The Warren East baseball team rolled the dice in the opener of a three-game series against Greenwood, opting to start freshman left-hander Brady Dragoo over University of Louisville commit Ryan Hawks.

The move paid off as Dragoo pitched into the fifth and the bullpen held it from there to give the Raiders a 4-2 victory over Greenwood at Bowling Green High School on Tuesday.

Dragoo, who didn’t know he was going to start until 20 minutes before first pitch, and three relievers combined on a four-hitter against the Gators – allowing Warren East (6-6 overall, 2-2 District 14) to gain the upper hand in the series.

“It was a good performance,” Warren East pitching coach Eugene Flippin said. “I told him before the game, ‘Just throw strikes. Do what you do throwing (junior varsity). The hitters are a little bit better on the varsity level, but if you throw strikes everything is going to be the same.’ ”

Dragoo allowed one hit over the first four innings, facing the minimum.

The offense staked him to a 3-0 lead with a third-inning rally that included an RBI double by Ty Stringfield and a sacrifice fly by Dakota Basham.

Greenwood (11-4, 3-1) broke through in the fifth, using two walks and a single to load the bases with one out and end Dragoo’s night. A fielder’s choice and passed ball plated two runs before Corey Skaggs got a strikeout to end the jam.

Dragoo’s final line was solid, allowing one earned run and two hits in 4 1/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

“The defense helped me out a lot today,” Dragoo said. “It was a team effort. It felt pretty good. A freshman starting varsity – four scoreless innings – I am happy with it.”

The Raiders got a run back in the sixth when Stringfield delivered an RBI single that made the score 4-2.

“That was a huge insurance,” Flippin said. “Ty is one of the better fastball hitters around. When he locks in, he can really drive the ball in the gap.”

The bullpen was able to close it out. Andrew McWhorter tossed a perfect sixth and Cameron Martin ran into a little trouble in the seventh, but got a pop-up with the bases loaded to end the game and preserve the win.

“We got what we wanted in the seventh inning, we just didn’t come through,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “We didn’t hit enough balls hard. Their pitchers did a great job. They changed speeds. They pitched us backwards and kept us out front. We didn’t necessarily make an adjustment early enough. We didn’t get the job done, really.”

Nate Cunningham went the distance for the Gators, allowing two earned runs and six hits with six strikeouts. Greenwood had four hits, including a double by John Hicks.

The victory sets the Raiders up to throw Hawks in either of the next two games.

“It’s kind of like being on the chess table,” Flippin said. “Today was a risky move and it worked out for us. Hopefully we can build on that. If nothing else, get one of these last two and take the series.”

Game two is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Greenwood.

GHS 000 020 0 – 2

WEHS 003 010 X – 4

WP: Dragoo LP: Cunningham SV: Martin.{&end}