Nickerson takes two from Warriors
Sports reporter
On a good night to play baseball April 4 the Marion-Florence/Peabody-Burns Warriors ran into bad luck against a talented Nickerson team.
The Panthers, known for their baseball history, handled the Warriors easily in the first game, 15-3, and came from behind in game two, claiming a 12-6 victory.
"I reminded them Nickerson was a good team," head coach Shaun Craft said. "We jumped out in both games, we just couldn't finish it off."
MFPB led 2-0 after one inning in game one, but a three-run third inning gave the Panthers the lead. The Warriors came back with a run in the bottom of the inning, but failed to score again.
Twelve runs in the next three innings wrapped up the victory for Nickerson.
Dave DeForest was 2-3 for the Warriors with an RBI, and Todd Woodruff added a double and two RBIs.
In game two it was Nickerson who jumped ahead early with a run in the first, and two more in the third.
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the Warriors sent 10 men to the plate, scoring five runs, and taking a 6-3 lead.
DeForest started the inning with an infield single and the stole a base. After a Woodruff walk, Aaron Burnett smashed a two-run double down the left field line.
With the bases loaded and one out, pitcher Cody Weerts reached on an infield single, giving the Warriors a one-run lead.
Calvin Jeffrey would add a sacrifice fly and Clayton Garnica knocked a RBI-single to finish off the scoring.
But as it had in the first game, Nickerson added runs in the late innings, this time nine, to finish off MFPB, 12-6.
Burnett was 3-4 with three RBIs, and Garnica added two hits and one run knocked in.
Despite the losses, Craft thinks his team is doing OK.
"Our hitting is starting to come around," he said. "Eventually we are going to get better."
At 1-3 the Warriors need as many victories as possible, but this year the Mid-Central Activities Association has proven to be wide open.
"It's going to be whoever can be the most consistent," Craft said of the eventual league champ.
The Warriors traveled Tuesday to Hillsboro, and are back home Friday with a doubleheader against Halstead.
