One More Inning: Greer’s Bellinger bets on himself, cashes in win

Cole Bellinger threw a complete-game shutout in Greer’s 3-0 victory over Wade Hampton at Fluor Field.

Cole Bellinger didn’t want to come out of the game. He wasn’t shy about making that known, either.

Headed to the top of the seventh inning at Fluor Field in downtown Greenville, Greer held a 3-0 lead over Wade Hampton. Bellinger was dealing, having thrown six innings of four-hit ball with seven strikeouts.

Greer head coach Josh Smith thought about taking Bellinger out and putting in a closer. The senior right-hander said no way.

“We scratched off a few in the bottom of the sixth, and we were going to go with our closer to finish the game in the seventh,” said Smith. “But when Cole found out, there was no way he was leaving.

“We were going to have to get a forklift to get him off that mound.”

“I thought I was pitching a great game,” said Bellinger. “It got my temper up a little bit, so I told the coaches a few things. We talked about it, and they left me in.”

That proved to be the right decision.

Bellinger needed just seven pitches to finish the inning and earn the complete game win. He finished with a line of seven innings pitched, four hits, no runs, and eight strikeouts—a masterclass on the mound.

“Cole’s one of our senior leaders, and we decided to trust him. That paid off big for us,” said Smith. “When you’ve got a fierce competitor and leader like Cole, and he says he’s good to stay in, trust him. I’m glad that we did.”

Greer used a three-run bottom of the sixth inning to make Bellinger’s stellar performance on the mound more meaningful. Bellinger battled and bested Wade Hampton’s Jack Stepp, a sophomore Clemson commit.

“I’ve been waiting for this matchup all week,” said Bellinger. “I knew I was going face-to-face with Jack Stepp. He’s a great pitcher and he did a great job today, too. I just kept throwing my game.”

The win propelled Greer to a series sweep of region rival Wade Hampton. The Jackets are now 7-2 on the year and seeking their first region title since 2009.

“This series is huge for us,” said Smith. “We actually had the opposite happen last year where we started off 0-3 against these guys last year, and it kind of set us on the wrong path. We’ve positioned ourselves well. It’s big for momentum purposes.

“But we’re going to get right back to work and get ready for the next wins.”

THE SCORE BY INNINGS
Wade Hampton
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0
Greer
0 0 0 0 0 3 X - 3

GREER STAT LEADERS
Jacob Rainey - 2-3, RBI, R
Landon Barbare - 1-3, RBI
Hayden Pakkala - 0-1, RBI

Winning Pitcher: Cole Bellinger - 7 IP, 0 ER, 4H, 8K, 2BB