Great defense, standout pitching and timely hitting - baseball coaches have known the winning ingredients for years, but it's not always easy to have all three. Right now, Warren County has everything it needs to rack up wins.
The Pioneers moved to 6-1 this season and picked up their fourth win in a row Thursday, beating Huntland 8-1 at home. Everything clicked for the Pioneers, who scratched across a run in every inning, made zero errors and allowed just six hits over seven innings.
Senior Hayden Collins was the catalyst for the offense from the lead-off spot, finishing 3-for-3 with two RBIs and scoring twice. Collins tied the game at 1-1 in the first by singling and scoring after a stolen base, roped a two-out, two-run double in the third to put the Pioneers up for good.
Warren County didn't mind running on Huntland either, evidenced by its six stolen bases (Tyler Adams had three on his own). The Pioneers took extra bases on passed balls and wild pitches as well, like Baler Melton scoring in the fourth on one to the backstop and Logan Earls getting home on another errant pitch in the fifth.
The Pioneers had productive outs too. Melton hit a sac fly in the fourth and Aiden Miller followed with an RBI groundout, putting the Pioneers up 6-1 at the midway point.
Jax King added an RBI single to finish the scoring in the sixth.
Alex van Vuuren picked up the win by throwing four solid innings, while Alex Tallent dazzled in three innings of relief. The duo combined for seven strikeouts.
Warren County will try to extend its winning streak Monday at home against Coffee County at 6 p.m.