Green Hope started slowly against Leesville Road and never seriously threatened as Leesville won easily 6-1. The game started with a brisk wind blowing out and cool temperatures. Unlike yesterday's game when Green Hope was able to deliver the clutch hit and get the key strikeout, today Green Hope had only 8 base runners and struck out only 2 Leesville batters.

Daniel Sondag started for Green Hope against Leesville's Austin Berrios. Sondag didn't have great stuff today, but wasn't helped by two infield throwing errors which led to 4 unearned runs in the first 3 innings of play. With the wind blowing out, Leesville did hit 3 doubles off Sondag, while Berrios only allowed 2 base runners in the first 3 innings, and went 5 innings in total giving up just 1 run on 4 singles with no Leesville errors to help out.

Down 4-0, Green Hope scored their only run in the 4th, a leadoff single by Wesley Clark was followed by two outs, a Nick Addona walk (after hitting the left field wall on a balk call which by rule should have been allowed to play out), and an RBI single by Anthony Colantino, cutting the lead to 4-1.

Grudee pitches - Colantino fields a bunt - Boghosian tags out a bad base runner

Jonathan Grudee came on to pitch the 4th for Green Hope, and after pitching a relatively easy 4th inning, got tagged for 2 runs in the 5th, as Leesville was able to punch out 4 hits but a base runner mistake ended the inning. Smith Prevost was called up from the JV team and pitched the 6 inning for Green Hope, giving up a double, but able to get out of the inning without a run scored.

The final score of 6-1 drops Green Hope to 1-1 for the season. Clearly the Green Hope bats need to get going, with the team batting a mere .180 (.220 slugging pct.) and not facing either team's #1 pitchers, that is not a good stat. It puts alot of pressure on the defense and pitching staff to be almost perfect which didn't happen today.

Green Hope finally got to play a baseball game in 2010 after having 3 games postponed to start the season. The normally beautiful field at Lee County High School showed the effects of recent snow but was playable for baseball. Still the weather was cool which resulted in a low scoring game with Green Hope able to get the clutch hit on offense, and the clutch strikeout on defense, to come away with a 5-1 victory. Both teams managed only 5 hits and Lee County actually had more base runners than Green Hope, but could not get that timely hit.

Green Hope used all three of their pitching "big guns" tonight, with Joe Pistacchio starting and going the first 3 innings, followed by Max Povse for the next 2 innings, and finishing with Adam Boghosian who pitched two very strong innings to end the game. Pitching dominated the game as Lee County struck out 10 Green Hope batters while Pistacchio(6), Povse (3), and Boghosian (4) set down 13 Lee County batters.

Lee County started Trent Clark who breezed through the first two innings with the exception of a double from Boghosian who was left stranded at second. Meanwhile Pistacchio struggled with his control and walked 3, hit a batter, and gave up two singles, but managed to space those base runners and get key strikeouts to not give up a run. Clark ran into trouble in the third, a leadoff single by David Josam was followed by Clark's bad pickoff throw to first which sent Josam all the way to 3B with no outs. After a strikeout, Grant Shambley singled to score Josam. Jonathan Grudee followed with a ground ball to second which was booted putting runners on first and second with 1 out. After a flyout, Wesley Clark drilled a double off the right field wall to score both base runners and give Green Hope a 3-0 lead after 3 innings.

Wesley Clark doubles to score Shambley and Grudee

Boghosian pitched well

Both starters were relieved in the fourth inning, Povse for Green Hope much like Pistacchio struggled with his control. However it was Green Hope to add to their lead with 2 runs in the top of the 5th, as with two outs Grudee was hit by a pitch, Pistacchio walked, a wild pitch advanced the runners, and once again Wesley Clark delivered the clutch two out hit to drive in both runners. Clark was 2 for 3 (walk, single, double) and drove in 4 of the 5 Green Hope runs. In the bottom of the 5th, Povse surrendered a run giving up a two out double to Cody Palmer followed by a single by Carson Wilson, making the score Green Hope 5-1 after 5 innings.

Boghosian closed out the game, not allowing a base runner and striking out 4 of the 6 batters he faced, throwing mainly heat tonight. So Pistacchio gets the win, Boghosian the save, and Wesley Clark was the hitting star as Green Hope starts the season 1-0.