Warriors pound Panthers
Eric Clark
Sports Editor
In a game that pitted one very talented offensive and defensive team against a team that struggles to fill a roster, the outcome, like you might imagine wasn't pretty - at least for Wichita Independent.
But for the Warrior softball team it was one of the largest margins of victory in school history, at least in game one.
The Warriors defeated Wichita Independent 21-0 in game one and 10-1 in game two.
In two games that featured great pitching, defense, and hitting by the Marion squad, coach Charlotte Waner commended her team on their ability to rise to the mental challenge of staying focused during the blowouts.
"We won't see a lot of these kind of games this season, thank goodness," Waner said. "Mentally we started to fall apart in the game. It's very hard (to stay focused), because it takes so much mental toughness and self discipline as an individual.
"The physical aspect of the game, I thought we did all right, it's just easy when you get down to keep the physical going."
Game 1: Marion 21, Wichita Independent 0 — The Warriors began their dominance in the top of the second inning when Emmy Bowers led off the inning with a double.
Facing two outs, Caitlyn O'Dell reached base after being walked. With base runners in scoring position, Leann Thomas connected on a pitch for a double that brought in the first two scores of the game. The Warriors left Thomas on second base, after a grounder ended the inning.
With the momentum, Marion's Megan Moore went to work on defense, sitting down the next three batters in the top of the second.
After scoring one run in the third inning, Marion led 3-0.
Marion shut down the next three players in the line-up on three routine defensive plays.
In the fourth inning, the Warriors drove in 11 runs before succumbing to Wichita Independent's defense. After four innings, Marion led 14-0.
In the fifth and final inning, the Warriors tacked on seven more runs and took with them a 21-0 victory.
Moore led the Warrior offensive attack going 2-for-5 and accounting for three runs. O'Dell added a 2-for-4 performance that yielded four runs, including a double, and an RBI. Senior Heidi Zogelman went 3-for-5 with two runs, and three RBIs in the win.
From the mound, Moore tallied six strikeouts and held the Panthers to just three hits in five innings of work.
Game 2: Marion 10, Wichita Independent 1 — The Warriors began game No. 2 like game one, cutting loose in the second inning. Bowers started the inning off with a single. One batter later, Krista Zogelman connected on a pitch for a single to put runners in scoring position.
After the Warriors' second out of the inning, Leann Thomas stepped up and delivered a double to left center that brought in Bowers and Zogelman. After two innings, Marion led 2-0.
The Warriors added eight more runs over the next five innings, including an out-of-the-park home run by Moore that sailed over the left-field fence.
Marion surrendered a run late in the seventh inning, but held defensively to close out the game with a nine-run victory.
Moore finished the afternoon with a 2-for-4 performance including a home run, a double, an RBI, and three runs. Krista Zogelman went 2-for-4 and scored twice.
Moore struck out 10 and held the Panthers to just five hits on the afternoon in seven innings pitched.
The Warriors (4-0) were scheduled to play Tuesday at Council Grove, and won't play again until next week Tuesday. The Warriors will host Salina Sacred Heart April 22.
