It’s early, but Whiteland’s baseball continues to play well.
The Warriors improved to 3-0 on the young season as they overpowered Greenwood 13-3 in six innings. It was not only the opening game of the Johnson County tournament, but also the first official Mid-State Conference game of the season.
Whiteland will face Franklin in a Saturday afternoon semifinal at Center Grove.
The Woodmen (0-1) took an early lead, but couldn’t find the right combination of pitching and hitting to keep up with the Warriors.
“We put the ball in play and got some timely hits,” Whiteland coach Scott Sherry said. “We also took advantage of some miscues and walks, which we did in the other games.”
In the Warriors’ two previous wins, they scored eight and 18 runs. Tuesday’s baker’s dozen give them a startling average of 13 runs a game, which is no surprise given their aggressive play.
Whiteland has also done a good job of preventing runs.
“Our pitchers did a great job,” Sherry said. “They threw strikes.”
Senior Luke Helton started out on the mound for the Warriors, striking out six batters. Helton really only encountered trouble twice, both times at the hands of Woodman junior Cameron Crick, who tagged a double and solo home run to left field in the first and third innings.
The senior did get a measure of revenge by fanning Crick in the fifth.
Except for Crick, who scored twice, and Ben Sobieray, who had a pair of singles, the Woodmen couldn’t really sustain a rally. They scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings.
Whiteland, meanwhile, had four multiple-run innings, putting up three runs each in the first, third, fifth and sixth.
Leading the way for the Warriors was Ryan Pelfree with two hits, including a double, two runs and two RBIs. Braden Reed had a three-run homer in the third, while Lukas Cline came off the bench to smack a two-run double in the sixth.
Greenwood pitchers issued 10 walks, had three wild pitches and three hit batsmen.
The Woodmen won’t have long to wait to make amends, as they host the Warriors today at 5:30 p.m. in another conference tilt.
“We got them tonight, but we all start over tomorrow,” Sherry said.
