Fairlea – Greenbrier East had every opportunity it could hope for with a ticket to the state tournament on the line but struggled to get the timely hit it needed.
The Spartans left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and stranded the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the eight, falling 3-2 in eight innings to George Washington in the Class AAA Region 3 championship.
With the win GW advances to next week’s state tournament at Little Creek State Park where it will play Jefferson.
The Spartans trailed 2-0 heading into the fifth where they mounted a rally with a pair of runs to tie the game. But the big bats of GW proved too much in the end with Addie Armstrong’s home run in the top of the eight making the difference.
East graduates three seniors in Lindsey Black, Olivia Plybon and Josi Ervin who helped the program to three regional series.
