Wright City coach James Adams was disappointed that his team picked Monday to have one of its roughest outings of the season. His crew never threatened during its meeting with county rival Warrenton, losing a 10-0 decision through five innings. “I don’t think we were mentally prepared,” said Adams. Senior Nick Shough pitched the entire game for the Warriors, who improved to 2-2. Coach Eric Burle says it was crucial for his team to set the tone and jump out to an early lead. Warrenton cranked out a pair of first inning runs to go ahead 2-0, and Wright City ace Brandon Bote couldn’t consistently find the strike zone. “We jumped on them early, and I think that was big ... putting the pressure on them,” said Burle. “The ability to score first was huge. It allows the kids to relax a little bit.” The simplest routine fielding plays became a hindrance for Adam’s team. “Offense wasn’t really my concern,” said Adams. “It was our defense. It doesn’t matter how well you hit the ball, when you’re making five or six errors on routine plays.” Warrenton added another four runs in the second inning. Junior Chris Hertel scored senior Matt Denton on a double with two outs. After recording a strikeout earlier in the inning, Bote found himself fighting to get out of the inning. But the Warriors pulled through three more runs in the inning with a pair of outs. “We talked about being aggressive, and I think we were doing that,” said Burle. “ ... I think we got into their heads a little bit by being aggressive and making some plays.” Bote walked junior Chad Berrey to load the bases, and Shough knocked a ground ball to left centerfield to score another pair of runs. Sophomore Devin Roberts added another hit to score Berrey, before Jason Bunge was caught between the bases while courtesy running for Shough. “It was just control issues,” said Adams, in regards to Bote’s struggles. “His pitch count got up there, and his defense didn’t help him on that. He had a lot more accuracy the first game he threw.” Berrey says playing Legion ball with several of the Wright City players offered insight to their tendencies. “We know where Mike is going to hit, where Bote is going to hit and where Bote throws,” said Berrey. The Wildcats went three-up, three-down in the bottom of the inning. Junior Darren Hackmann and sophomore Jakob Junker walked to begin the third inning and eventually scored on errors to push the Warriors ahead 8-0. Burle says his team was efficient when it came to capatilizing on the opponents’ errors. “We took advantage of some of their mistakes in the field, and I thought we were, for the most part, pretty patient at the plate in looking for a pitch to hit,” said Burle. Wright City was finally able to push runners into scoring position in the third. Tony Smythe collected a hit, while senior Cody Cox reached on a fielders choice and subsequent error. But solid fielding efforts by Warrenton allowed the Warriors to escape, leaving Wildcat runners stranded on second and third base. Wright City would never really find any energy on the bases after that episode. “We have get better at getting guys on base before we’ve got two outs,” said Adams. “That’s one thing that we’ve struggled at so far this year. We’re getting them on too little and too late.” Wright City’s only hits came from Cox, Smythe and senior Eric Smurl.Warrenton pulled its final pair of runs through in the top of the fifth. Shough gave up just four hits, walked one and struck out five batters during the shutout. “He controlled the strike zone,” said Burle. “Nick’s not an overpowering guy, but he’s got some good offspeed pitches. So, he was able to establish that fastball early on like he did and mix in his other pitches.” By the time Monday’s contest came to a close, temperatures had dipped into the low 40s. Inclement weather has been a constant nuisance for both Warren County teams this season. Wright City has yet to get a practice in on their home field, and Warrenton had held just one infield practice prior to Monday’s game. “This is only our second time on the infield,” said Burle. “We’ve been relegated to the gym or outside on the turf.”