Unfortunately, things didn't go well for the Warriors as they dropped both games in Marion, 15-3 and 12-6.

"The first game wasn't pretty," coach Shaun Craft said. "We struggled quite a bit and had quite a few errors. But we started hitting the ball pretty well, so I was pleased with that."

Starter Clinton Jeffery went three innings for Marion, allowing three hits and five earned runs while striking out five.

"Clinton doesn't have a real strong arm, but he throws strikes," Craft said.

The Warriors got off to a good start when Cody Weerts singled to lead off and Clayton Garnica singles one out later.

After both runners moved up a base on a David DeForest sacrifice, they scored on a Todd Woodruff double to put the Warriors on top 2-0.

That's the way things remained until the top of the third inning, when the Panthers combined three hits with three Warrior errors to grab a 5-2 lead.

The Warriors got one run back in the home half of the third when Calvin Jeffery led off with a single and scored on a one-out double from DeForest to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Clayton Garnica came on in relief of Jeffery in the fourth, but found the going tough. He allowed six runs in the inning on four walks, two errors, a hit batter and one base hit as the Warriors fell behind 11-3.

Nickerson added four runs in the sixth inning off Garnica, who faced 24 hitters, allowed only two hits but 11 earned runs. He hit two batters and threw three wild pitches.

"Clayton had one bad inning," Craft said. "But I stuck with him and let him work himself out and build his confidence back up. He finished the game strong."

Game 2 began much better as the Warriors constructed a 6-3 lead. After Nickerson scored a single run in the first off Weerts, the Warriors tied the game in the second when Todd Woodruff tripled and scored on a Nathan Bishop ground out.

After Nickerson added a pair of runs in the third inning, the Warriors exploded with a five-run fourth.

Base hits from DeForest, Garnica, Aaron Burnett and Derek Benson keyed the rally as the Warriors went on top 6-3.

That was the final time the Warriors would cross home plate. The Panthers, meanwhile, scored five times in the sixth and four times in the seventh to take the 12-6 victory.

Weerts took the loss, allowing eight hits while striking out seven and walking six.

"Cody pitched a good game but we had a couple of errors and one thing led to another," Craft said. "They got a couple of runs they shouldn't have, but he really did a nice job."

Craft said DeForest continues to be a leader on offense.

"David is really coming alive at the plate," Craft said. "He hit the ball really well against Nickerson and actually did a nice job in our opener when everyone was struggling."

With the losses, the Warriors stand at 1-3 for the season.

Coming-The Warriors travel to Hillsboro on Tuesday to face the Trojans. They will take Friday off.