Warriors take third in district tourney
The Senior Babe Ruth baseball team traveled to Council Grove July 15 for the District 4 Tournament. They won the first game, then lost the next two games for a third place finish.
The team also was honored with the Sportsmanship Award. Players include Brian Baker, Derek Benson, Josh Church of Newton, Isaiah Eldridge, Ryan Gaines, Richie Grace, Micah Hilliard, Mario Nava, Bryan Swenson, Michael Unruh, Philip Unruh, and Cody Weerts.
Also playing with the Warriors during the season were Aaron Burnett, Brandon Crabtree, Josh Fistler, and Todd Woodruff.
After a first round bye, the Warriors played a Hillsboro team. M. Unruh started pitching for the Warriors and pitched four innings. After struggling in the second inning, Unruh held Hillsboro with four strikeouts with help from the defense. P. Unruh came in at the top of the fifth inning and threw seven strikeouts, allowing only one hit to secure the Warrior victory.
On offense P. Unruh started the scoring with a home run in the second inning. Gaines reached a base on a walk in the fourth inning and stole second and third. Nava followed with a walk and a stolen base. Benson belted a line-drive to left center to score two. Hilliard and Eldridge both walked, then M. Unruh hit a double to center field to score two. Weerts followed with a hit to shallow right field to score one.
The final score was Peabody 6, Hillsboro 5. P. Unruh was the MVP for Peabody.
Game two against Council Grove was held July 17. Warrior pitchers included Weerts, Swenson, and P. Unruh. The Warrior fielding had numerous errors that resulted in several unearned runs. P. Unruh started the Warrior scoring with a homer in the second inning. Baker and Gaines also had hits in the game. Weerts brought in Nava during the fifth inning for the Warrior's second score.
The game ended with Council Grove 13, Peabody 2. P. Unruh again was Peabody's MVP.
The Warriors played game three July 18 against a Hillsboro team that had battled up through the loser's bracket. Church started on the mound for the Warriors holding them in the first inning, but giving up four runs in the second. M. Unruh took over the pitching duties at the top of the third. He gave up one run in the third inning and three in the fifth. Errors in fielding were still evident. The Warriors scored one in the first inning and were held the remainder of the game by the pitching staff and infield of Hillsboro. The lone score was made by Weerts who reached first base on an error, then went to second and third on passed balls and scored on a ground-out by P. Unruh. Other hits were recorded by Gaines, Benson, Hilliard, and Church.
The final score was Hillsboro 8, Peabody 1. Hilliard, having caught eight fly balls as center fielder, was MVP for Peabody.
