By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Obviously, Washburn Rural baseball coach Jay Mastin will be looking for improvement as the season goes along, but Mastin didn't have much to complain about after Tuesday's season-opener, with the Junior Blues rolling to a doubleheader sweep over Centennial League rival Hayden.
The visiting Junior Blues took a 14-5 win over the Wildcats in the first game and took a 15-1 decision in the second game.
"I thought we did a pretty good job tonight,'' Mastin said. "We hit a lot of balls hard, we were aggressive running the bases and got some good innings out of some guys today.
"It's the first time we've been on a baseball field and seen live pitching in a week and a half, two weeks, so it was good.''
Washburn Rural senior Ty Weber (45), sophomore Kyle Walker (6) and the Junior Blues celebrate a run during Tuesday's season-opening doubleheader sweep over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural took control of the opener in the first two innings, scoring two runs in the first and four in the second to stake senior starting pitcher Carson Rosen to an early 6-1 lead. Hayden scored a run in the bottom of the first.
The Junior Blues added three runs in the top of the fourth and a run in the sixth to open up a 10-1 advantage before Hayden pushed across four runs in the bottom of the sixth after Rosen left the game.
Rural scored four more runs in the top of the seventh and the Junior Blues shut down Hayden in the seventh, ending the game with a double play.
Senior Ty Weber, who missed virtually his entire junior season with an injury, doubled twice in the first game while sophomore Kyle Walker was also credited with a double.
Rosen picked up the pitching victory.
Washburn Rural got off to another quick start in the nightcap, with Weber, the third batter of the game, crushing a three-run home run. The Junior Blues would score four in the first and added two runs in the second and a run in the third to open up a 7-0 lead through three innings.
The Junior Blues, who qualified for the Class 6A state tournament last spring, pushed across eight more runs in the top of the fourth to take a 15-0 lead before Hayden scored its lone run in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run from junior Braydn Rose.
The game was stopped at that point due to an approaching storm.
Junior Zach Sharshel picked up the pitching win for Washburn Rural in its 15-1 second-game victory Tuesday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Zach Sharshel was the starting and winning pitcher for Washburn Rural, 2-0.
The Junior Blues have several veterans in their lineup, but Mastin was also pleased with the play of several newcomers against Hayden.
"We've got a handful of guys that are playing varsity baseball for the first time and a lot of those guys had success today, either at the plate or on the mound,'' Mastin said.
Hayden fell to 1-2 on the season.
The Wildcats opened their season on Monday against Nemaha Central, taking a 13-7 win in the first game. The second game was suspended due to darkness entering the bottom of the seventh, with the Thunder holding a 12-10 advantage. The game will be completed at a later date.
