The Marion baseball team won three of its first four league games last week to move to 3-1 in HOA play, 3-3 overall.
?We had a little more fire in our belly,? coach Roger Schroeder said. ?It was good to see, especially after the opener when we kind of left town with our tail between our legs.?
Bennington?Marion swept the Bulldogs Friday.
The Warriors won Game 1, 8-7.
Marion fell behind 2-1 but used a seven-run third inning to secure the lead.
With one out in the six-hit frame, Mason Pedersen reached on an error, then Peyton Heidebrecht hit an RBI double. Nathan Baldwin drove in a run with a single, then Corbin Wheeler singled. After a fielder?s choice and an error, Remington Putter drove in two runs with a double. Jacob Vondenkamp and Cole Srajer hit RBI singles to conclude scoring in the frame.
Bennington scored once in the fourth inning, then added three in the fifth off one hit and three Warrior errors.
Chase Stringer entered in relief of starter Baldwin to start the sixth inning and retired the side in order.
When a bases-loaded walk with one out narrowed the gap to 8-7, Schroeder handed the ball to Wheeler, who secured a flyout and strikeout to end the threat.
Baldwin was 2-for-4 and had two RBIs. Wheeler was also 2-for-4.
Baldwin earned the pitching win. He scattered four hits and six runs (two earned) over five innings. He walked four batters and struck out five. Wheeler was credited with the save.
?We didn?t control the running game very well and enabled them to kind of chip back into it,??Schroeder said. ?We just didn?t do enough at the plate. We had one great inning, yes, but our adjustments just weren?t there.?
Marion completed the sweep with a 9-1 victory in the nightcap.
Heidebrecht threw a two-hitter to earn the win. He gave up one earned one, walked three batters and struck out seven.
?(Peyton) wiggled out of some trouble in the first inning and from there was aggressive down in the zone with the fastball,??Schroeder said. ?Showed the ability to locate a breaking ball for a strike, and that in turn got them off balance.?
The Warriors plated run support early by scoring three in the opening inning, using a hit by Pedersen and four walks.
Garrett Hoffner drove in a run with a third-inning single, and Marion scored one more in the fourth on Wheeler?s RBI single.
Marion used two hits and an error to score three in the sixth. Bennington scored its run in that inning.
Corbin Wheeler highlighted the seventh inning with an RBI double to increase Marion?s lead to the final margin.
Wheeler was 3-for-4 at-bat and had three RBIs.
Sedgwick?Marion split its first HOA games Tuesday.
Dylan Pippin (1-1) carried Marion to an 8-2 victory in Game 1, scattering three hits over seven innings of work and giving up two earned runs. He walked no one and struck out 10 batters.
?(Dylan) threw exceptionally well,??Schroeder said. ?(He) was very aggressive with his fastball the first time through the order and then was able to start mixing pitches as they turned the lineup over.?
In the second, Pippin worked a bases-loaded walk to score Marion?s first run.
Sedgwick tied the game with Nate Werner?s home run in the frame.
Marion scored two runs off three hits and an error in the fourth. Remington Putter hit a lead-off single, stole second and scored on Cole Srajer?s RBI single. Peyton Heidebrecht drove in a run with an RBI single.
The Warriors broke the game open by scoring four runs in the fifth inning, keyed by Mason Pedersen?s three-run double.
Each team plated a run via the long ball in the seventh. Heidebrecht touched Braxton Park for a solo home run, then Werner hit his second bomb.
Heidebrecht (two RBIs) and Putter were both 2-for-4 at-bat. Pedersen had three RBIs.
Marion lost Game 2, 14-10.
The Warriors scored six in the first inning. With the bases loaded after three walks, Corbin Wheeler hit a two-run double. Putter also hit a double in the frame.
The Cardinals scored four runs off two hits and two errors in the bottom half of the inning and tied the game at 6 by scoring once in the second and third innings.
Marion regained it in the fourth thanks to a pair of bases-loaded walks, and scored once in the fifth, but Sedgwick scored three off reliever Mason Pedersen to tie the game at 9 in the bottom half of the inning.
Putter hit a one-out triple in the sixth, and Jacob Vondenkamp drove in Marion?s final run, but Sedgwick plated five runs off five hits and an error in the bottom of the sixth. Marion left the bases loaded in the seventh.
?(Sedgwick) started being really overly aggressive on the bases and forcing us into some things that our guys weren?t ready to handle because they weren?t situationally aware before things started to take place,? Schroeder said. ?We just gave them way too many opportunities.?
Wheeler was 3-for-5 at-bat and had two RBIs.
Pedersen (0-1) absorbed the pitching loss. In two innings of relief, he gave up eight hits and eight runs (five earned). He walked three batters and struck out two.
Coming?Marion was scheduled to host Council Grove Tuesday. The Warriors will return to league play Friday by hosting Ell-Saline.
