It wasn't their Gold team, but the Cougars are the Cougars. And a sweep is a sweep. And mercy rule wins are rare.
The Warriors got it all Saturday in a double-header beat down of the rival Cougars Green, avenging a 10-1 loss to open the league season.
Game one ended after just 3-1/2 innings as a 10-run third inning in which every Warrior in the lineup scored led to a 15-3 mercy rule win. Max Versteegh went the distance for the win and he and Michael Daughtery, Ryan Niemeyer and Dalton Weems each had two hits in the 11-hit Warrior attack. Versteegh and Neimeyer also scored twice and Versteegh, Daughtery and Weems each had three RBIs. Defensively, the Warriors played error-free baseball for just the third time in 26 games.
The Warriors took all of five innings to beat the Cougars 10-5 in game two, extending their winning streak to a season-high four games. The Warriors squandered a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning with three errors, but put up five runs in the top half of the fifth to win 10-5. Robert Hogg got the win in one inning of relief, while Daughtery and Neimeyer again had two hits.
After ending a 16-game hitting streak in game one, Jordy Brown started a new one with a season-high three hits in game two. Brown, Daughtery, Mitch Blades and Will Teubel each scored two runs.
The Warriors take to the road Thursday for a 6 p.m. game with the Corridor Mudcats in Tiffin. On Friday, the Iowa City Trojans come to McKinley Field. With the June 9 game vs. the Firehawks canceled due to high school baseball conflicts, the Trojans will be the final tuneup for the League Tournament on Father's Day weekend.
The Warriors, winners of seven of their last nine games, stand at 15-11 on the season and are in position for a high seed in the state tournament at the end of June.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Cougar sweep as good as gold
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Brown leads nearly flawless Warriors to win
With all the fours he put up Wednesday night, you'd think Jordy Brown would be a Brett Favre fan.
The Warriors' leadoff hitter had four hits, scored four runs, batted in four more and stole four bases in a 15-3 win over the Cedar Hills Hawks. He also allowed only one run in five innings on the mound for the victory. With his performance, Brown extends his hitting streak to 16 games, during which his batting average has climbed from .167 to .448.
This was one of those games that wasn't as close as the score indicates.
The Warriors were up 7-0 before the Hawks scored their first run in the top of the fifth inning. The Warriors responded with an eight-run fifth inning in which all but one player in the lineup scored.
The Hawks added a run in the sixth off Michael Daughtery and another in the seventh off Ryan Niemeyer.
The Warriors outhit the Hawks 12-4 and had just one error to the Hawks six.
The win puts the Warriors at 13-11 on the year with a doubleheader against Cougars Green slated for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Game Notes: Mitch Blades matched his season high with three stolen bases... Jordy Brown has now stolen 40 bases in 22 games... Noah Burdt had a hit, walked, stole a base and scored twice in his third substitute appearance of the year... Michael Daughtery teamed up with Brown for the play of the day, sneaking in from center field to pick off a Hawk base runner at second base... Robert Hogg got a hit in his only official at-bat, but walked twice and was hit by a pitch while also stealing four bases and scoring twice... After catching fire in Vinton and going hitless in Des Moines, Ryan Niemeyer got a hit, an RBI, scored twice and stole two bases while climbing to 125 putouts at first base... Max Versteegh was 2-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI while filling in admirably at catcher... Dalton Weems showed nice wheels in chasing down a left field fly and beating out a bunt for an RBI single that started the fifth inning onslaught... Zach Zingula extended his hitting streak to seven games and raised his batting average to a season high .333. He also talked me out of an error for the first time -- and probably the last -- in his playing career.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Warriors return home winners
The Warriors closed out their participation in the Holiday Park Baseball Club Memorial Tournament with a 4-3 victory over the Des Moines Wild on Sunday.
In their third game of the tournament -- their first against a fellow AA team -- the Warriors overcame five errors as Zach Zingula went the distance on the mound, allowing only one earned run in six innings. Fighting a cold, Zingula wasn't overpowering, instead relying on his defense for 15 of 17 outs. The Wild's 18th out came in a textbook pitcher-to-first-to-second-to-first-to-shortstop-to-pitcher rundown.
Michael Daughtery began to get comfortable with his new bat, going 2-3 with two runs scored.
The Warriors began the day with their first test against a "major" team. They more than held their own for six innings against Those Guys, but four seventh-inning errors lead to five unearned runs and the Warriors fell 10-2.
Robert Hogg pitched six strong innings, but took the loss. Jordy Brown scored both Warrior runs and went 2-2 with a two stolen bases.
The Warriors stand at 12-11 on the year with the Cedar Hills Hawks coming to McKinley Field Wednesday at 6 p.m.
