Warrior baseball crushing the competition
By Missy Chappell
After opening the season with five road games, the Warriors finally got a chance to play at home last week. After their scheduled game with St. Joe on Tuesday was canceled due to weather, the Warriors hosted Blue Ridge on Wednesday, Charleston on Thursday and Cerro Gordo-Bement on Friday, coming away winners in all three games.
Tuscola-10 vs Blue Ridge-0
Cale Sementi earned his third win of the season Wednesday, March 21, pitching five innings and giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. Strong defense behind Sementi held the Knights scoreless in the Warriors’ five-inning, 10-run win.
Cade Kresin, Tyler Meinhold, Noah Pierce, and Dalton Hoel had two hits each for Tuscola. Coach Duff Hoel had good things to say about the offense in their first home outing.
“We had a good approach in the batter’s box and were able to square up several pitches,” he said. “It was nice to see a line drive approach on our home field.”
Tuscola-13; Charleston-3
The Trojans of Charleston came to town on Thursday, March 22. Charleston is in its 14th season under head coach Derrick Landrus and has compiled 20 or more wins in 11 of those season finishing last year 24-9. As part of the Apollo conference, on paper, the Trojans presented a test for the Warriors early in the season.
The Warriors gave the Trojans a healthy dose of reality in the bottom of the first, scoring 13 runs. After Dalton Hoel popped out to the third baseman to lead off the inning, the Warriors offense got going. Lukas Kresin drew a walk on five pitches. Up next Andrew Erickson got a hard hit double, advancing Kresin to third. After drawing a full count, the Trojans put Brayden VonLanken on intentionally, allowing Cade Kresin to earn an RBI when he was walked on a full count.
Tyler Meinhold then drove in another run on a single ahead of Will Little who hit a two-run double. Jacob Craddock, in a designated hitter role for Pierce, was walked in three pitches, effectively ending Charleston’s Harrell’s outing on 32 pitches. Haden Cothron then hit a sac fly to center field driving in run number five for the Warriors.
With two outs, Hoel was back up at the top of the order, and this time hit an RBI double. L. Kresin followed with a two-RBI double of his own. Erickson and VonLanken both got singles their second time around before Charleston loaded the base when C. Kresin was hit by a pitch. That set the stage for Meinhold to crush a grand slam over the fence at Ervin Park and give his team a 13-run lead.
The full story can be found in the Wednesday, March 28 edition of The Tuscola Journal.
