Hard fought week: Warrior softball battles two tough opponents
Sports reporter
Marion-Florence/Peabody-Burns softball coach Charlotte Waner has heard all about how tough the Mid-Central Activities Association is.
She's heard of how playing at Nickerson would be a battle, and that Hoisington has a great tradition.
It doesn't really matter to her. She feels her Warriors are right up their with the best.
They proved that, after stomping Haven on the road in their opening doubleheader and then splitting two games at Haven April 5.
The mighty Cardinals then came to town Friday, after sweeping the Warriors last season.
Unfortunately for the Warriors they were swept again, but only after two hard fought battles, with Hoisington winning, 6-4 and 5-3.
"They are a good team," Waner said of the Cardinals. "But we are too."
In the first game it appeared early that Hoisington would run away as it jumped ahead 4-1 after three innings. MFPB managed just three hits and one run through the first four innings.
That's when the bats woke up just a little bit.
After senior Sarah Williams led of with a single and stole second base, junior Kara Holt followed with a one-out single that scored Williams to make the score 5-2.
Hoisington pushed across one more run in the sixth, but the Warriors weren't done.
With two outs, sophomore Kari Tajchman singled and junior Allie Maddox reached on catcher interference. Senior Megan Weber singled to load the bases. A series of wild pitches then plated Maddox and Tajchman, before Williams drilled a line drive that appeared to be extra bases but was snagged by the left fielder on the run.
After holding the Cardinals scoreless in the seventh, the Warriors went down 1-2-3 to end the game.
Leann Thomas pitched a complete game for the Warriors striking out three and yielding all six runs.
"Our mental part of the game is a little weak right now," Waner said. "We're hitting the ball, it's just right at people."
That can sometimes deflate a team's confidence, especially against a good defensive team like the Cardinals.
Unfortunately for MFPB, the trend continued in the second game.
After junior Megan Hudson scored on a passed ball in the first inning, the Warriors managed just two hits and no runs over the next five innings.
The good thing for MFPB was junior Kara Holt was lights out on the mound. Through five innings she allowed just four hits and no runs.
The sixth inning was a different story. A mix of walks, hits, and errors led to two Hoisington runs, as they claimed the lead by one.
The Warriors failed to score in the sixth, and the Cardinals added two more in the seventh.
Just like the game before MFPB didn't go down without a fight. Weber and Williams scored on wild pitches to make the score 5-3, but it was a close as the Warriors would, dropping their record to 3-3.
Waner knows the talent is there, it's just going take the right mindset to finish off their opponents.
"If we keep plugging away and working hard at the little things, we'll be fine," she said.
Maddox led the Warriors with four hits in the doubleheader to raise her team-leading season average to .550.
Holt pitched the entire second game, giving up just seven hits and two earned runs.
Nickerson
The Warriors traveled to Nickerson on April 5 where they split a doubleheader to give them a 3-1 record at the time.
In the opening game MFPB collected nine hits, but managed just one run, losing 8-1.
Maddox and Hudson had two hits each for the Warriors.
The second game was a different story at the Warriors' jumped on the Panthers 4-1 early, en route to a 12-8 victory.
Kara Holt pitched six innings striking out two, and yielding eight runs, three earned, while Thomas pitched a scoreless seventh.
Hudson went 4-5 while Williams was 4-4 with two RBIs.
MFPB hosted Hillsboro Tuesday and will play Friday at Halstead.
