It was all about approach during the Warrenton baseball team’s 10-9 victory over Wright City on Monday. The Warriors held off a furious rally by the Wildcats after mounting an early eight-run lead. …
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Warrenton Baseball Holds Off Wright City Rally
Posted
By Derrick Forsythe, Record Sports Editor
It was all about approach during the Warrenton baseball team’s 10-9 victory over Wright City on Monday.The Warriors held off a furious rally by the Wildcats after mounting an early eight-run lead.Both coaches pointed to their players focus at the plate as a critical area. Each also mentioned the amount of runners their teams left stranded on base.“We felt maybe at some point leaving runners on would bite us in the butt, and it almost did,” said Coach Eric Burle.Fortunately for Burle, the first five innings were enough to put his team in position to overcome a late-game lull.Warrenton came out strong, pushing two runs across in the first inning.“We started off with good approaches to begin the game,” said Burle.Wright City matched that productivity at the plate. The primary struggle for the Wildcats early on wasn’t getting runners on base, but rather advancing them home. They loaded the bases with no outs but couldn’t push a single runner across home plate.Warrenton starting pitcher Ben Stephens took command on the mound, shutting down the inning.“Ben buckled down and didn’t give up,” said Burle. “He was able to get consecutive strikeouts to leave them on base.”Wright City notched the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second before going on a dry spell. Meanwhile, the Warriors seemed poised to end the game early via mercy rule.Warrenton drove in five runs during the third and two more in the fourth, making quick work against just seven Wright City batters during that stretch.The Wildcats shuffled through three pitchers, with senior Dallas Deroy starting.“It’s no secret we’ve struggled early on with our pitching a little bit, but they’ve kind of bounced back,” said Wells. “We’re asking our guys to put the ball in play and let the defense do the work.”But Coach Shannon Wells says he was confident his team had a rally left in it.“I talked to the kids about their approach in the fifth inning,” said Wells. “We’ve got nine outs remaining, so need to be selective about what we’re doing. We wanted to work the count, because he would be getting tired.”The Wildcats responded, with senior Austin Marsh getting the rally started in the bottom of the fifth. He went 5-for-5 in the contest, collecting a single each time up.“It was good to score early, but we kind of tapered off a little bit,” said Burle. “We’ve been talking about the fact that our struggle right now is being able to sustain good at bats and productive defensive efforts. Sometimes we lose focus and have those mental lapses that let teams back in the game.”Wright City’s Chase Jones and Kyle Tuepker each helped close the gap with doubles, making the score 10-6.Another extra-base hit by Andrew Pfuhl pulled in two more runs, as the Wildcats clawed to within one in the sixth inning.During that stretch, Burle opted to bring in senior Brandon Moeller to relieve Stephens. He was able to seal the win, escaping a pressure situation when Wright City placed the tying run on third in the bottom of the seventh.“We shouldn’t have let them back in the game, but I’m glad we closed it out like we did,” said Stephens. “(Brandon) buckled down and finished the game.”Wells says he was thrilled with his team’s resiliency.“I was real proud of how they played,” said Wells. “They stayed in the game and having an opportunity to just roll over and call it a day.”Dallas Johnson had a strong showing for the Warriors, collecting two hits, including a double. He also scored three runs and snagged a pivotal catch that limited Wright City’s scoring.Stephens also added a double, while Hunter Capstick scored three runs.Marsh scored three times for the Wildcats, while Troy Muse added two runs.
Warrenton senior Luke Darity sprints to first base during the Warriors' win over Wildcats.
