Despite loss, Screaming Devils show signs of improvement

It has been a season of learning and hard work for the Screaming Devils on the baseball diamond. Warren County played host to Wrens yesterday for the second match-up of the season between the two teams. With a victory under their belt last week, the Devils were out to prove that they had become a better team than they were when they faced Wrens in the season opener.

Both Deonte Battle and Darwin Montgomery struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning for the second consecutive game. The Colts took advantage of the free passes and scored thirteen in the first inning on no hits and one error. Warren County failed to get anything going in the bottom half of the first inning.

The pitching for the Screaming Devils improved in the second inning and the Devils got the opportunity to showcase their improved defensive skills. Second baseman, "Miami" Johnson recorded the first out of the inning by catching a fly ball at second base. Devonte Battle then caught a fly ball at third for the second out. Wrens loaded the bases once again after a couple of walks and an error by the devils. Johnson once again came up with the play at second catching a fly ball to end the inning.

The Warren County bats seemed to be sparked to life by the defensive play of the Devils in the field. Jatavious Jackson led off the inning with a walk. Deondre Battle moved Jackson into scoring position with a solid single and Johnson followed up with a single of his own to score Jackson. Waters lined out to the shortstop to end the inning for Warren County.

Wrens scored four in the top of the third off of a couple of hard hit balls to the outfield to make the score 17-1. Warren County needed to score two runs in their half of the third to extend the game to the fourth inning for the first time this season. Ricardo Jones reached on a walk and quickly stole second and advanced to third on an overthrow by the catcher. Mitch Woods then struggled to find the plate for the Colts and walked three out of the next four batters and allowed Jones to score on a passed ball. Deondre Battle came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out with a chance to extend the game. He would not get the chance however as Deonte Battle was thrown out trying to score on a passed ball. The game ended with a score of 17-2.

"Defensively, we are much better than the beginning of the season. We made twelve errors in our first meeting with Wrens. Today we only had two," stated Coach Swann. Coach Moon backed up Swann by saying, "The pitching just wasn't there today. We played well in the field and at the plate, but couldn't throw strikes. Hopefully we'll put it all together here real soon." Coach Blount also said of the team's performance this season, "Win or lose, you have to be proud of these guys for the effort and improvement they have shown so far."

Next up for the Screaming Devils is Thomson. The game is to be played Thursday at Sweetwater Park in Thomson. Game time is set for 4:30.