By ADAM STEWART

News editor

The Marion Warriors baseball team had three hits and a run before Clay Center’s catcher caught a pitch Friday. Taylor Heidebrecht, Dylan Seacat, and Grif Case each hit a first-pitch single in the top of the first inning.

“It’s huge, and at this level, you rely so much on momentum,” coach Roger Schroeder said.

He said he was happy to see the team get off to a good start after having games canceled earlier in the week. The Warriors batted around the order and scored five runs in the first inning.

The winning play continued with the Warriors on defense and Ethan Hett on the mound. Hett struck out as many batters as he allowed to reach base — five of each.

Marion added one run in the third inning, five in the fourth inning, and two in the fifth inning. In the meanwhile, pitching and defense held Clay Center scoreless, and the Warriors won by 10-run rule in the fifth inning, 13-0.

The offense didn’t get off to quite as fast of a start in game two of the doubleheader, but they did score three runs in the first, one in the second, five in the fourth, and one in the fifth.

On the mound, Austin Pedersen struck out nine batters, including all three in the fifth inning, while giving up one hit and two walks. The Warriors won another shutout in five innings, 10-0.

“He’s been doing a good job staying in the zone,” Schroeder said. “The best pitch for any of our guys is strike one. It changes the complexion of the at-bat.”

The team didn’t commit an error in either game, another good sign after a long layoff and little practice time on the field because of weather, Schroeder said. They hadn’t practiced in the infield since April 8.

Although the games were played in Marion, the Warriors were officially the visiting team. The doubleheader had been scheduled to be in Clay Center, but the field there was too wet to play on.

Dylan Seacat had five hits, a double, and five runs. Grif Case had four hits, five runs, an RBI, and two walks. Hett had two hits, two runs, and four RBIs. Pedersen had three hits, four runs, four RBIs, and a walk. Caleb Williams had one hit, a double, three runs, three RBIs, and a walk. Taylor Heidebrecht had three hits and three runs. Zac Robson had two hits, a double, and two RBIs. Luke Steele had one hit and one run. Zac Lewman had a walk.

The Marion baseball team suffered its first two losses of the season to Sedgwick on Tuesday, 13-2 and 8-7. Head coach Roger Schroeder characterized the losses as a wakeup call.