The Wakefield Warriors recently did something the team last accomplished in the 2021 season: winning its opening game.
Wakefield blanked the visiting Marshall Statesmen, 10-0, in that five-inning 10-run slaughter-rule high school Liberty District contest.
Second-year Wakefield coach Adam Balutis was confident during the preseason that the Warriors would be ready right at the start of the campaign, because they return many players from last year.
“This team is hungry to win,” Balutis told ARLnow.
The game was scoreless after two innings. Wakefield then scored twice in the third, five times in the fourth and added the last three in the fifth.
Cort Bringham pitched the complete-game, two-hit shutout. He struck out three and did not walk a batter, throwing 51 pitches.
Adam Barrington, Beau Branch and Bringham had big hits for Wakefield, which had 10 hits and stole seven bases. Branch and Barrington (double) had two hits and two RBI each. Joseph Todd, Luke Weston, Elliott Sagana, Sawyer Buchanan and Chase Daub also had hits for Wakefield.
The Warriors played errorless ball defensively, and took advantage of multiple Marshall miscues on defense.
