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Union County poured across five runs in the top of the second inning and went on to an 8-1 victory over Morristown East Monday night at a really cold Sherwood Park in the season opener for both teams.

Three Patriots combined to hold East to just three hits in racking up the victory.

Winning hurler Gavin Janeway pitched the first four innings. He gave up doubles to the first two batters he faced and then shut the Hurricanes down without a hit after that. Janeway walked only one and struck out five.

Brady Stinnett threw two scoreless innings in relief and Cade Stinnett faced just three batters in the seventh.

The winners had seven safeties with Eben Hansen the only player in the game with more than one hit. Hansen singled in the first run for Union County in the first inning and also had a base hit in the fifth.

Eli Seals was the starter and loser for the Hurricanes. He worked two innings and faced two batters in the third, allowing four hits and six runs. Seals walked five and struck out five.

Carson Winstead threw well in relief for East. He worked 4.3 innings and gave up three hits and two runs while walking two and striking out five. Ethan O’Dowd came on to get the final two outs.

“I thought Carson came in there and threw really, really well in shutting them down and keeping us in the game,” said East coach J. D. Newsom. “Unfortunately we didn’t hit the way we needed to. I thought we were pressing a little at the plate after they scored their runs in the second inning.”

Newsom added, “Except for that one inning, I thought we played pretty well. We didn’t make a lot of mistakes defensively and our two relievers did a very good job.

“Eli didn’t have his best stuff and didn’t throw as well as he did in our scrimmages last week but that happens sometimes,” he added. “Offensively, I thought we tried to do too much instead of staying within ourselves. We seemed to be trying to get the runs back all at one time and started pressing.”

When asked if he thought the cold weather effected his team, Newsom said, “Union County played in the cold weather, too. It seems we always have cold weather early in the season and we just have to adjust and play on.”

After the Patriots scored in the first, Isaac Greene led off for the ‘Canes with a double into the right-center field gap. Seals followed with another two-bagger over the center fielder’s head to tie the game.

Two outs later, Lane Grizzell reached on an error with Seals moving to third. However, Janeway fanned the next batter to end the threat.

Newsom was disappointed his team didn’t score more in the first. “We have to be able to get that other run across the plate when you get him on second with nobody out. We have to hit the ball with runners in scoring position.”

The Patriots took complete control in the second as they bunched an East error, three bases on balls, a hit batter, singles by Landon Hamic and Trot Russell to score five times.

East’s only other hit was an infield single by Ethan Shockley in the fifth inning.

Union County added single markers in the sixth and seventh innings. Ian Setzer doubled off the screen in left field in the sixth inning.

East is back in action tonight as the Hurricanes journey to Knox Bearden for a 6:30 game.