Fruechting hits second home run of season
Sports editor
Wil Case found himself in some trouble.
He had pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with his team leading 8-6. Now, the bases were loaded with only one out.
The Nickerson Panthers had come to Marion Friday, trying to avoid giving the Warriors their first victory.
“It seems like that first win of the season is always the toughest,” said MHS head coach Shaun Craft.
With his team already 0-6, there probably was a lot of toe-tapping and nail-biting in the final inning of game one against Nickerson.
However, Case got a strikeout and induced a pop-out to close the game and leave three Panthers stranded on the bases. It was the first save of his career.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Case said. “I didn’t like walking three people in a row.”
Craft was glad to see the final out land in Case’s glove.
“I was really proud of how our guys handled the pressure in the later innings,” Craft said. “Wil (stepped) up to the challenge to keep Nickerson scoreless the last few innings and (worked) out of a tough jam in the last inning with the go-ahead run at bat.”
Case would not have had the opportunity to close out the game if not for his and classmate Brian Fruechting’s bats.
The two combined to go 4-6 with six RBI’s and four runs.
Colton Olsen’s single was the Warrior’s only other hit.
Fruechting hit his second round-tripper of the season in the fifth inning for an insurance run.
In three games this past week he was 6-10 with two home runs and 10 RBI’s.
Case has helped out by going 8-12 with two RBI’s in his past four games and raised his average to .409. He began the season 1-10.
Case said he is feeling more comfortable hitting in the three hole instead of leading off.
“Those two right now are definitely starting to stroke the ball,” Craft said. “In general, we are beginning to see little signs of life at the plate. I think (it’s) mainly due to having more consistent practices outside and seeing more and more live pitching.”
It might be just one victory, but with 26 runs in the past four games, the Warriors are starting to find holes in the outfield.
The Warrior’s pitching also improved in the Nickerson doubleheader. After allowing 32 runs in a Thursday doubleheader against Hillsboro, Craft saw some good things in Friday’s games.
Case pitched in both games and did not allow a hit or run in 2.2 innings. He did walk seven, but struck out four.
Cole Lewman started game two and took a tough loss.
He went five innings, allowing six hits and six runs while striking out three.
However, Craft was impressed with the freshman.
“Even though we came up short the second game, I thought Cole Lewman pitched a pretty good game,” he said “Unlike the first game where we didn’t have any errors, we had a couple at in-opportune times, and didn’t provide much run support in the second.”
At 1-7 Craft isn’t thrilled, but he is ready to see what this team can do in the near future.
“I’d like to think now that we got that first one out of the way, we (are) turning the corner this season and (continuing) to improve each day,” he said.
Case agreed.
“It feels good,” he said. “We just have to keep it up.”
This past week
Although pitching struggled in the two losses to Hillsboro, the bats were alive for the Warriors.
Marion managed five hits in game one, a 13-5 loss, including a double by Case.
The junior was 2-3 with two runs, while Fruechting hit two singles and drove in two.
Adam Maag had a single and two RBI’s while Eric Kjellin chipped-in with a single.
In game two, the Warriors stayed close early with six runs in the first two innings.
Fruechting hit his first home run of the season, and added four RBI’s.
Case, Matt Sprowls, and Isaac Hett each had two hits, while Olsen went 1-3 in the 19-7 loss.
The Warriors were on the road Tuesday at Haven, but stats were not available at press time.
Coming up
Marion will hit the field again Friday for a home doubleheader against Halstead.