North Lenoir Hawks Edge Greene Central in Thrilling Rivalry Matchup
LA GRANGE – In a back-and-forth battle between two familiar foes, North Lenoir secured a dramatic 5-4 victory over Greene Central on Friday night, reclaiming momentum in a rivalry that has seen both teams win four of the last eight matchups.
Both teams entered the contest fresh off victories, but it was the Hawks who struck first, setting the tone early behind senior Garrett Byrd. Not only did Byrd get the start on the mound, but he wasted no time making an impact at the plate, launching a solo home run to deep left field in the first inning.
"I saw a fastball, and I knew he was trying to overpower me, so I just put the barrel to the ball and let it do the work," Byrd said.
North Lenoir added to its lead in the second when Bryce Arnette ripped a single down the right-field line and Jayden Miller executed a sacrifice bunt, each driving in a run to make it 3-0.
However, the Rams would not go down quietly. Taking advantage of the Hawks pitching mistakes and struggles behind the plate blocking, Greene Central capitalized in the fourth inning. The Rams loaded the bases and pushed four runs across after a groundout from Elijah Monroe, an RBI single by Mason Dillon, and back-to-back walks drawn by Sutton Harris and Will Radford, flipping the scoreboard in their favor at 4-3.
Trailing by one, the Hawks responded in the bottom of the fifth. Carter Chadwick, who delivered in clutch moments all night, ripped a single down the right-field line to bring in the tying run before Mason Sasser was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in the go-ahead run to make it 5-4.
Chadwick finished the night 2-for-3, while Whit Johnson also came through in his first pitching appearance of the season, helping himself at the plate by going 1-for-1 with a run scored.
"It was fun," Johnson said. "That was my first outing of the year, and I have worked since the beginning of the fall for this moment. To finally have it come, it feels awesome."
Byrd, who pitched four innings with six strikeouts but struggled in the fourth, trusted Johnson to close it out.
"I didn't want anyone else to go up there. You can ask Coach—I asked for him to go up there. I have the utmost trust in him, he's my best friend, and I knew he was going to do well," Byrd said.
The game nearly slipped away in the seventh when Greene Central threatened with runners on second and third and two outs. A wild pitch from Johnson soared over his head, and Harris broke for home. But Byrd made a quick recovery, flipping the ball back to Johnson just in time for the tag at the plate—securing the win.
Head coach Cam Sherrer was proud of his team’s fight but acknowledged there’s still work to be done.
"There are definitely some things we can fix," Sherrer said. "But we really showed resilience, kept knocking through, and these guys came through. They pulled together and pulled one out against a really good pitcher over there."
Greene Central catcher Brann praised his team’s determination.
"I thought we competed really well," he said. "We got down early in the game, but we kept chipping away."
Byrd finished the night with four innings pitched, allowing four runs on four hits with six strikeouts and five walks. Johnson picked up the win in relief, tossing three scoreless innings while striking out five.
With the victory, North Lenoir keeps momentum in the rivalry, while Greene Central looks to bounce back in its next outing.
