The Warren County Pioneers landed a knockout punch in the first inning as they claimed the season opener over Moore County 16-3 with 10 of those runs coming in the bottom of the first inning in McMinnville.

The Raiders were able to respond in the top of the second with three runs of their own but the Pioneers plated two in the third and four in the fourth to cement the win in a game that saw the Pioneers outhit the Raider 11-6. The Raiders also hurt themselves in the field as they were tagged with six errors. Kohlby Williams was the only Raider with a multiple hit game as he was two-for-two at the plate. Jose Garcia, Crew Costello, Carter Zerhusen and Nick Smith picked up the other hits.

Their next game was a closer affair but with the same result as they fell 3-1 to Community. The Raiders led 1-0 after one but were tied in the top half of the second. Community tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth while Moore County was unable to find the plate again during the contest. The Raiders were outhit 8-to-3 with Carter Zerhusen, Kohlby Williams and Jace Deal accounting for the hits. William claimed the lone RBI.

While unable to generate a lot of offense, the pitching was solid as Cole Taylor worked the hill for five innings, fanning eight Vikings while allowing no free passes during his 98 pitches. Zerhusen came in to relieve him for the last two innings, throwing 37 pitches, fanning one and walking one.

The Junior Varsity’s luck has been much better to start the season as they are 3-0, surrendering just one run total while putting up 33 themselves. They started the season with a 2-0 win over Warren County and then walloped Fayetteville 26-0 before topping Community 5-1.

The score sheet in the crushing of Fayetteville was gaudy as the game was stopped after five innings with Moore scoring five runs in each inning with the exception of the second when they plated six runs. Joseph Graham was two-for-three in the contest and scored a run. Jace Deal knocked in three RBI while Ryland Stovall knocked in two. Braylynn Hill scored three runs as did Stovall.

The shutout was worked by five separate pitchers while Colton Morey, Luke Stephens, Zerhusen, Jose Garcia and Braylynn each throwing an inning. They combined to fanned 13.