By Michael Lindsay
The White County Warriors left Jamestown with their 5th win of the season on Friday as they defeated York Institute, 7-3.
“We’re still learning how to win,” said White County head coach Tyler Thompson. “These guys are starting to mesh together and play as a team, and that’s huge.”
Warrior freshman pitcher Austin Pionke recorded the victory on the mound as he went 5 2/3 innings with 5 strikeouts and 3 earned runs.
“It was a great outing from a freshman,” Thompson said. “He gave us a chance on the bump to win. Our offense came through and our defense played solid. I’m really proud of our guys for getting back in the win column.
“Any situation you put him in, he’s cool and calm under pressure,” Thompson added. “He went to his other pitches when they were hitting his fastball and adjusted. He’s going to be a stud as he keeps going; he’s just a freshman.”
At the plate, White County tallied 11 hits. Jack Everett went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBIs while Pionke went 2-4 with a run. Seth Greene had a double and an RBI for the Warriors.
For York Institute, Breyden Choate went 4-4 with a double while Eli Garrett went 3-4.
White County jumped on the board first in the top of the first inning via a Greene ground-out to score Pionke.
The Warriors pushed their lead out to 4-0 with a 3-run second inning. Two Dragon errors helped Trenton Wilson and J Smith reach home before a Greene double scored Jonathon Boswell.
York Institute got on the board in the bottom of the second via a Choate single to score Lee Kearns and again in the third via a Choate double to score Tanner Tallent, making the score 4-2.
York Institute pulled within a run in the bottom of the fifth inning via an Andersyn Moon double to score Tallent, cutting White County’s lead to 4-3.
White County tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning with two outs as a Malachi Brown single scored Kason Seal followed by a Jack Everett double to center to score Logan Brown and Malachi Brown, making the score 7-3.
York Institute had two runners on and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning before Will Thomas retired the final two batters to seal White County’s 7-3 victory.
“We did good, but we need to do better at putting runs across in the middle innings,” Thompson added. “We started strong, but we’ve got to be able to bury teams when we get up like that. Overall, I’m proud.”
White County has a quick turnaround as they host Warren County Saturday at 1 p.m.
York Institute is scheduled to compete in the Clinch River Challenge against Bearden and Powell this weekend.
