Senior brothers Garit, Gavin Greene as good as gold for Field baseball team

STRUTHERS — Aaron Burr sang, bitterly it should be noted, about how "it must be nice to have [George] Washington on your side" in the hit musical "Hamilton."

Well, for the Field baseball team, it has been nice having the Greene brothers on its side, and more specifically in its outfield.

And that was on full display when the Falcons made history in Struthers.

As much as their pitching was front and center when they captured their first district title — holding Ursuline and Canfield to a combined three runs in 14 innings — the Falcons' defense was no less prevalent throughout their district victories.

In that district semifinal victory over the Irish, both Greene brothers, Gavin and Garit, both made impressive catches dashing to their left. In Gavin's case, his catch stunned those in attendance. How did he get to a foul ball past the right-field line so quickly?

"I was hustling my butt off," he said. "Just I had a good read on it. If I didn't step left first, then I wouldn't even have got there, but my teammates were yelling, 'Fence.' I was like, 'Heck with it, I'm running through it.' It's like if I get to the ball, I mean, that's a big play."

Garit has long been a mainstay in centerfield for Field.

It took longer for Gavin to find his position for the Falcons, as he rotated from the infield to the outfield and back again, but he has sparkled in right as a senior.

Together, they've allowed pitchers like Caleb Gartner to trust their defense, or to return to Burr's lament, to act as confidently as Alexander Hamilton did during the Revolutionary War.

"I mean, the ball goes in the air to the Greene brothers, there's never a doubt in my mind the ball is hitting the ground," Gartner said. "This guy [Garit] has been doing it for years. This guy [Gavin] stepped up big time this year."

Garit Greene seizes center for Field

Entering their first season of varsity baseball, most players are just hoping to get on the field.

Not Garit Greene.

He had a very specific goal.

"Ever since that COVID year happened going into my freshman year, I knew I was going to be the centerfielder and I put my mind to that," Greene said. "I wanted to make sure that it was known that I'm beating out everyone in that spot, just to make the team better, and I ended up doing that, came in sophomore year and just I never missed a beat after that."

Falcons coach Joe Peterson said Greene simply seized the spot.

"When Garit came on the scene, we made a decision early that, 'Hey, listen, this kid is an exceptional athlete,"' Peterson said. "We just got to find a way, and he quickly found a home there in centerfield."

While it took time for him to climb the lineup, where he now occupies the leadoff spot and is batting .352 with a team-leading 35 runs, his prowess in center quickly became clear.

"I feel like I have just that quick reaction time that not many other people have," Greene said. "I get to the balls that most people can't."

For Gavin Greene, it wasn't so simple.

First, it was a question of trying to find his defensive position.

Then, last year, he struggled to hit.

Some players would have tossed their mitt in the air in frustration.

Not Gavin Greene, who is hitting .264 as a senior but has a whopping .512 on-base rate thanks to 14 walks and 15 hit-by-pitches.

"He kept grinding, and you know what? That's a great thing to see, too, because a lot of young kids, if things don't go their way or they're met with adversity, then they just walk the other way or they just blame it on whatever they want," Peterson said. "Gav didn't do that, and he grinded and found a way to help the team."

Garit, Gavin Greene form a strong duo in the outfield

They burst onto the scene at different times.

But now the Greene brothers stand side by side in the Falcons outfield.

Just like they share the back line during soccer season.

"It's muscle memory at this point," Gavin Greene said. "I just know where he's going, he knows where I'm going. I mean, we've been doing that ever since we were little. I know his movements. He knows mine."

It's a partnership between twin brothers.

It's a partnership between friends.

It's a partnership between two players who will always push each other to be better.

Take that district semifinal against the Irish.

After Gavin Greene couldn't come up with a catch in right, his twin brother, Garit, told him he was better than that.

Garit was right.

An inning or two later, Gavin blasted an RBI double to help cement the victory.

"Gavin just has that unwavering confidence and Garit has it, too," Peterson said. "They both just have it, and when they do get met with adversity, usually they're pretty strong-willed and they just kind of move on."

Next up for Field:

Field faces Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin at 5 p.m. Thursday in a Division II regional semifinal at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton.

Peterson said the Falcons and Lions have a lot in common.

"They bunt it really well," he said. "They run the bases extremely well. They play extremely solid defense."

Peterson also noted the level of competition NDCL plays, including two league games apiece against Gilmour Academy and Walsh Jesuit.

"They're going to be tough," Peterson said. "We're going to have to play clean and we're going to have to limit the free 90s and limit second-chance opportunities for them. If we can do that, I think we'll be right there. It's just can we do that?"

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Garit, Gavin Greene as good as gold for Field Falcons baseball