Warriors Roll To Win Over Bruins
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
Senior Chase Rookstool hit a two-run homer into a slight breeze in the first inning, then the Warriors exploded for seven runs in the second inning to remove doubt about the outcome.
Rookstool and sophomore Jamie Slabaugh had two-run doubles as Wawasee sent 11 hitters to the plate in the frame.
The Warriors sent 10 hitters to the dish and scored four more times in the third inning, and tacked on a single tally in the fourth, the only innings the Warriors were on offense.
Warrior head coach Brent Doty said it was important to get off to a good start in the 2016 season, especially since there’s been a lot of player turnover since last season.
“Especially with our team; we lost 13 seniors from last year, so there’s a lot of young guys filtering in this year,” he said.” So it’s good to give them some confidence, and it’s always good to get that first win of the year.”
Senior Lucas Garza was the winning pitcher, allowing only a single in the first inning in three frames of work. He struck out five Bruins and walked two. Gavin Bontrager pitched the last two innings, and allowed just one single.
Doty said he made the pitching change to reduce Garza’s workload, keeping the big picture in mind.
“It’s early, and their pitch counts aren’t as high as we’d like them to be. But (Garza’s) a veteran, and he’ll get dialed in. He looked very sharp and getting into mid-season form, and we’ll get him going in the next couple of weeks,” Doty said.
Rookstool finished the early evening with three hits and a total of six runs batted in.
“Whatever (Rookstool) ate for breakfast this morning, he needs to keep eating it; that’s what I’m going to tell him,” Doty said. “He’s another guy that has experience for us. You expect that from your seniors.
“I don’t expect him to hit a home run and a double every game, but we’ll take it when he gets it. He’s that quality of a hitter, and I’ve got a feeling he’s going to be consistent all year, hit a lot of doubles for us, and we’re going to go as far as he’ll take us.”
Defensively, the Warriors were charged with a pair of errors, but kept them from snowballing into a Bruin rally and keeping Bethany at bay.
“We’ve really focused on that early; a lot of defense to start, because that’s going to win you most of your games. If you make the routine play, you’re going to be in a lot of ballades with a chance to win,” Doty said. “We have a couple of little things to clean up, but that’s to be expected early on.”
What might be the most bizarre play Wawasee will see all season occurred in the bottom of the third inning. With the bases loaded, Warrior first baseman Harrison Shortill popped a ball straight up into the air.
The umpires said they signaled the infield fly rule was in effect, but no one heard the call. The ball fell in and Bethany catcher Joel Plank picked it up, stepped on home and threw to third thinking he had completed a double play.
But the infield fly took away the force play, and Jairus Boyer scored from third when Plank made his throw.
Wawasee will play the second of three games in three days today when Wabash visits at 5 p.m.
WAWASEE 14,
BETHANY CHRISTIAN 0 (5 INN.)
BC 000 00 – 0 2 3
W 274 1X – 14 12 2
Bethany Christian – J. Miller (L, 2IP, 7H, 9R, 5ER, 1BB, 1K), Yousey (1IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 2K), Reinhardt (1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K)
Wawasee – L. Garza (W, 3IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 5K), Bontrager (2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB. 0K)
2B – Rookstool (W), Slabaugh (W)
HR – Rookstool (W)
Records: Bethany Christian 0-1, Wawasee 1-0[[In-content Ad]]
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Senior Chase Rookstool hit a two-run homer into a slight breeze in the first inning, then the Warriors exploded for seven runs in the second inning to remove doubt about the outcome.
Rookstool and sophomore Jamie Slabaugh had two-run doubles as Wawasee sent 11 hitters to the plate in the frame.
The Warriors sent 10 hitters to the dish and scored four more times in the third inning, and tacked on a single tally in the fourth, the only innings the Warriors were on offense.
Warrior head coach Brent Doty said it was important to get off to a good start in the 2016 season, especially since there’s been a lot of player turnover since last season.
“Especially with our team; we lost 13 seniors from last year, so there’s a lot of young guys filtering in this year,” he said.” So it’s good to give them some confidence, and it’s always good to get that first win of the year.”
Senior Lucas Garza was the winning pitcher, allowing only a single in the first inning in three frames of work. He struck out five Bruins and walked two. Gavin Bontrager pitched the last two innings, and allowed just one single.
Doty said he made the pitching change to reduce Garza’s workload, keeping the big picture in mind.
“It’s early, and their pitch counts aren’t as high as we’d like them to be. But (Garza’s) a veteran, and he’ll get dialed in. He looked very sharp and getting into mid-season form, and we’ll get him going in the next couple of weeks,” Doty said.
Rookstool finished the early evening with three hits and a total of six runs batted in.
“Whatever (Rookstool) ate for breakfast this morning, he needs to keep eating it; that’s what I’m going to tell him,” Doty said. “He’s another guy that has experience for us. You expect that from your seniors.
“I don’t expect him to hit a home run and a double every game, but we’ll take it when he gets it. He’s that quality of a hitter, and I’ve got a feeling he’s going to be consistent all year, hit a lot of doubles for us, and we’re going to go as far as he’ll take us.”
Defensively, the Warriors were charged with a pair of errors, but kept them from snowballing into a Bruin rally and keeping Bethany at bay.
“We’ve really focused on that early; a lot of defense to start, because that’s going to win you most of your games. If you make the routine play, you’re going to be in a lot of ballades with a chance to win,” Doty said. “We have a couple of little things to clean up, but that’s to be expected early on.”
What might be the most bizarre play Wawasee will see all season occurred in the bottom of the third inning. With the bases loaded, Warrior first baseman Harrison Shortill popped a ball straight up into the air.
The umpires said they signaled the infield fly rule was in effect, but no one heard the call. The ball fell in and Bethany catcher Joel Plank picked it up, stepped on home and threw to third thinking he had completed a double play.
But the infield fly took away the force play, and Jairus Boyer scored from third when Plank made his throw.
Wawasee will play the second of three games in three days today when Wabash visits at 5 p.m.
WAWASEE 14,
BETHANY CHRISTIAN 0 (5 INN.)
BC 000 00 – 0 2 3
W 274 1X – 14 12 2
Bethany Christian – J. Miller (L, 2IP, 7H, 9R, 5ER, 1BB, 1K), Yousey (1IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 2K), Reinhardt (1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K)
Wawasee – L. Garza (W, 3IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 5K), Bontrager (2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB. 0K)
2B – Rookstool (W), Slabaugh (W)
HR – Rookstool (W)
Records: Bethany Christian 0-1, Wawasee 1-0[[In-content Ad]]
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