Marion throttles Independent during its season opener
Warriors sweep Panthers with run-rule
Staff writer
Warrior baseball coach Rogers Schroeder wasn’t sure what to expect last week heading into Friday’s season-opener against the visiting Wichita-Independent Panthers.
Mother Nature hasn’t been as kind to the Warriors as she has had the Panthers, leaving Independent weeks ahead of Marion because they had the luxury of indoor facilities.
Independent already had two wins under its belt, opening March 18 with a sweep of graduation-depleted Council Grove.
What the Warriors got was unexpected, with Marion running its record to a perfect 4-0 since the Panthers captured the 2017 Class 3A state title.
Marion’s season got off to a great start with the Warriors outscoring Independent 25-5 with 12-2 and 13-3 wins by run rule.
“I thought we played pretty well considering the amount of time actually spent on the field prior to Friday,” Schroeder said. “There’s still plenty to work on moving forward, though.
“All our guys that threw well, but all of them need to be more efficient with their pitch counts. I was pleased with the amount of balls that we barreled up since we hadn’t seen a live pitch until Friday.”
Junior Jaxton Tracy opened the season on the mound for Marion, surrendering a pair of hits against 13 batters for the win.
The Warriors pulled in front in the bottom of the first on a Cooper Carpenter single before Independent knotted the game up at 1-1 three outs later.
Carpenter went 2-for-4 the first game with two RBIs, fueling a six-run explosion in the bottom of the third to stretch Marion’s lead to 7-1.
Blaine Mermis blasted one of his two doubles in bottom half of the fourth inning, pushing the Panther deficit to 8-1.
The Warriors rolled up 13 hits, putting the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run outburst sparked by Eli Hett’s 2-run double and Evann Heidebrecht’s base-hit.
Carpenter, Hett, Heidebrecht, and Tracy supplied Marion with eight RBIs with two each.
Mermis took to the hill in the nightcap, allowing three hits and all three runs with two earned.
The Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning with Carpenter driving in the first of his two RBIs on 2-for-3.
Independent pulled to within 2-1 the top of the second, but the floor began giving way in Marion’s half of the third with a four-run onslaught on run-scoring singles by Tracy and Heidebrecht.
Marion’s offense could muster only four hits, but Independent’s six errors were costly in the Warriors opening a commanding 9-3 lead after four innings.
The Warriors ended the game the bottom of the fifth tacking on the last four runs for the 13-3 final with Luke Lanning finishing with a game-high 3 RBIs.
Tracy was also 2-for-3, driving in two more runs and Mermis was awarded the win.
Marion will remain home Friday to host Moundridge at 4:30 p.m.
Last modified March 27, 2019