By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorBrandon Moeller kept up his workhorse mentality as he pitched all seven innings in an 11-1 home win for the Warrenton Senior Legion baseball team against O’Fallon on Sunday afternoon.With a quick approach on the mound, not taking long in-between pitches, Moeller silenced his opposition in an 84-pitch start in which he retired 15 straight hitters to finish the victory.“Brandon was feeling it,” Post 122 Head Coach Scott Butler said. “He wanted to get out of here in seven innings instead of nine. He continues to be a workhorse for us.”In his third straight complete game, the experienced right-hander only gave up two hits and one walk while striking out seven. His only run allowed in the third was unearned due to a passed ball behind the plate.“Every time I get the ball I want to go a complete game,” Moeller said after his ERA dropped to 2.68 in his third win of the summer. “I feel like it’s my job as a pitcher. To get through a game with one pitcher really helps the team and saves our arms.”Warrenton (11-3) shortstop Ben Stephens drove in the first run with a double to the left field gap in the first inning, which scored Troy Muse despite a head-on encounter at the plate.While the cutoff throw to the plate was in time, Muse knocked the ball out of the catcher’s mitt in a collision that could not be averted with the fielder in the line of the base path.“I was scoring no matter what,” said Muse, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. “I knew I had to just score despite my hip locking up a little as I rounded third. He dropped the ball and I was glad it went our way.”Post 122 gave Moeller a 4-0 cushion to work with in the second. Hunter Russell executed a suicide squeeze, which turned into a run-scoring base hit. Muse then drove in a run on a groundout to score Taylor Duvel.After hitting a batter and allowing a single start the third, Moeller struck out the side.He would not allow another runner to reach base the rest of the way. Moeller induced nine groundball outs through his final four innings.“Brandon has been big for us this year, pitching and hitting,” Muse said of Moeller, who also raised his team-leading batting average to .451 with a 3-for-4 day at the plate in which he scored two runs and had an RBI single. “We have a really solid team this year and we all love that we are winning more games now.”Warrenton produced 14 hits in the victory, which gave the program 10 more wins than last summer when it finished 1-15.“Everyone has worked hard to make themselves and the team a lot better,” Moeller said. “It’s a testament to the hard work we’ve put in and those coaching us.”Duvel led the offense as the Post 122 third baseman went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored and driven in.Muse, Stephens and Airk Rader all had two hits.“Taylor is a proven hitter,” Butler said. “He had a great high school season and has hit the ball hard all summer long. It’s just happened to be right at people a lot of the time. He’s starting to come around at the right time, especially with the district tournament about to begin.”While Warrenton has won 10 of its last 11 games, the focus throughout the team remains set on rewriting the history books.“It would mean a lot to make it to zone and to win the district tournament,” Muse said. “I don’t know what it is like because we have never been to that point before. We only won one game last year, so winning is kind of getting new.”
Brandon Moeller delivers a pitch in the first inning against O'Fallon in a 11-1 win for Warrenton on Sunday. Moeller threw his third straight complete game for the Post 122 Seniors.
