It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Warren Central had no problem doing just that on Saturday. Everything went their way against the Saltillo Tigers as they made off with a 9-2 win. The result was nothing new for Warren Central, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Warren Central got a great performance from Brooks Willoughby as he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over 5.1 innings pitched. Willoughby has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Maddox Lynch and Ryan Nelson did most of the damage at the plate: Lynch went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs, while Nelson scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Nelson has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Cade Fairley, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and a stolen base.
On Saltillo's side, Wilson Rodriguez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out 11 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up four earned (and five unearned) runs off seven hits (and only one walk).
On the hitting side, Saltillo saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cooper Burleson, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Warren Central's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-11. As for Saltillo, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-13.
Warren Central will have a chance to go back-to-back against Saltillo: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
