Marion snags three victories

Nathan Baldwin secures the third out of the top of the fourth inning on a pop fly in foul territory behind the plate during Game 1 with Inman Friday. Marion won the game, 12-3. Game 2 was cancelled because of wet field conditions. The Marion baseball team swept three games last week. The Warriors took two games from Ell-Saline to start the week, then defeated Inman in a non-league game Friday to improve to 10-1 on the season.

Inman—In an outing shortened by rain, Marion won Game 1 Friday, 12-3. Game 2 was cancelled because of wet field conditions and will not be rescheduled.

After a scoreless inning, Inman scored first without a hit in the second inning, thanks to a pair of walks and a couple of wild pitches.

Marion took the lead in the bottom half of the inning, using three hits and an error to score three runs. Jacob Vondenkamp drove in two runs with a single.

Inman, however, tied the game in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs off two hits and an error.

Marion took the lead for good with a six-run bottom half of the inning. The Warriors knocked out seven hits, and Inman made one error. Peyton Heidebrecht highlighted the effort with a two-RBI triple. Vondenkamp also drove in two runs with a base hit, and Corbin Wheeler hit an RBI double. By the end of the third inning, Marion led, 9-3.

The Warriors scratched across one run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Vondenkamp hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, Wheeler hit an RBI ground-rule double in the fifth inning, and Marion’s final run scored via wild pitch after Garrett Hoffner worked a leadoff walk.

The Warriors recorded 14 hits, led by Wheeler, who was 3-for-4 at-bat and had two RBIs. Vondenkamp drove in five runs. No Warriors struck out.

Seth Savage (3-0) earned the pitching win. In 51⁄3 innings, he gave up six hits and three runs (one earned). He walked three batters and struck out three.

“We’re 10-1 and we’re playing okay,” coach Roger Schroeder said. “I feel like I’m really hard on them, but we’re an experienced group and I expect a lot out of them, and I don’t think we’ve played our best baseball yet. I think we’ve got a chance to finish the regular season on a good run.”

Ell-Saline—Marion swept the Cardinals Tuesday.

The Warriors won Game 1, 8-7.

Marion built a 5-0 lead through two innings, enjoying a three-hit, four-run top of the first inning. Peyton Heidebrecht keyed the frame with an RBI double. Marion benefited from an error.

The Warriors used a hit and an error to score a fifth run in the second frame.

Ell-Saline erased its deficit, putting single tallies in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings, then scoring four runs off two hits and a pair of errors in the sixth. That left Marion trailing, 7-5 heading into its final batting opportunity.

“From an offensive standpoint, we got super stagnant,” coach Roger Schroeder said. “We talked about it after Game 1. That’s just been our Achilles heel.”

Cole Srajer led off the seventh inning with a single, then Mason Pedersen was hit by a pitch. Down to the final out after a double play, Corbin Wheeler was hit by a pitch, then Srajer scored on a balk. Seth Savage worked a walk, then Nathan Baldwin hit an RBI single to tie the game. Garrett Hoffner walked to load the bases and Evann Heidebrecht was hit by a pitch to score the game-winning run.

In the bottom of the inning, Pedersen worked around a leadoff double, and the Cardinals stranded the tying run on base.

“Good thing for us is we grinded that seventh inning out,” Schroeder said. “We put some runners on base early in the inning. We put the pressure back onto them, and they didn’t handle it terribly well.”

Pedersen was 2-for-3 at-bat. Peyton Heidebrecht had two RBIs.

Pedersen (1-0) earned the pitching win. In 12⁄3 scoreless innings of relief, he gave up three hits. He walked no one and struck out two batters.

Marion won Game 2, 14-0, in five innings.

It remained a 1-0 game through three innings before the Warriors blew the game open with a seven-run fourth inning. Marion recorded five hits in the frame—none bigger than Nathan Baldwin’s three-run home run—and Ell-Saline made two errors.

The Warriors solidified the run-rule win by scoring six runs off three hits and three errors in the fifth inning. Garrett Hoffner hit an RBI double.

Corbin Wheeler (1-0) earned the pitching win, scattering two hits over 32⁄3 scoreless innings of work. He walked three batters and struck out three. Blaine Mermis threw 11⁄3 innings of hitless relief.

Peyton Heidebrecht was 2-for-3 at-bat and had two RBIs. Baldwin had three RBIs.

Coming—Warriors were scheduled to travel to Remington Tuesday in its only outing this week. They will be back in action next Tuesday at Bennington. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

Tags from the story
Written By
More from Janae Rempel
Jays run at Terry Masterson Invite
After the second outing of the season, Tabor College cross-country coach Brian...
Read More