Warrenton senior Alan Burbach entered last Wednesday's game against Wright City with a stubborn approach. He simply refused to lose. Starting on the mound for Warrenton, Burbach saw this as the prime opportunity to snap the Warriors' 23-game losing skid that spanned back to the 2008 season. Burbach had never experienced a win at the varsity level until the Warriors' 10-3 victory over their county rival. "I'd been waiting for this game the whole year, after the way we lost last year in extra innings," said Burbach. "When I came to this game I had no doubt we were going to win." Burbach went a full seven innings, even appearing stronger during the final few innings. "We were definitely going to give him the ball against our cross county foe since he pitched well against them last year," said Coach Eric Burle. He limited Wright City to seven hits, striking out five batters and walking just one. Each of the Wildcats runs were earned. "They knew they were capable of winning this year," said Burle. "It's good to get that first one out of the way. Hopefully we can play a little bit more at ease and have a little more fun out of the field." Warrenton had one of its more productive hitting days in recent history. But what really paid dividends for Coach Eric Burle's team was how well it took advantage of Wright City's miscues. The Warriors cranked out 10 runs on nine hits - a product of 12 stolen bases. "When they made a mistake, we made them pay for it," said Burbach. "We're still making a lot of errors," said Wright City coach James Adams. "We have a lot of pass balls, but my catcher is only a sophomore. He's got a lot of learning to do." Warrenton's hitting barrage began early, with the Warriors pushing home four runs. Chad Berrey, Max Swacker, Jake Shough and Nick Shough each scored in the first inning. Burle emphasized the importance of securing an early advantage. "We hadn't scored any runs in the first three innings in our previous games," said Burle. "We scored four runs right away and knew we were going to be able to be aggressive on the base pass and did a good job of putting the ball in play." Wright City countered with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Junior Brandon Bote led off with a connection to centerfield. He and Tony Smythe eventually scored. But the Wildcats could never catch on to Burbach the way Warrenton figured out Wright City junior starter Nathan Adair. After giving up three more runs in the second inning, Adair sought relief from junior Mike Abrolat. He kept the Warriors charge in check, allowing three runs over the next five innings. "I planned on using three pitchers today," said Adams. "But Mike went in there and did a really good job for us." Wright City could never engineer enough contact at the plate to score the necessary runs. "We're hitting the ball better," said Adams. "Last couple of games we've been putting hits out there. We're just not stringing them together." The Wildcats only other run came in the fourth, when Abrolat reached home on an overthrow at the plate. But the Warriors quickly closed out the inning with a double play, shutting down any momentum Wright City had summoned. Warrenton drove in one run in the third, fourth and fifth innings, before each team locked down defensively. A game that had seen unusually long innings wrapped up quickly in the last few series at bat. Senior John Meyer, junior Matt Denton and sophomore Jake Shough had two hits a piece. Nick Shough had three stolen bases and a pair of RBIs. Jake Shough finished with three RBIs.