After dropping a season-opening doubleheader at Chase County, Marion baseball coach Roger Schroeder was left to ponder the innings that got away.
“We were real disappointed after the first week in the Chase County games,” he said. “It was very common on our end in which we had an inning or two on the defensive side where we weren’t prepared for situational baseball and what was going on around us. When you’re not a juggernaut hitting or pitching team, there’s not a whole lot of room for error.”
Schroeder challenged his players to play with more intensity and smarts, and the Warriors responded with a 3-1 burst by splitting games with Sedgwick and taking two from Bennington.
“We’re still a young team learning how to win,” Schroeder said. “We showed a little more fire in our belly and a little more competitive nature.”
Schroeder was pleased with the adjustments pitcher Dylan Pippin made against Sedgwick, where he picked up an 8-2 win.
Pippin stuck with the same pitches throughout the Chase County game, and got burned in the third rotation through the lineup. Not so against Sedgwick.
“He just did a much better job from an attacking standpoint,” Schroeder said. “He struck out 10. A couple of balls happened to blow out of the yard.”
The first win Friday against Bennington was close, 8-7, but the second was convincing, 9-1.
Mason Pedersen is off to a good start offensively, hitting around .400 and stealing bases when he gets on, Schroeder said.
As for the rest of the offense?
“Everybody else has been a little streaky,” he said. “We’ve shown some flashes of it, and when we get it on the same page someday, somebody’s going to be in trouble.”
Coupled with two junior varsity wins, Schroeder characterized last week as a “great week” for the program, but realizes improvements in the win-loss columns may not show up immediately.
“They’re not all of what we’re measuring now,” he said. “We’re looking for improvements at the plate, we’re talking about taking care of little things in the field. We’ve already shown from week one to week two we can make the adjustments. It’s going to happen. I hope it happens real soon.”
Golfers improve scores
Several Marion/Peabody-Burns golfers improved 18-hole scores Monday at a Central Christian golf tournament in Hutchinson.
The Warriors placed seventh of eight schools with a score of 435, missing sixth place by six strokes.
Individually, Jade Corona placed 22nd of 48 golfers, finishing with a 102. Jarrett Johnson was 31st at 109, Zach Stephey was 34th at 111, Devin Soyez was 36th at 113, and Adam Kjellin was 46th at 125.
“While we didn’t place well as a team, it was a great step forward for our golfers,” Rome said. “Adam and Devin competed well in their first tournament, and Jade, Zach, and Jarrett all showed 5-10 strokes of improvement from the Herington meet.”