By Patrick MacCoon

Record Sports Editor

One look and a nod to keep going was all Scott Butler needed from Ben Stephens.

The ace for the Warrenton Senior Legion baseball team gave his head coach and teammates all they could ask for from the mound as he threw a complete game in a 4-3 home victory over Washington on Sunday.

The victory for Post 122 extended its winning streak to eight and brought Post 218's 18-game win streak to a close.

“We said from November on that the one thing we have to do with this program is change it,” Butler said. “This is a program-changing win. For us to beat them twice in a year, after not beating them in several years, is huge.”

While Stephens recorded his fourth win of the summer, and second against the District 9 powerhouse, he was roughed around early.

A pair of bloop hits, a misplayed bunt and two walks allowed Washington (20-2) to score two runs in the top of the first as they sent eight batters to the plate.

Stephens knew after his 30-pitch first inning he had his work cut out for himself if he wanted to go the distance in a statement game.

“I was struggling finding the strike zone early, but this was a game I wanted to myself on the mound,” Stephens said. “I regrouped and once I started throwing strikes it became a lot easier.”

Warrenton (9-2) answered in the bottom of the first with a run-scoring ground out from Troy Muse and a RBI opposite-field single from Brandon Moeller to even the score at 2-2.

Chances of tossing a complete game appeared slim for Stephens after a 27-pitch fifth inning put him at 102 pitches with Post 122 trailing 3-2.

However, he was determined to go the distance just as much as his team wanted to give him a lead.

A two-out rally was formed in the bottom of the sixth for Warrenton after Donovan Mozee and Moeller drew walks to set up Corey Eckenfels and James Dotson for clutch hits.

Eckenfels drove a full-count offering down the left field line to bring home Mozee for the tying run. Dotson followed with a broken bat single to right field to take a 4-3 lead.

“You could feel the momentum shift right there,” Eckenfels said. “We all started hitting late and while we stranded some runners it was enough to get the job done.”

Stephens logged his quickest inning of work with a five-pitch seventh, which helped save his arm for the finish.

Post 122 squandered chances to give its starter extra room to work with by stranding a total of five runners in the seventh and eighth inning.

Luckily, Stephens had all the run support he needed.

Just three outs away from victory, not only did Butler make sure his starter felt strong enough for the ninth inning, but so did Eckenfels.

“We had a talk before the ninth inning and I said 'Ben you are at 140 pitches, are you sure you can finish this? Let Brandon (Moeller) have it if your arm is hurting,'” Eckenfels said. “He looked at me and said I got it.”

After knocking down a comebacker to the mound for the first out, Stephens recorded his eighth and ninth strikeouts to cap off the victory. In 42 innings this summer he now has 66 strikeouts and a 0.63 ERA.

“This was one of those games where your adrenaline takes over as you get closer to the finish line,” Stephens said. “Butler knows I'm a competitor and I wanted the ball until the end of the game.”

While his pitch count was boosted by allowing eight hits and six walks, Warrenton's lead pitcher finished the deal he started in a 157-pitch outing.

“Ben didn't have his best performance numbers wise, but this is probably his best performance of the year,” Butler said. “He battled in and out of jams all night long. He has helped changed this program and all of our players have us headed in the right direction.”

Ben Stephens (center) celebrates with his team after finishing a complete game on the mound Sunday evening. Stephens struck out nine and brought an end to Washington's 18-game win streak.