By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, knocking off Thomas-Fay-Custer 11-3 Tuesday to bounce back from three straight losses to Class 2A teams.
Okarche jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, carrying enough momentum into the rest of the game to seal the victory.
Dalton Schwarz led off the frame with a walk and later scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. Carson Jacobs reached on a hit-by-pitch before Tucker Neuenschwander reached on the error that scored Schwarz. Carson Baustert pushed in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for a two-run lead before a two-run single by Jayton Crider to make it 4-0. Baustert and Crider later scored, each on a fielder’s choice for the six-run advantage.
After giving up two runs in the second, the Warriors used a solo home run by Schwarz to make it 7-2 in the bottom of the third inning. Okarche tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning on four free passes and a pair of single by Bryce Reese and Baustert to take a 10-2 lead. The team scored once more in the six on a double by Neuenschwander and a RBI-single by Cody Read.
Nuenschwander and Read each finished with two hits to help spur Okarche at the plate. Schwarz, Reese and Crider each drove in two runs while Carson Baustert, Read and Nick Baustert combined to drive in three.
Neuenschwander recorded the win, allowing just two earned runs on six hits and two walks over seven complete innings with seven strikeouts. He threw 104 pitches, including 67 for strikes and threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 30 batters faced.
The win also marks the first in four games for the Warriors. The team lost two games to Cordell and Hinton in the 2019 Hinton Tournament over the weekend before falling to Minco 12-1 on Monday.
The Warriors improved to 8-7 with the win. They continue their season today at No. 18 Arapaho-Butler before a second straight road game tomorrow at No. 14 Cashion. Okarche then travels to the Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City Saturday to take on Commerce at 5 p.m. before returning home Monday to host No. 11 Ripley.
