Pioneers face Coffee County

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

Warren County pitcher Joey Haston delivers to a Coffee County batter during Monday afternoon’s scrimmage against the Red Raiders at Ramsey Field.

The Pioneer baseball team hosted Coffee County for a preseason scrimmage Monday afternoon, and new head coach J.W. Holt was pleased with the progress his team displayed.

“We played pretty good,” Holt said. “We didn’t keep any stats, but we got in nine or 10 innings, and ended up in an 8-8 tie.

“It was a pretty good day, and we got some quality work in.”

Holt said the Pioneers used several members of his pitching staff, with each hurler working on a pitch count to avoid any undue stress on their throwing arms.

At the plate, he noted his batters performed well against a quality Red Raider pitching staff.

“We saw some good pitching, and we were able to hit the ball well, as well as make some good plays defensively,” he said. “We looked like we’re pretty much where we want to be at this point in the preseason, and we’ll get another good test this week to help us get ready.”

The Pioneers will travel to Manchester Thursday and Saturday for three scrimmages. Thursday at 6 p.m. they will face Cascade, which is coached by former Warren County Middle head coach Chris Parker.

Saturday’s action will begin with a 2 p.m. scrimmage against Hixson, and the Pioneers will face McCallie at 4 p.m.