Warrenton softball has no trouble with Winfield Tuesday

By Kory Carpenter, Record Sports Editor
Posted 12/9/16

During warm-ups, there was little distinction between the teams. Warrenton and Winfield donned red jerseys and red hats with white pants that were pulled up to show red socks. The uniforms were the …

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Warrenton softball has no trouble with Winfield Tuesday

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During warm-ups, there was little distinction between the teams.

Warrenton and Winfield donned red jerseys and red hats with white pants that were pulled up to show red socks.

The uniforms were the only similarity between the schools Tuesday afternoon, however.

The Warriors of Warrenton beat the Warriors of Winfield, 13-0, in a game that was mercifully called in the fifth inning.

Warrenton drew seven walks and collected 11 hits to improve to 10-1 overall.

Kaylee Anderson tossed a no-hitter while striking out nine batters, and added three RBIs at the plate.

Warrenton Head Coach Trevor Hibbs said the no-hitter was just as impressive in five innings at it would have been in seven.

“A no-no is a no-no,” he said with a laugh.

Hibbs wasn’t all smiles, however, despite the lopsided win.

“Our bats are up and down,” he said. “We’ve got to get into the batter’s box and have the right mindset every at-bat. We’ve got to improve the mental aspect at the plate.”

The Warriors have struggled offensively at times this season, scoring three runs or less in five of their 10 games entering Tuesday.

Only three players with at least 10 at-bats this season — Jansen, Anderson and Amanda Vehlewald — are hitting over .300.

Jansen, despite leading the team with a .519 average going into Tuesday, criticized her offensive performance of late.

The senior shortstop had hit safely four times in her previous five games.

For Tuesday, at least, she seemed to figure things out.

Jansen hit a 2-run home run in the second inning that curled over the left-field fence, giving Warrenton an 8-0 lead.

“It felt good, but I thought it was going to go foul,” she said. “I’m glad it stayed fair, though, because I haven’t been hitting that great, so I needed something like that to get me going.”

Added Hibbs: “I was wondering if he would call it a home run because it was right over the corner.”

The home run came in the middle of a 9-run second inning in which eight Warrenton batters reached base.

After Winfield surrrendered a run on five straight walks to start the inning, Anderson cleared the bases with a triple.

Vehlewald kept the rally going three batters later with a single, and finished 2-for-3 on the afternoon.

“Amanda has been pretty steady,” Hibbs said. “She’s had a lot of big hits for us this year already.”

Despite the 10-1 record, Hibbs continued to point to his team’s mental approaches at the plate.

He was quick to point out that the record looks nice, but his team has set lofty goals for itself after winning a state championship last season.

“We just want to be the best we can be,” he said. 

Jansen agreed, especially when it comes to the GAC North race.

Jansen and the rest of the four-year varsity seniors have yet to lose a conference game, and the team looks poised to win its fourth straight conference championship this fall.

“It’s always been a goal,” Jansen said. “We haven’t lost a conference game since I’ve been here, so losing one now wouldn’t be cool.”

.GOOD CONTACT — Amanda Vehlewald connects on a pitch Tuesday afternoon against Winfield. Vehlewald finished with two hits in Warrenton's 13-0 win. Kory Carpenter photo.

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