GREENLAND -- Greenland was put in an unusual situation playing for the Class 3A Region 1 baseball title Saturday night, but without coach Will McGinnis on the bench.
But the Pirates' senior leadership came to the forefront en route to a relatively easy 11-4 win over Jessieville at A.J. Allen Park.
3A-1 Baseball Regional at Greenland
Baseball
Today’s Scores
Game 5 Jessieville 5, Charleston 1
Game 6 Greenland 6, Elkins 5
Third Place Game
Game 7 Charleston 9, Elkins 7
Championship Game
Game 8 Greenland 11, Jessieville 4
*Top 4 teams advance to Class 3A state tournament at Smackover-Norphlet May 10-12
Greenland had to fight and claw to reach the championship game, edging rival Elkins 6-5 earlier in the day. McGinnis was ejected in the third inning of that game, which meant he couldn't coach in the finals.
But the Pirates (25-4) showed no signs of pressure, jumping to an 8-0 lead after three innings and never looked back.
Greenland assistant coach Hunter Corbell, who took the reins in McGinnis' absence, gave the players credit for performing in a pressure situation, particularly the seniors.
"At the end of the day, it matters nothing what we as coaches do," Corbell said. "We don't have a glove on our hand. We don't throw any pitches. We don't have a bat in our hand. Our kids come to work every day with the mentality to get better.
"You can't put a ruler to it to say how much it means to have seniors like that in your dugout ready to lead. When adverse situations happen, it makes it bearable and it's like they never missed a beat. "
Senior lead-offman Chandler Alaniz acknowledged it wasn't an easy situation being without McGinnis, but he was surely on their mind.
"Everything we did was for him," Alaniz said. "We knew it would be our last game on this field and not having him was hard, so we wanted to go out with a bang. Everybody knows what they can do and they did it all tonight."
Alaniz went 2-for-3 with two doubles, drove in three runs and scored twice, while classmate Austin Anderson added two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored for Greenland (25-4). Anderson also came on earlier in the day and pitched two scoreless innings to notch the save against Elkins.
The Pirates banged out 13 hits led by sophomore Peyton Anderson's 3-for-4 effort. Four others had two hits each.
Senior Will Overton picked up the win in the finals, allowing four runs (three earned) in five innings of work. Sophomore Luke Osborn pitched two scoreless innings to finish.
The Pirates set the tone with the big six-run second inning to grab a 7-0 lead. Alaniz had a two-run double, while Anderson and Osborn contributed run-scoring singles. They added two more on a Jessieville error and a wild pitch.
Aaron Ford, who took the loss on the mound, went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs for Jessieville (15-9), the 3A-4 district champion.
Charleston rallied past Elkins for the 9-7 win in the third-place game. All four teams advance to the state tournament, which begins Thursday at Smackover and Norphlet.
Greenland^161^102^0^--^11^13^1
Jessieville^000^202^0^--^4^5^3
Overton, Osborn (6) and Alaniz; Ford, Nasilai (2), Saveall (4) and Saveal, Nasilai (4). W-Overton. L-Ford. HRs-None.
Sports on 05/06/2018