Folks outside of Fairlea may have pegged Greenbrier East for a “rebuilding” year on the diamond in 2022. After all, a glance down the roster revealed plenty of youth spread across for the Spartans.
However, Greenbrier East head coach Cory Mann had some inside information on his ball club that other did not know.
Mann knew he had a dugout full of competitors and the team goals had not changed because of youth.
The Spartans now stand two wins away from playing in the state baseball tournament at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, June 2-4.
Greenbrier East will battle George Washington in the best-of-3 series for the Region 3 title starting Monday in Charleston.
“We always have one goal and that is to get to Charleston with every team. I believe if you play clean baseball and play tough and gritty that always gives you an opportunity,” Mann said. “That’s our goal at the start and that will always be the goal. I don’t ever lower expectations.”
“I am very happy with how this team has responded and made that where they want to be,” Mann continued. “We played some younger guys behind our senior leadership, but they have grown throughout the year. It has been nice to see their development as the year has gone on.”
As would be expected with a young team, there were some ups and downs. Eighteen games into the regular season the Spartans only had seven wins.
While Mann feels there was no definitive turning point, the signs of future success were still there.
“We always schedule a tough schedule. As you watched them throughout the year, you could see the growth of the team and the execution coming together,” Mann explained. “That all developed from playing really tough competition and you could see they had the ability to go on and play deep into the postseason.”
Greenbrier East won six of its final eight regular season games and went undefeated in three sectional contests to hoist the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 plaque.
During that period where the young players were finding their way, the Spartans had a rock on the hill in Jake Roshau to help solidify the team chemistry.
Roshau is 6-2 on the year and has been stellar late in the season. The senior lefty has his ERA down to 2.73 and has 76 strikeouts on the year.
“What Jake has done on the mound has helped us tremendously. He has been a great leader and a couple of other kids have lead as well,” Mann said. “That is what you want. A close knit team with great leadership and that is what we have.”
Darris Boswell has been a handful for opposing teams hitting lead-off and leads the team in virtually every hitting category.
Gavin Bennett hits out of the three-hole and follows right behind Boswell in hitting stats. Ashton Cochran bats in between the two and has been a huge asset for Mann in his freshman season.
Boswell is hitting .323 with 21 RBI and has scored 32 runs, while Bennett hits .322 with five doubles and two home runs. Both have an on base percentage over .860.
“We had some young guys that had some good potential. Ashton Cochran as a freshman has done a great job stepping in and filling roles,” Mann said. “Darris Boswell was really solid for us last year and he been there for us again this year. Gavin Bennett has stepped up and been hitting really well lately.”
“I knew we had some competitors on this team that loved to compete. I think that is what drives us,” Mann went on to say. “Just the willingness to be in the moment, one to compete and and one to win that moment.”
The Spartans and the Patriots met twice this season with each team winning at home. East won 3-2 in Fairlea before dropping a tough 4-1 contest where GW scored three runs in the sixth to gain the win.
The regional series is most likely to be just as competitive.
“I am a big believer in playing clean baseball and I always try to keep the focus on us,” Mann said. “I know they are a good team and they have some good arms. For us to be successful, the focus has to be on us. That focus needs to be good pitching, good defense and lets swing it.”
Game two will be in Fairlea Tuesday with game three going back to GW if needed. Each game is slated to start at 6 p.m.
