Fast Start, Strong Finish Pushes Golden Eagles to Win

SHASTA--Five first inning runs put visiting Feather River in the lead and Golden Eagles pitching shut down Shasta over the back half of the game during a 7-6 baseball win for FRC on Friday afternoon.

It was the eighth straight win for Feather River and a victory in the first of the three-game Golden Valley Conference series. The Goden Eagles improved to 13-5 overall and to 4-0 in conference play. Shasta is now 6-11 on the year and 1-3 in the GVC. The two teams will play a single game on Saturday, start time at 1 pm.

Feather River put up a five-spot in the first inning, tying together three hits, three walks, a Shasta error and a wild pitch. Daniel Pruitt had the big blow with a two-run single. 

The Golden Eagles added another pair of runs in the fourth, with Jerry Thomas' RBI-double the big bash. That gave the green and gold a 7-3 lead. The Knights would add a three spot to pull within a run in the bottom of the fifth (7-6) to set up an exciting finish. 

But Feather River pitching put a close to that. literally. The combination of JJ Neal and Scott Lewis put up zeros on the board, setting the table for closer Jake Christianson. The right-hander retired five straight batters, including two via strikeouts in the ninth to grab his third save of the season.

Cooper Thacker and Thomas had two hits each for FRC. Ethan Williams led Shasta with three hits and he scored three runs.