ETV News stock photo by Robin Hunt
Green River faced Manila in the first round of the 1A State Baseball Playoffs. The Pirates were still seeking their first win of the season and needed a win to keep their season alive.
Green River scored in the first inning but gave up two runs in the bottom half to trail 2-1. The Pirates tied the game at two in the top of the second off a Favian Mendez double. A throwout at the plate followed by a double play saved the Pirates from giving up more than one run in the bottom of the third after Manila hit three consecutive singles to start the inning.
The Pirate offense exploded in the top of the fourth. Payton Romero hit a three-run, inside the park homerun and J Anderson tripled to help Green River score nine runs in the inning. Romero then tripled in the fifth as the Pirates pushed six more runs across to take the game 17-5.
Romero led the offensive attack, going 4-4 with five RBIs and hitting a cycle (one homerun, triple, double and single). Rad Hughes went 3-4 with three runs scored, Jordan Anderson went 3-4 with two runs and one RBI, and Jay Mendez went 2-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Raul Mendoza went 2-3 with three runs and one RBI, and Mendez went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Ryker Meadows went 2-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.
The win moved Green River into the second round to play Wayne. The Badgers scored early and often in the contest, pushing across four runs in the first, three runs in the second and two runs in the third. The Pirates slipped in a pair of runs in the fourth inning, but that would be all. Wayne defeated Green River 12-2.
Ryker Meadows was a bright spot at the plate. He had two of Green Rivers’ three hits and scored a run. Jordan Anderson logged the other hit. Payton Romero pitched the entire game and struck out four batters. He gave up 12 runs, 10 earned, on 16 hits and one walk.