His conscience battling his desire to win, Coach Brian Vogt knew the time to make a critical decision was looming.Dalton Owenby had eight tremendous innings under his belt, but his pitch count was reaching an uncomfortable level. Locked in a scoreless game, Vogt decided it was best to preserve an arm than risk a long-term injury.But the switch on the mound proved detrimental for the Warrenton Post 122 Freshman Legion team, who surrendered the game 3-0 through nine innings to Winfield.“He pushed the max, but he did it kind of effortlessly,” said Vogt. “But enough was enough. It wasn’t going to jeopardize his throwing arm.”Owenby struck out eight while allowing two hits and staying walk-free.“It was a heck of a pitching duel by both starting pitchers,” said Vogt.Post 122 wasn’t necessarily equipped for an extra-inning contest, with four players — two pitchers and two catchers — absent.“We were short on our pitching arms today,” said Vogt. “We were asking a lot from our pitchers and catcher to battle in a doubleheader.”Warrenton had the advantage early in terms of making contact, as two of Winfield’s first three batters struck out looking. But Post 122 couldn’t place its lead-off runners on base and didn’t place a single runner on base until the bottom of the third, when Allen Shepard singled to left field.“We hit the ball quite a bit, but we hit it right to someone every time,” said Vogt. “We were looking too much with two strikes and not swinging at a belt high pitch, even though it may be off the plate.”Winfield began making contact in the fifth, but Owenby’s defense was secure behind him.One of the more opportune moments for Warrenton came in the fourth when Alex Vogt doubled with two outs and Jordan Merrell followed with a walk. But the following batter struck out and the glimpse of momentum was quickly deflated when the three straight Post 122 batters whiffed in the fifth inning.“Some of our key base-running guys struggled to get on base,” said Vogt.Merrell found himself on the base paths again in the seventh, but was tagged out advancing to third when Shepard singled to centerfield.“A couple of times we had runners at second base,” said Vogt. “We had one play where we made a mistake trying to advance. That was a potential big mistake. One big base hit, and we probably win the game there.”Winfield had not sent more than four batters to the plate through eight innings, but it would work through its entire order in the ninth.Vogt entered in relief for Owenby, walking the first two batters he faced before making an early exit.When James Dotson entered to close, he find himself in a taxing situation. The first batter he faced reached on an error, which also gave Winfield a 1-0 edge.“It was a tough break,” said Vogt. “It was a good defensive effort on both sides. They just put the ball in play a little bit harder than we did.”A single followed to score another run, and a second hit pushed Winfield to a 3-0 victory.“It was an improvement over the last few games, but more needs to be made,” said Vogt.Post 122 finished with just four hits, two of those coming from Shepard. Chris Garrett and Alex Vogt each had one a piece.Vogt walked two batters, while allowing two walks and a pair of earned runs.Dotson gave up two hits and one run, striking out one as well during the ninth inning.OWENBY TOSSES GEMDerrick Forsythe photo.