Warrenton falls to Holt in district tourney opener

By John Rohlf, Sports Editor
Posted 5/29/23

The Warrenton baseball team was unable to overcome a slow start in their district quarterfinal loss to Holt last week. 

Warrenton (15-14) fell to Holt 8-5 in last week’s Class 5, …

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Warrenton falls to Holt in district tourney opener

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The Warrenton baseball team was unable to overcome a slow start in their district quarterfinal loss to Holt last week. 

Warrenton (15-14) fell to Holt 8-5 in last week’s Class 5, District 4 quarterfinal. The Warriors fell behind 8-0 in the game. Head coach Eric Burle attributed defensive miscues early on as a factor in the early deficit. After falling behind early, Burle thought the Warriors chipped away. They trimmed the deficit to 8-5 with two innings left despite facing one of the best starting pitchers they faced all season. 

“I felt like we put together good enough at-bats but didn’t give ourselves a chance early on with our defensive effort,” Burle said. 

Warrenton junior Ben Peth led Warrenton with two RBIs. He reached base twice and scored a run. Sam Wortham led Warrenton with two runs scored. 

Peth started the game on the mound for Warrenton. He pitched 3 1/3 innings and surrendered four earned runs. Kannon Hibbs threw 2 2/3 shutout innings in relief. He only surrendered one hit and struck out three Holt batters in the loss. 

Warrenton matched last year’s win total with 15 wins despite the lack of depth on the roster over the course of the season. The Warriors won 15 games despite losing multiple starters from last year’s team. 

“There wasn’t a team on our schedule that had the lack of depth as this team did,” Burle said. “But they never used that as an excuse and found a way to have a very successful season.This team played the game extremely hard every game, which was emblematic of their senior leader, Kannon Hibbs. For a second year in a row, we put ourselves in a very good position to win the conference but fell short by a game to Winfield, a team we had beat two out of three times this season.”  

Burle said Hibbs asserted himself as one of the best players in the conference and one of the best offensive players to play at Warrenton. Burle also noted the contributions of Peth and sophomore Austin Haas. Peth finished 4-0 in conference games. Haas was the team’s everyday catcher and leadoff hitter this season. 

“Austin Haas again was a lifesaver behind the plate,” Burle said. “Being a brick wall and also keeping the running game intact. He was also a tremendous leadoff batter scoring runs and wreaking havoc on the basepaths.”


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