By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorWhile the Warrenton Post 122 Seniors won its most games since 2006, when its head coach was a part of a 16-win district tournament runner-up team, a zone appearance was even sweeter.Despite only two wins to show for over the previous two summers, an invested group took the Ninth District by surprise and finished with a 14-7 record.Thanks to an eight-game and four-game win streak, Warrenton won 12 of its last 13 regular-season contests, which gave several players more wins than they had seen in their previous three seasons. While a 1-4 mark in the playoffs left a sour taste in their mouth, the success and progress made this season could not be taken lightly.“A lot of the talk coming into the season was that our Senior Legion program wasn’t committed or dedicated to turning things around,” first-year Post 122 Head Coach Scott Butler said. “However, from day one, they wanted to make a change and they bought into our message and what the program wanted to stand for. Every player on this team made this season a great year.”A mix of strong hitting, pitching and fielding resulted in a second-place finish in the Ninth District standings, which locked up a zone tournament berth for the program.Eight different players with at least 36 at-bats or more finished with a .298 batting average or higher. Ben Stephens and Brandon Moeller were the only two to hit over the .400 mark.Troy Muse led all in runs scored with 24. Stephens finished with a team high 22 runs batted in and Donovan Mozee finished atop with eight extra-base hits and two home runs.“This season was by far my favorite,” Muse said. “Winning kind of became a new thing for us with Senior Legion. It helped that we teamed up from Wright City and Warrenton along with some other schools to make this season special.”Routine plays were made throughout the season as a .944 team fielding percentage was posted by Post 122.“You win ballgames by good pitching, good defense and timely hitting,” Butler said. “We were able to do that this season.”Warrenton’s pitching staff posted a 2.43 earned run average while receiving six complete games between Stephens, Moeller and Mozee.“I truly believe we had the best pitching in the district this season,” Butler said. “Not many people could oppose us with a better staff. They were fun to watch and we were given a gift on this team with strong arms.”Perhaps the biggest surprise was Warrenton handing perennial powerhouse Washington two of its six losses, while holding a team that nearly averaged 10 runs per ball game to just three in the two-game sweep. Each time Stephens recorded the wins on the mound against Post 218.“I continue to say that Washington is the beast,” Butler said. “They often make a run at a state championship every year. Those two wins are gratifying to us because they had owned us for a good while coming into this season. Both of those games were full of energy and it was awesome to see Ben get the job done in the 4-3 victory with the tying run on base in the ninth.”Another favorite moment for many was defeating St. Charles at Blanchette Park to secure a spot above them in the final regular season standings.The 2015 summer for the Senior Legion squad is one that hopes to continue and progress all levels of the Post 122 program.“Senior Legion did it,” Butler said. “Change can happen. If you put your mind to it and work hard at it, good things are going to happen. The younger teams like the Juniors and Freshmen can do it too. This was a great year for us and one we want to build on for future seasons.”

Tyler Brittain turns a double play in a 4-3 home victory over Washington this summer. The Post 122 Seniors owned the summer series as they took both games over Post 218.

Patrick MacCoon photo.