Steinborn stymies Wildcats bats in opener
Warriors drop second game
Sports reporter
Sonja Steinborn pitched all of nine innings last season for the Marion-Florence/Peabody-Burns Warriors. Friday she went seven strong in the season-opener, shutting down the Haven Wildcats bats in a 4-2 victory.
The junior gave up just four hits, two unearned runs, and recorded seven strike outs.
"I was very proud of her. She did an awesome job," head coach Charlotte Waner said. "She's always so calm and collective. She's very good under pressure."
Steinborn helped herself out at the plate as well, going 3-4 with a run scored.
Lana Carroll, Lauren Helmer, and Kari Tajchman each had two hits, and Carroll added two runs.
Even though the Warriors won by just two, they were in control the entire time.
Steinborn struck out two batters in the first, and set the tone for the rest of the game. When MFPB scored three runs in the bottom of the second with a two-run single and an error, the game was all but over.
Third baseman Kristen Waner added an RBI-ground out in the fourth to stretch the lead to 4-0.
A Wildcat single in the fifth cut the lead to 4-1, but Steinborn allowed just one more run the rest of the way, to give her a 1-0 record on the season.
It was the third straight victory for the Warriors over Haven dating back to opening day last year.
It wasn't the same performance as last year when MFPB swept Haven in two games and outscored the Wildcats 40-8, but a victory is a victory.
"We had some first game jitters," Coach Waner said. "But I'm not worried about the bats."
Game two
The second game was nothing like the first, as the Warriors gave up seven runs in the first inning. Steinborn came in to pitch in relief and gave up just four runs the rest of the way. However, it was too late as the Warriors fell, 11-1.
The team is now 1-1 in the Mid-Central Activities Association, and 1-1 overall.
"When you are down by seven, it's hard to come back," Waner said. "We are young, and are going to make mistakes."
Helmer and Allie Maddox recorded the only two hits of the game for MFPB, who played both games without starting third baseman Kara Holt. She has a shoulder injury and is out indefinitely right now.
Still, Waner was pleased with her team's effort, and is looking for good things to come.
"Most of these girls have never played varsity," she said. "We just have to figure out where everyone belongs."
The Warriors played Nickerson Tuesday at home, and travel Friday to play Hoisington.
