2 & through – Pioneers ousted early
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How many regular-season wins did Warren County have over each of its first two District 7-AAA tournament opponents? Two.
How many days did it take to complete the opening-round game? Two.
And, in the end, how many games did the Pioneers play before being eliminated from the tournament?
Two.
Warren County, the No. 4 seed in this year?s tourney field, was handed an improbable early exit Monday at Oakland, losing a 16-4 rout at the hands of the district?s cellar-dweller, the eighth-seeded White County Warriors.
Monday?s loss came a day after Blackman ? another of the three clubs swept by the Pioneers in the regular season ? dropped WCHS into the losers? bracket with a 3-0 loss.
Coach J.W. Holt?s team finished its year with a 15-20 overall record, while Blackman and White County moved on to face each other in the losers? bracket final of the Oakland half of the tourney pool.
Holt said the Pioneers? final loss, and especially the team?s performance during that loss, were especially hard to take.
?It was unbelievable,? he said. ?You?re 30-something games into the season, and you?re still talking about the same kinds of mistakes they made back in Game 1. It?s ridiculous; it?s so redundant to have to do that.
?As the year went on, we just didn?t improve the way we needed to in every part of our game. Our district is tough, and if you don?t improve every time you go out on that field, by tournament time you?re going to be behind.?
The Pioneers found themselves behind early in Monday?s game, as Todd Holman and Blake Rice struck for RBIs against starting pitcher Tyler Gilley to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the first. Warren County got a run back an inning later, however, when Derrin Rogers singled with one out, took third on a Chase Basham hit and scored when Basham stole second.
Lane McCoy scored on a double from Clint Newman in the third, tying the game at 2-2, and Newman scored on an identical running play to give the Pioneers a lead after Justin Bouldin singled then swiped second base.
A solo home run from Drew Haston in the fourth tied the game at 3-all, but Zack Fisher singled home Rogers in the bottom of the frame to once again give the Pioneers a lead.
Their scoreboard advantage wouldn?t last long as three straight Warriors connected for hits against Gilley in the fifth, chasing him from the mound in favor of Andy Southard, who gave up a bases-loaded walk to Rice and a two-run double to Haston before getting out of the inning.
Up 7-4, the Warriors padded their lead on a Rice sacrifice in the sixth, and dropped a big exclamation point on the upset win in the seventh, striking for eight more runs, including a three-run Jonathan Short homer against Rogers, who came on to work the final 2/3 of the inning. The Pioneers committed four errors on the day, including three during the seventh inning.
Newman and Rogers finished with a pair of hits each for the Pioneers, while Seth McDonald was 3-for-5 for White County, scoring four runs. J.J. Taylor went the distance on the mound for the Warriors, fanning nine batters and walking one while giving up seven hits.
? Sunday afternoon, the Pioneers? struggles against Blackman pitching continued, as Brad Barnes pitched three innings of no-hit baseball to wrap up the Blaze?s 3-0 first-round win.
Warren County?s only hit in the contest came from Basham, who singled in the second Saturday before rain halted the contest after four innings.
Barnes fanned three batters and didn?t walk any on his way to the save, while Kirkland Wheeler earned the win with Saturday?s four innings of work. Josh Mullins took the hill Sunday for the Pioneers, giving up two runs on four hits. The loss went to Rogers, who pitched all four innings the previous day.
Already ahead 1-0, Blackman padded its lead early Sunday, when Ryan Cole singled to start the fifth and came home on a two-out hit by Julius Fain. Frankie Beech doubled to start the seventh, took third on a wile pitch and scored the game?s final run on Cole?s single to left field.