Warrior softball steamrolls Wichita Independent

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
It didn’t take long to see the difference in talent Thursday when Marion hosted Wichita Independent in softball.

Superior at every position, the Warriors came away with their first two wins of the season, 14-1 and 16-1.

“It’s very hard to play teams when you know they’re not up to your potential, but for the most part I felt like the girls did a good job,” Marion coach Charlotte Waner said. “We weren’t as talkative as we needed to be, but we did what we needed to do in the long run and that was win.”

Marion’s advantage became apparent from the outset.

Three walks, two Panther errors and three Warrior hits- including a two-run double by Leann Thomas-keyed a four-run first inning.

Marion added a single run in the second inning before exploding for nine in the fourth.

In the fourth, Marion took advantage of five Panther errors. More important, the rally was ignited by six Warrior hits, including a two-run home run by Sarah Williams and a run-scoring triple from Thomas.

When the inning ended, the Warriors owned a 14-0 lead.

Thomas, meanwhile, was strong on the hill for Marion, allowing just five hits.

Independent finally broke the shutout in the fifth when Sarah Bastian reached on an error, stole second base and scored on consecutive passed balls.

But Thomas struck out the final two batters of the inning, ending the game on the 10-run rule.

In Game 2, Independent scored its only run early when Katy McConnell rolled a single through the hole at short for the Panther’s only hit of the game. McConnell scored two batters later on a wild pitch.

But Independent’s lead was short-lived as Marion pushed across four first-inning runs.

The Warriors added two more runs in the second inning before taming the Panthers with eight runs in the third.

Independent pitching helped by hitting one batter and walking four in the big third inning. Marion added five hits.

Emmy Bowers doubled and Williams ripped her second home run of the day, a three-run shot over the center fielder’s head.

By the time the third out of was recorded, Marion led, 14-1.

The Warriors finished the game in the bottom of the fourth by scoring two more runs without a base hit to go up 16-1. The game ended because of the 15-run rule after three innings.

For the day, Williams had four hits and six RBI.

“Sarah needed that,” Waner said. “It was nice to see the old Sarah back since she was feeling kind of sick last week.”

Thomas recorded four hits, including a double, a triple and three RBI while pitching two complete games and giving up a total of six hits.

Also aiding the Warrior cause was the addition of Megan Hudson, a transfer student who stepped into the starting lineup.

“She stepped right in and we rearranged our defense,” Waner said. “She did a good job at first base today.”

With the sweep, the Warriors improved to 2-2 for the season.

“Overall, I felt like we did a very good job tonight,” Waner said. “We worked on a lot of things this week and we improved in each of those areas.”

Coming-Marion was scheduled to host Council Grove Tuesday before traveling to Canton-Galva Thursday to do battle with the Eagles.

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