Warrenton Baseball Rallies in Seventh Inning

By Derrick Forsythe, Record Sports Editor
Posted 9/5/14

It was one of those cliche situations that every kid pictures himself in during backyard batting practice.But for Corey Eckenfels on Monday, the scenario was all-too-real. With his team trailing in …

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Warrenton Baseball Rallies in Seventh Inning

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It was one of those cliche situations that every kid pictures himself in during backyard batting practice.But for Corey Eckenfels on Monday, the scenario was all-too-real. With his team trailing in the bottom of the seventh, he connected on a two-RBI single to drive home the winning run during the Warriors’ 7-6 victory over Union.“This is our third or fourth come-from-behind victory in a similar fashion,” said Coach Eric Burle. “It was great that Corey was able to pick them up with a big two-out, game-winning RBI.”It was a clutch play by a senior on senior night, but the comeback wasn’t all the work of upperclassmen. Three sophomores placed themselves on base, with Hunter Russell and Hunter Capstick connecting on singles and Dallas Johnson reaching via walk.“It was really important for us to get everybody involved,” said Coach Eric Burle. “We had a mix of sophomores and seniors contributing.”Until that juncture, the Warriors had suffered three consecutive scoreless innings, putting just two runners on base during that time. A single troublesome inning, during which Union scored five runs, seemed poised to put a damper on an otherwise celebratory day for nine seniors.“It was a communication breakdown,” said Burle. “There were a couple plays that we could have executed better. We had a miscommunication on a tag and then on a bunt play.”Warrenton put itself on the board early, with Capstick scoring off a double by senior Brandon Moeller. The sophomore would get on base three more times, going 4-for-4 on an improved day with two singles and a double.“Hunter had been struggling for the past week or so, but he stung a couple balls today and got on base a number of times,” said Burle.Moeller started during a game that saw four different pitchers take the mound as part of a plan to utilize the seniors but also keep starters fresh. Seniors Garrett Capstick pitched the second and third innings, before Airk Rader stepped in and junior Ben Stephens closed.“Brandon and Ben are in between starts, and they like to throw a little side-session, so the thought was to just give them an inning today,” said Burle. “Then we were able to work in Airk and Garrett as seniors,Union was able to work its way around the bases in the third inning, taking advantage of a pair of singles, two wild pitches and three walks.“We kind of put ourselves in a hole by doing some things we typically haven’t done in the past few weeks,” said Burle. “We gave up one big inning that we’ve love to have back.”Fortunately, the Warriors were able to close the gap in the bottom of the inning. Russell singled and was followed by consecutive doubles from Capstick and Johnson. Stephens then closed out the inning with a single during a stretch of timely hitting. Ultimately, all the runs were scored by sophomores, but it was their senior colleagues who came them moving on the base paths.“Every once in a while you’re going to have an ugly win,” said Burle. “This was good for us to show us we can rally back. I think that’s important for them, especially for some younger guys that are struggling with confidence.”JOHNSON THROWS TO FIRSTDerrick Forsythe Photo.


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