 – 11 8 0

SV: 000 000 – 0 0 6

B: Justin Greider (W), and Ryan Bland. S: Hayden Goff (L), Baylor Berry (5), Hayden Gowland, and Brody Bouknight. 2B – B: Todd Mattox, Jordyn Adams. LOB – S 4. B 9.

 

Contact us: (803) 767-5711 | P.O. Box 675, Blythewood, SC 29016 | [email protected]