Timely hitting proved clutch again Tuesday night for the Warrenton baseball team, which surged past Orchard Farm in the seventh inning to begin the GAC schedule with a win.Despite a rather quiet night at the plate during his previous appearances, Taylor Duvel came through when it counted. He delivered a two RBI single to score Dallas Johnson and Brandon Moeller with two outs.It came after the Warriors put themselves in an early predicament — on more than one occasion.Orchard Farm’s productivity was limited against starting pitcher Ben Stephens, who struck out 12 batters through a full seven innings pitched.“Ben controlled the majority of the game,” said Coach Eric Burle.But the Eagles pulled through a pair of runs in the third inning to go ahead 2-0.A single followed by a miscommunication on bunt coverage helped load the bases and give the host team an early advantage.“We struggled responding a little bit, but we were able to come back eventually,” said Burle.Moeller had a particularly strong night at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run to lead off the fourth inning. He had doubled during his first appearance and later was intentionally walked.Warrenton entered the seventh inning deadlocked in a 2-2 tie.Burle says he felt good about starting the inning at the top of the order, but the first two batters were quickly retired, putting more pressure on Johnson. He doubled with two outs, Moeller was intentionally and Stephens then walked to load the bases. It set up the perfect opportunity for Duvel to shine.Senior Corey Eckenfels also had a double.“Tonight we did a better job of maintaining focus,” said Burle. “We struggled a little bit at the plate, but their pitcher did well. It was the same guy we faced last season, and we hit him a little better this time around.”“Orchard Farm is the only team in our conference that isn’t in our district, but there are a lot of common opponents,” said Burle. “The win was important not only for conference, but for district seedings to have wins over quality opponents.”

Brandon Moeller homered in the fourth inning of the Warriors' 4-2 win over Orchard Farm on Tuesday.

Bill Barrett Photo.