It was the bottom half of the lineup that came alive for the Whiteland baseball team on Monday evening.
The Warriors’ six through nine hitters combined for six runs and six hits to pave the way to an 8-2 win over host Greenwood.
The win evened the Warriors’ record at 1-1 and gave them an early jump into the Mid-State Conference, while at the same time spoiling what was the Woodmen’s first game in nearly two years thanks to COVID-19 restrictions.
Not only did the Whiteland bats come to life, but the Warriors’ junior hurler Jonathan Moreno went the distance, striking out seven Woodmen while surrendering only four hits.
“It was a total team effort,” Whiteland coach Scott Sherry said. “It started with Jonathan on the mound. He challenged them to hit. We also had some hustle on the base paths and the bottom of the order did a heck of a job.”
But it was the fourth inning where things really opened up for the Warriors, when they scored five runs on three hits, including two doubles.
That came after the Woodmen took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, the only inning in which Moreno appeared to struggle. He gave up three hits in that frame.
In that fateful fourth, Greenwood coach Andy Bass took out starter Luke Feisel and inserted junior left-hander Ian Flowers, who was making his first varsity appearance on the mound. Whiteland batters took advantage.
The inning started with a walk to Drew Helton, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by No. 7 batter Brant Kunz. Kevin Denham singled and stole a base, and Kunz scored. Then the last batter in the order, designated hitter Peyton Emberton, doubled home Denham.
Nine batters came to the plate that inning.
Whiteland scored two more times, one each in the sixth and seventh inning, for insurance.
Helton had two hits, including a double, for the winners, and scored three times. Kunz also had two hits, a run scored and a stolen base along with two RBIs.
Definitely a much better output than last Friday’s season opener, when Bedford North Lawrence shut out the Warriors, 9-0.
“We got the jitters out on Friday,” Sherry said. “Jonathan did everything we asked him to on the mound. We made good, solid contact and hustled.”
Greenwood got a pair of doubles, one off the bat of junior Josh Miller and another from fellow junior Dom Wright. Miller also had an RBI.
“It’s always tough, the first game,” Bass said. “But overall, I was pretty pleased with our play. We had three errors, but we made plays and I was happy with the way we bunted.
“We were pretty nervous and it was our first game in two years with a lot of new players, but that’s the same for Scotty’s team too.”
The two teams will go at it again on Thursday when Greenwood (0-1) travels to Whiteland for a late afternoon contest and a chance to even the score.
Before that, though, the Woodmen will play at Franklin today in the first round of the annual Johnson County tournament. The Warriors, meanwhile, travel to Southport.
