Take the last two year’s win totals for the Warren County High School baseball team and combine them and it would only match the success the Pioneers have enjoyed this season.
Warren County won its 15th game Thursday night, beating the Upperman Bees 7-3 on the road.
Last year, the Pioneers won only 10 games, which doubled the total from 2010. This season, under first-year head coach Adam Childs, the Pioneers are nearly to the win total from the last three years combined.
The senior class entered the season with only 17 wins to their credit, but the 12 Pioneers have seen the wins come in bunches this year.
Thursday was the Pioneers fourth win in their last five games and their second win over the Bees in a seven-day span.
Warren County beat Upperman 4-0 April 13 when Kyle Rutledge threw a two-hit shutout.
Rutledge was again the winning pitcher against the Bees as the junior threw five innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three.
Warren County gave Rutledge the lead to play with in the third inning.
After two scoreless stanzas, the Pioneers plated three runs in the top of the third.
Garrison Holmes started the scoring with an RBI double, bringing in Park Hilliard.
The second run came when Daulton Foster stole home, a normally rare feat the Pioneers have pulled off five times this season. Derek Brumley made it 3-0 with a run-scoring single.
Upperman came back with two runs in the bottom of the third, but Warren County answered back in the fourth as Lee Carden led off the inning with a single and scored on a fielder’s choice.
Rutledge handed a 4-2 lead over to Spencer Pryor in the sixth and the senior pitched a scoreless inning to put the Pioneers three outs away from victory.
Before junior David Lee entered to pitch the seventh, Warren County put three more runs on the board.
Foster, Holmes and Brett Mullican each had RBI hits as the Pioneers built a five-run lead.
Lee allowed an unearned run in the seventh, but had little trouble closing down the Bees for his second save.
Warren County will begin a home-and-home series with Coffee County tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at Patrick Ramsey Field. With a sweep of the Red Raiders, the Pioneers would clinch the No. 2 seed for the District 6-AAA tournament. Tuesday’s game in Manchester will also begin at 6:30 p.m.