The 11-6 Greensboro High Raiders found much needed inspiration Wednesday after a Raiders assistant coach was tossed mid way through the fifth inning to capture an 11-5 win over the 4A Holt Ironmen.

The Raiders got off to a healthy start in the first two innings of play as they collected an early 6-0 lead over the Ironmen, but soon found themselves battling to stay ahead in the race.

Senior pitcher Bobby Hooks got the win on the hill for the Raiders going seven innings earning 6K’s, while giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and two walks. Hooks looked impressive early on going two complete innings without giving up a single run, but began to show signs of fatigue in the third inning and allowed the Ironmen to pull to within two runs.

Hooks gave up four runs on five hits in the third and had to struggle to get through the inning. But Raiders head coach Jack Hazelrig allowed his senior right-hander the opportunity to fight his way out of a jam and keep his team alive.

“Bobby did a great job for us today,” Hazelrig said. “There were plenty of times that he cold have just caved inn, but he continued to fight and we eventually came away with a win.”

The Raiders were back on track at the plate in the fourth inning and began collecting a few more needed runs to put a wider distance between them and the Ironmen, but were still a little flat in the field.

That was until the fifth inning, when an unknown assistant first base coach was tossed after a controversial call at first base. While many teams might crumble after such an event, the Raiders felt inspired by their coach’s behavior and came storming out in the bottom of the fifth to shut down the Ironmen in a three-up-three-down fashion.

Hooks found a new spring to his step on the mound in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings as he, along with a Raiders solid defensive performance, ended any threat that the Ironmen may have been planning and allowed only one hit in three innings.

At the plate, the Raiders collected a total of 14 hits on the day. Jack Hazelrig went 3-5 with the stick with a double and a solo home run in the second inning. Senior matt Busby went 2-for-3 against the Ironmen with one RBI, and Wesley Ballard ended the day going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI’s.

The Raiders improve to 11-6 on the season with an (2-0) area record. The Raiders will travel to Bibb County today for a 4 p.m. game with the Choctaws and return home on Friday for a 4 p.m. match-up with Jemison.