Reeds Spring scored its lone run in the top of the first Thursday evening.
Fortunately, one was enough.
Thanks to solid pitching and timely defensive plays, the Wolves held off Crane in a 1-0 thriller.
Jareb Grinder's two-out double scored Colin Cross all the way from first to give Reeds Spring the early lead.
Battling with a full count, Grinder fouled off two pitches before ripping the ball up the middle.
"When he got me with that second [strike], I was way out front," Grinder said. "I was like, 'Ah crap. I need to make sure I get a base hit to start this first inning off good.' I got one right down the middle and managed to hit it right in the gap, which turned out to be pretty good for us."
Pretty good, indeed, although Crane nearly got the run back in the bottom of the first.
Weston Cloyd reached with a leadoff single for the Pirates then worked his way to third after a passed ball and a stolen base.
With Crane threatening, Reeds Spring's Joe Studer stabbed a line drive, quickly stepped on the base and completed the inning-ending, unassisted double-play.
Despite a solid, five-inning performance, it would not be the last time Noah Briley had to pitch himself out of a jam. In both the third and fifth innings, Crane put runners in scoring position; however, the Pirates were unable to come up with the crucial RBI to extend the game.
With the bottom of Crane's lineup due up in the sixth, Reeds Spring head coach Chris Funk brought in Craig Foster to close out the game. After a leadoff error put the tying run aboard, Foster quickly found his groove and struck out the next three Pirate hitters to end the inning.
"In my last start, my strike percentage was lower than it had been, so I just knew I had to throw strikes," Foster said. "I trust my defense, so if I throw strikes, I know they'll make plays. That's all I came in to do."
In the seventh, that's exactly what happened. Foster threw strikes to three batters, and the Wolves' defense made plays behind him to retire those three batters and preserve the win.
With plenty of time before Foster's next start, Funk was ready to make the move if the opportunity presented itself.
"Craig has shown this year that he's our most consistent strike-thrower," Funk said. "The last thing we need, especially with the bottom of the order, is to put guys on without them having to earn it. We don't really have an ace, and when we get in a situation like that, Craig wants the ball and so does Noah. Sometimes that's a tough decision. We just went that way, and it worked out tonight."
Wiley and Foster combined for nine strikeouts, six hits and a single walk in the win.
After blowing recent leads during the past couple weeks, Funk was pleased with his team's resilient nature.
"We've let some precious wins slip away because of our inability to finish," Funk said. "I told them right before we went out in the seventh that this is the perfect situation for us. 'This is exactly what we need, kind of a cutthroat time with one of our best on the mound, and let's go get a W.' You could see a different level of focus and readiness."
For Crane and head coach Bryan Harmon, missed opportunities in a tight game put the Pirates in an early hole. While starter Brent Williams pitched a complete game and kept the potent Reeds Spring lineup at bay, Grinder's big first-inning hit proved to be the difference-maker.
"We got the hits, but couldn't get the key hit when it mattered," Harmon said. "Early in the game, our kids were really anxious. We haven't played in almost a week, and it showed. They were too anxious to hit, and they were chasing a lot of bad pitches. We struck out more than we would like, but their pitchers competed. It was just a really good game between two good teams."
Crane (9-8) is back in action Friday at Dadeville, while Reeds Spring (7-10) travels to New Covenant next Tuesday.
Reeds Spring – 1, Crane – 0
Reeds Spring 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1
Crane 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
