White County didn’t leave much to question Tuesday night.

The Warriors put together a complete performance on both sides of the ball, rolling to a 13-0 shutout over Livingston Academy behind a steady outing from Austin Pionke and a lineup that produced 13 hits.

It was a quiet opening frame, with Pionke reaching after being hit by a pitch for the only baserunner. He then set the tone on the mound, retiring the Wildcats in order.

White County broke through in the second inning. Clay Brewington lined a single into center, and courtesy runner Matthew Wilson moved into scoring position on a passed ball. A ground ball off the bat of Kaden Seibers was mishandled by Livingston, allowing Wilson to come home for a 1-0 lead.

That early run proved to be more than enough, but the Warriors made sure of it with a big fourth inning.

Brewington started things with a leadoff double, and walks to Kolt Norris and Seibers loaded the bases. Cole Sims battled his way to a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, and Cole Gentry followed with an RBI single. Pionke then helped his own cause, clearing the bases with a double to stretch the lead to 6-0.

White County kept the pressure on. Griffin Adams reached on a walk, and Preston Taylor delivered a two-RBI double to right field. Brewington reached for the third time in the game with a walk, and Seibers added an RBI single as the Warriors pushed the lead to 9-0.

Pionke needed just 10 pitches to work through the next half inning, backed by a defense that played clean baseball throughout the night.

The Warriors’ offense picked up right where it left off. Back-to-back singles from Sims and Gentry set the table, and Sims scored on a Livingston error. Adams then drove a sharp line drive into right field, bringing home both Gentry and Pionke to make it 12-0. Later in the inning, Norris singled to left, allowing Adams to score White County’s 13th run.

Pionke went the distance in the five-inning contest, allowing just three hits while striking out eight. He didn’t issue a walk and threw 68 pitches, 49 of them for strikes, in the complete-game effort.

The Warriors have a mini-break built into their schedule. They won’t be back on the diamond until Tuesday when they host Upperman to open their final week of regular season play.


WHITE COUNTY BOX SCORE: 
HITS: Cole Gentry 3, Austin Pionke 2, Clay Brewington 2, Cole Sims 2, Giffin Adams 1, Preston Taylor 1, Kolt Norris 1, Kaden Seibers 1 
RUNS: Cole Gentry 2, Austin Pionke 2, Griffin Adams 2, Cole Sims 2, Preston Taylor 1, Kolt Norris 1, Kaden Seibers 1 
RBI: Austin Pionke 3, Griffin Adams 2, Preston Taylor 2, Cole Gentry 1, Kaden Siebers 1, Cole Sims 1 
2B: Austin Pionke, Clay Brewington, Griffin Adams, Preston Taylor 
TB: Austin Pionke 3, Clay Brewington 3, Cole Gentry 3, Cole Sims 2, Griffin Adams 2, Preston Taylor 2, Kaden Seibers 1, Kolt Norris 1 
HBP: Austin Pionke, Clay Brewington 
SB: Austin Pionke, Cole Gentry, Griffin Adams, Matthew Wilson 


The Main Street Journal – Sparta's Spring Sports coverage is brought to you by Sparta Heating & Air Conditioning.


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