Staff writer
Head coach Roger Schroeder had said his team needed to bounce back from its two losses earlier in the week to Sedgwick, and that’s just what they did Friday.
The Warriors won 21-3 and 14-8 over visiting Bennington to bring their season record to 4-2.
“Regardless of how we won, we just wanted to win,” Schroeder said. “That’s the goal every day, but it was more important today.”
Marion asserted its dominance early and often against the visitors, needing just two frames of hitting to accrue 21 runs — 5 in the first inning, 16 in the second. Schroeder said his team got some help from poor Bennington execution.
“We really didn’t do a whole lot,” he said. “We put the ball in play, they threw it all over the yard, they walked us, we got a couple hits, I know we scored 21 runs, but we didn’t do a whole lot.”
The game was called, quickly, ending in the third inning via mercy rule.
The second game was more substantial for the Warriors, Schroeder said.
“We made adjustments, we got a couple two-out hits with guys in scoring position, things that we didn’t do Tuesday (against Sedgwick),” he said.
Bret Voth was on the mound in the second game for Marion, and he faced a bit of adversity, which Schroeder said he handled well.
“He had pretty good stuff, but we couldn’t make plays behind him,” he said. “He felt like he was getting squeezed in the strike zone, so he was getting frustrated, but he grinded it out.”
Voth’s performance falls in line with the team’s mantra for this season.
“We want to be a bunch of dirt bags, and he got his dirt bag T-shirt today,” Schroeder said.
Voth is the team’s top starting pitcher.
Jacob Baldwin also threw well in the first game, though he only pitched three innings.
“He did really well, threw 21 pitches through two innings, then we kind of got on our heels a bit on defense,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said his team made steps forward, but he still sees room for improvement.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, what day we’re playing, we need to take care of ourselves,” he said. “We have enough of our own issues that we need to try to get together, and we took a step in the right direction today.
“We’re getting to be a tougher team.”