Raiders sweep Eagles
Brock Warren shuts the door on Auburndale
Marathon’s baseball team swept its regular-season series against Auburndale this season, after senior Brock Warren’s 1-0 complete- game road win on Thursday.
It was a scoreless game until the Red Raiders broke through with a run in the top of the sixth inning on an Eagles throwing error to third base. Senior Jake Sweno laid down a perfect bunt single against Auburndale ace pitcher Hunter Wright with one out in the inning, and he then moved to second base on Brock Warren’s single.
Sweno tagged up on senior Mike Hahn’s outfield sacrifice fly ball and he sprinted to third base with a face first slide into the bag. Auburndale’s third baseman was unable to block the ball in the dirt on a throw from the outfield, thus allowing Sweno to score the game’s only run. Sweno clapped his hands as he walked from third base to home plate.
Freshman Tyler Underwood popped the ball up to the pitcher Wright to strand sophomore pitch runner Peter Chesek at third base to end the top of the sixth inning.
Brock Warren pitched a flawless bottom of the sixth inning for Marathon with a strikeout and two infield fly balls snagged by second baseball Tyler Underwood.
Freshman first baseman Grant Warren grounded out to Auburndale’s shortstop to being the top fo the sev- enth inning, but then the Red Raiders were able to chase starting pitcher Wright out of the game with he reached his 100-pitch limit.
Freshman Cooper Hoeksema jumped on the first pitch he saw from Wright for a single to centerfield, and sophomore Daniel LaQua walked on a 3-2 pitch count. Steve Warren, while coaching third base, instructed LaQua to “battle on the next pitch” and LaQua headed his advice by drawing a walk to end Wright’s night on the mound.
Hoeksema also listened to his head coach, Steve Warren, who told him to break up a double play if it were to happen. Sure enough, Hoeksema’s hard slide into second base broke up Auburndale’s double play opportunity on Marathon junior third baseman Nathan Hanke’s ground ball hit. Hanke reached first base on a fielder’s choice and then junior shortstop Jaden Koeller grounded out to end the Red Raiders’ threat to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning.
Brock Warren was back on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the game. He got the first Auburndale batter to ground out to Koeller at shortstop, but then Eagles senior catcher Schuyler Gilhausen singled to right field. Brock Warren got out of the jam when the next Auburndale batter grounded into a double play to end the game. Brock Warren pumped his fist when his younger brother, Grant Warren, caught the relay throw to first base to finish the double play.
“This game was a real battle for us against a real good pitcher and team,” Brock Warren said as he breathed a sigh of relief after the win. “Any time you get a Marawood win, especially on the road, it’s a good thing.”
Although Brock Warren did his part by striking out seven Auburndale hitters to earn the complete-game 1-0 victory on the mound, he still relies on having a solid group of teammate defenders behind him.
“We work extensively on playing solid defense in our practices; we take pride in our defense and knowing the guys in the field have my back is a comfortable feeling for me while I’m pitching,” Brock Warren said.
Brock Warren also led the Red Raiders at the plate by hitting a perfect two for two with a double, while Hoeksema batted two for three in the victory.
Marathon also downed Auburndale, 12-6, at home on May 18. Jaden Koeller struck out eight Auburndale hitters to earn the pitching win. Grant Warren batted two for four with a pair of RBIs and Brock Warren doubled and had two RBIs. Mike Hahn and Daniel LaQua added a pair of RBIs each in the win.
Marathon won a non-conference home game against Lakeland Union, 5-0, on Monday. The game ended in the sixth inning because of lightening. Grant Warren earned the pitching win and he also batted two for two at the plate. Mike Hahn doubled and had two RBIs.
The Red Raiders lost, 3-0, to their Marawood South Conference foe Stratford Tigers at home on Tuesday. Jaden Koeller suffered the pitching loss in a game that ended in the sixth inning because of thunderstorms. Sophomore Pierson Hamann batted a perfect two for two in the loss to Stratford.
Marathon was hoping its regular- SPORTS
season sweep against a solid Auburndale squad last week would give it confidence to also sweep a pair of games from Stratford this week, but Monday’s defeat to the Tigers severely hurts the Red Raiders’ chances of winning the conference title this season. Marathon will now play a road game against Stratford at 4:45 p.m. this Thursday, May 27.
The Red Raiders currently have a 4-3 record in the Marawood South Conference and a 10-5 overall record this season. The Stratford Tigers, meanwhile, are still tied with the Edgar Wildcats with one conference loss each atop the Marawood South Conference. Edgar and Stratford split their regularseason series. Stratford, the defending 2019 Division 3 state champions, currently have a 12-1 overall record this season.
Although Marathon is unlikely to win the Marawood South Conference championship, because the team was swept by conference leader Edgar earlier this season, Brock Warren is savoring his only high school baseball season playing with his freshman brother, Grant Warren, who also pitches and plays first base for the Red Raiders. Their father, Steve Warren, is Marathon’s head coach.
“It’s sometimes a challenge having both my dad and brother in the dugout, because we sometimes get on each other’s nerves, but it’s because we love the game of baseball so much,” Brock Warren admitted. “Our dad really pushes us to be the best players we can be.”
“Any time you get a Marawood win, especially on the road, it’s a good thing.” Brock WarrenMarathon senior
