Taylor Blair slapped out four hits and drove in two runs, and Garrett Rambo hurled a complete-game five-hitter as the Greeneville Greene Devils opened the 2010 baseball season Monday with a 9-1 victory over South Greene at Tusculum's Pioneer Park.

It was the first game and first Blue Ridge Athletic Conference outing for both schools. They have a return engagement this afternoon at South Greene's field.

Rambo was in complete control of the Rebel bats after he was touched by Jalen Shuffler for a solo home run in the first inning. Shuffler hit a line drive shot that quickly disappeared over the right field wall and staked the Rebels to a short-lived 1-0 advantage.

But Rambo was solid from that point on. He scattered four hits the rest of the way, striking out four and not walking a batter.

"First of all we beat a good ball club today," Coach Greg Dykes of the Greene Devils said. "Garrett Rambo did an excellent job on the mound today. When he keeps the ball down and has his change-up working he will be tough to beat. He did a great job keeping the South Greene hitters off balance all day long."

Greeneville tied the score off South Greene starter Nick Presley in the home half of the first. Blair led off the inning with his first of four singles on the day, went to second on a balk, and later scored when Kip Grooms laced a two-out double to left field.

The Devils got the lead for keeps in the second with two runs after two were out. John Michael Hardin smacked a base hit to left and Brennan Hollowell was hit by a pitch. Blair's base hit brought home Hardin, and Hollowell later scored on a wild pitch that rolled to the screen..

The Rebels got the lead-off runner on in both the second and third innings on singles by Keith Rogers and Kenan Wilhoit, but they were unable to advance. The 3-1 score stood until the fourth when GHS tacked on another tally. Blair had a one-out single and with two out, Bryan Everhart was hit by a pitch. Grooms' hit up the middle scored Blair to make it 4-1.

The Devils salted the game away with two more runs in the fifth. Garrett Rambo singled, Hardin doubled, Hollowell's infield grounder scored one run, and Blair's RBI-single scored another.

Three runs in the sixth by GHS closed it out. The Rebels made their only two errors of the game in that frame and they were costly as hits by Collin King and Derrick Thornton and a walk to Grooms were turned into three scores.

"On the offensive side I believe our hitters did a good job of being aggressive," Dykes added. "We keep stressing as a coaching staff to be ready for the fastball and adjust to the off speed. "On defense, we fielded some tough hops and I believe the defense played well enough to win."

Grooms, Hardin and Garrett Rambo added two hits each to the 12-hit GHS attack. Keith Rogers had two hits for South Greene, Shuffler had the homer, while Wilhoit and Cole Baxley contributed a single apiece.