Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The White County Warriors earned their first win of the season on Friday with their 20-0 win over Sunbright.
Jacob Smith got the start on the mound for White County, and locked down after allowing a walk early in the first inning. He held Sunbright off the board, and allowed the Warrior bats to get to work in a scoreless game in the home half of the inning.
And go to work they did, as they scored four times in the frame, highlights by run-scoring hits off the bats of Jack Guy and Elijah Kelley. Smith proceeded to retire the side in order in the second, and the Warriors blew the game wide open with a seven-run second to push the lead to 11-0.
By the time the game reached the fifth inning, White County found themselves up 20-0 and Smith finished off a five-inning no-hitter to earn the Warriors’ first win of the season.
“It’s the first win of the season so that just feels good, period,” said WCHS head coach Roger Haston. “Jacob Smith throws a no-hitter, and our bats were great tonight…I thought we just put our bats on the ball.”
The Warriors were aggressive early in counts, something Haston says he and the coaching staff emphasized all year long.
“We teach them to look first-pitch fastball, and I think they keyed into that,” Haston said. “Just catching everything out in front, and hitting it to the left side is how we got this win.”
Haston’s goal coming into the season wasn’t just winning one game obviously, but he says he hopes that this one builds some momentum come postseason time.
“We tell teams that we hadn’t won a game, and their mouths drop,” Haston said. “We’ve played a pretty tough schedule, but as the season has gone on, I feel like we’ve gotten better. Hopefully it’s starting to click just in time for the tournament.”
