Wolfpack gets revenge

Harlem High School pitcher Patrick Gamblin tried to give the runner at first his full attention.

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The lefty threw over numerous times to try to hold Greenbrier senior Ben Morgan, who led off first inning Friday with a base hit.

Morgan finally took off to steal, reaching third on Jeff McGowan's single, and scored soon after. Morgan said he likes to be a pest, and he was an annoyance to the Bulldogs during the Wolfpack's 9-6 win on their home field.

Morgan reached safely three times and scored two runs. McGowan, hitting behind Morgan, also reached three times and scored three runs.

Morgan said he usually has the green light from Wolfpack coach Chris Wilkins to go when he chooses, but Morgan admitted to a lapse his first time on base.

"He gave me the steal sign three times," Morgan said. "I went blank and forgot the steal sign."

It became a hit-and-run.

Greenbrier posted three hits but manufactured enough runs to baffle Harlem coach Jimmie Lewis.

"I was proud of the way our hitters kept coming back," Lewis said. "That was impressive. But you don't win when you don't play 'D' and don't get consistent pitching."

Said Morgan: "That's the team we are. We're going to be a team that pecks away, a stolen base here or there. We'll take runs as we take them."

Greenbrier avenged a Feb. 26 loss to the Bulldogs, Harlem's first win over its county rivals. The nonregion match was the Wolfpack's first in more than a week, after weather had postponed its rematch with rival Evans.

Wilkins was thinking about the start of his team's region schedule, which began Tuesday at home against Stephenson, and wanted to spread his pitching out. He said he would have liked for starter Chad Farmer to pitch five innings and senior Ben Turner to throw the final two.

The Wolfpack used four pitchers during the win, but Wilkins said none of the four got his pitch count up.

"We probably threw a lot more than I wanted to," he said. "They hadn't played in more than a week, so we're trying to get some guys some work before we start (region)."

Morgan and McGowan both scored in the first to give Greenbrier the early lead. The pair also scored in the fourth as part of a five-run inning that gave the Wolfpack a 7-1 cushion.

The Bulldogs battled back, scoring four runs in the sixth to pull within a run. But the Wolfpack tacked on two insurance runs and pitcher Sean McCain closed Harlem out in the seventh.

Greenbrier completed a sweep of Lakeside on March 7, with a 7-6 win in a game that was rescheduled because of the weather.

The Wolfpack's county rival games mean nothing to its region standing after moving to Class AAAAA this season, but they have given first-year Wolfpack coach Wilkins the chance to prepare his team.

"I told the boys, 'We'll get there,' " he said. "We just got to keep believing in what we're doing."