Jason Harden and Greg Garrett had two hits apiece and starting pitcher Drake Byers scattered four hits over five innings to lead Herculaneum over host Crystal City 5-1 Friday in the first Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools division game of the season for both teams.
Garrett, Herculaneum’s catcher, drove in two runs with a hard-hit infield single to key a three-run third inning. Austin Bearden reached base three times on two singles and a hit-by-pitch. He relieved Byers on the mound and hurled two scoreless innings, striking out two.
It was Herky’s third straight win and lifted the Blackcats to 6-0-1, their best start to a season in years.
“Drake threw well,” Herculaneum head coach Zac Bone said. “He was throwing two pitches for strikes and throwing both halves (of the plate). He’s been good for us. He’s a kid who really likes to compete.”
The Blackcat skipper also singled out Garrett for praise.
“Greg did a lot of good things for us and caught a good game,” he said. “(He) brings a ton of effort and energy and heart to the whole group. We’re really lucky to have him out there. We swung the bat pretty well up and down (the lineup) for the most part.”
Crystal City (1-6) had only four hits, two of them singles by freshman leadoff man Blake Eisenbeis. Ten Hornet batters went down on strikes.
“The approach at the plate wasn’t exactly what we hoped for,” Crystal head coach Ricardo Pastrana said. “(Eisenbeis) is doing well average-wise and in on-base percentage. That’s why I put him up there. He’s getting on base for us. That was good to see.”
Losing pitcher Drew Gegg, a sophomore, gave up five runs on five hits in three innings while walking three and hitting two batters. Junior Nolan Mangan pitched four innings of scoreless relief for Crystal.
“He’s been coming in as relief a lot and he’s looked good, so I put him in to start,” Pastrana said of Gegg. “He couldn’t settle down and throw strikes and get into a rhythm. His pitch count got up a little higher than I wanted. But Nolan came in and did a good job for us.”