The Warrenton Lady Warriors used an early lead and a strong pitching performance from junior Kylie Witthaus to top North Point to win their second straight game.
The Lady Warriors (2-2) beat the Grizzlies 2-1 last week. Kiera Daniel reached base three times for Warrenton. She singled twice. She also walked to start the game. Senior Mackenzie Hurst hit a one-out RBI single in the first inning. Daniel stole second and advanced to third on a throw to get into scoring position. Daniel scored in the third inning on Witthaus’ RBI double.
“It was nice driving in that first run to get ahead,” Warrenton softball coach Chad Berrey said. “The top of the lineup is really the driving force for the offense right now.”
The two early runs were enough to hold off the Grizzlies. North Point scored one unearned run in the sixth inning. Witthaus threw a complete game for Warrenton. She struck out 12 North Point batters over seven innings. Witthaus threw a complete game in each of Warrenton’s first three games.
“Kylie’s throwing great,” Berrey said. “Her stamina looks great. In one week, she threw three complete games and we haven’t seen any signs of fatigue which is really good coming into the start of the season. She came in well conditioned to throw a lot of innings. And she’s doing just that.”
The Lady Warrior offense has produced 10 runs in the first four games of the season. Berrey and the Warrenton coaching staff expected growing pains on offense, with multiple new starters this season.
“We have a lot of new faces this year,” Berrey said. “So we expected growing pains as we start the season as our newcomers are getting their first taste of varsity playing time. But we are confident that our freshmen and our new faces on the varsity squad, once they get their feet wet, we’re not too worried about the offense. It will come around. They just need to get more at bats.”
This is the first year in Berrey’s five years as head coach of the Lady Warriors that Warrenton has not competed in an open tournament. As a result, Warrenton had only played three games as of last week’s game, while other teams had played as many as seven games at that point.
Audrey Lanzone is among the newcomers Berrey and the Lady Warriors have counted on to contribute early in the season. Due to a short term injury to starting catcher Maddisyn Hoelscher, Lanzone has stepped in at the catcher position.
“Audrey Lanzone has stepped up and caught Kylie really well,” Berrey said. “Only allowing two passed balls in two games. So with Kylie being a veteran pitcher throwing with good velocity, it’s really good to see freshmen stepping up and getting the job done.”
Warrenton lost to Winfield 1-0 Tuesday. They are slated to host St. Charles West Thursday and Wright City Friday. They are scheduled to host St. Dominic Tuesday. First pitch for all three games is slated for 4:15 p.m.