MHS softball: Haven pitcher shuts down Warriors bats
Sports reporter
With heavy rain Friday canceling the Marion High School softball game against Nickerson, the Warriors were left all week to think about the pitching performance they saw April 8 at Haven.
Aaron Schmidt scattered 11 hits, struck out 21, and allowed just one run in 7-0 and 7-1 victories against the Warriors.
"She was good," MHS head coach Sandy Black said of Schmidt. "We couldn't find the holes, and they played good defense. You can't take that away from them."
In game one the Warriors managed five hits, including two from Shelby Percell who leads the team with a .455 batting average.
Alex Cain, Austin Percell, and Kristin Waner each had a hit as well.
Cain pitched the entire game, yielding eight hits and seven runs, but also struck out seven.
Shelby Percell knocked in the Warriors' only run with a third-inning double, and was 2-3 on the day.
Jordan Harper had two hits, including a double, Cain had a double and a run scored, and Waner again contributed a single.
Waner threw a complete game in the loss, allowing 11 hits, seven runs, and three strikeouts.
The Warrior defense committed four errors in game one, and one in game two.
The losses dropped the Warriors to 2-6 on the season, and Black is hoping her team comes together soon.
"We're having team issues," she said. "We are more individuals than a team, and we need to get over that.
"We have talent. Hopefully we got over that at practice and can move on."
The talent part is obvious with six players hitting better than .300 on the season, and Cain and Waner have shown positive signs on the mound as well.
"I'm very pleased with those two," Black said. "They've done an awesome job."
Black said Cain hasn't been bothered by the pressure of being a freshman on the mound, and Waner has transitioned well from third base to shortstop, when not pitching.
"She's handled it very well and jumped in there and done the job," Black said of Waner.
Black said she thinks the team is moving in the right direction for the second half of the season.
The Warriors play are back in action Thursday at Halstead.
