ARGYLE - The weatherman did not pull a fast one on April Fools Day. The temperature at the start of Thursday's season-opening baseball game between Argyle and Darlington was a sunny 80 degrees.
"April 1, 80 degrees - that's freakish," Darlington head coach Andy Sawall said after the Redbirds' 7-0 win. "I'm not going to complain about the wind. That's fine."
Despite a steady wind blowing out to left field, neither team could muster up a string of hits early on. Argyle starting pitcher Nate Thomas struck out the side in the top half of the first, and Darlington's Wade Black continually kept the Orioles away from third.
"It was not the way I expected to play," Argyle head coach Travis Erickson said. "We didn't hit. We had certain goals we wanted to succeed in, and we didn't meet any of them."
The Redbirds got on the board first, plating two runs in the top of the second on three hits and an error. Black scored after being hit by a pitch and Tyler Shager crossed the plate as well. Shager had two hits in the game, including a double in the fourth.
"We were a throw away from it being a 0-0 game with us coming up to bat, but our senior throws the ball away and they score two runs. Two guys had the mistakes that cost us a lot of runs, and they were mental mistakes," Erickson said. "Yeah, we only have one senior, but we have only two kids playing out of position. We have seven guys returning and it was really disappointing seeing those veteran guys make some of the mistakes that they made."
Thomas threw the first three innings for Argyle before letting Nick Martin take over. Thomas allowed no earned runs, struck out five, hit two, walked one and allowed five hits while Martin fanned five, walked four, hit a batter and gave up five hits.
"I don't really think (Darlington) outplayed us. If we changed three of four things that we did, it's an entirely different ball game," Erickson said.
Argyle squandered a scoring chance in the fourth against reliever Brandon Hudson. The Orioles had runners at second and third with no outs, but Nick Martin grounded back to the pitcher and Thomas and Stephan Shambrook struck out to end the threat.
"Hudson started out a little shaky, but then he got out of it really nice. It's a big confidence builder for him," Darlington head coach Andy Sawall said.
Ronnie Rush took over on the mound in the fifth for the Redbirds and finished the game with six strikeouts and two hits. Black struck out three, walked two and let up two hits in the first three innings.
"(Black) probably could have gone more, but the plan was to get him three innings. We didn't want to wear him down in the first game," Sawall said. "We brought Ronnie in there at the end because we knew he could throw the last few innings. I thought he did a really nice job. He struck out a few more guys than we were expecting to see."
Tyler Hardyman was 2-for-4 at the plate for Darlington, scoring one of three Redbird runs in the seventh. Cole Jordan was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch for Argyle.
"We liked what we saw out there for the first game. Defensively, the guys were out there talking and they were able to knock the ball down and get the outs," Sawall said. "We have some work to do, though."
Darlington's next game takes the team to Mineral Point Tuesday.
"April 1, 80 degrees - that's freakish," Darlington head coach Andy Sawall said after the Redbirds' 7-0 win. "I'm not going to complain about the wind. That's fine."
Despite a steady wind blowing out to left field, neither team could muster up a string of hits early on. Argyle starting pitcher Nate Thomas struck out the side in the top half of the first, and Darlington's Wade Black continually kept the Orioles away from third.
"It was not the way I expected to play," Argyle head coach Travis Erickson said. "We didn't hit. We had certain goals we wanted to succeed in, and we didn't meet any of them."
The Redbirds got on the board first, plating two runs in the top of the second on three hits and an error. Black scored after being hit by a pitch and Tyler Shager crossed the plate as well. Shager had two hits in the game, including a double in the fourth.
"We were a throw away from it being a 0-0 game with us coming up to bat, but our senior throws the ball away and they score two runs. Two guys had the mistakes that cost us a lot of runs, and they were mental mistakes," Erickson said. "Yeah, we only have one senior, but we have only two kids playing out of position. We have seven guys returning and it was really disappointing seeing those veteran guys make some of the mistakes that they made."
Thomas threw the first three innings for Argyle before letting Nick Martin take over. Thomas allowed no earned runs, struck out five, hit two, walked one and allowed five hits while Martin fanned five, walked four, hit a batter and gave up five hits.
"I don't really think (Darlington) outplayed us. If we changed three of four things that we did, it's an entirely different ball game," Erickson said.
Argyle squandered a scoring chance in the fourth against reliever Brandon Hudson. The Orioles had runners at second and third with no outs, but Nick Martin grounded back to the pitcher and Thomas and Stephan Shambrook struck out to end the threat.
"Hudson started out a little shaky, but then he got out of it really nice. It's a big confidence builder for him," Darlington head coach Andy Sawall said.
Ronnie Rush took over on the mound in the fifth for the Redbirds and finished the game with six strikeouts and two hits. Black struck out three, walked two and let up two hits in the first three innings.
"(Black) probably could have gone more, but the plan was to get him three innings. We didn't want to wear him down in the first game," Sawall said. "We brought Ronnie in there at the end because we knew he could throw the last few innings. I thought he did a really nice job. He struck out a few more guys than we were expecting to see."
Tyler Hardyman was 2-for-4 at the plate for Darlington, scoring one of three Redbird runs in the seventh. Cole Jordan was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch for Argyle.
"We liked what we saw out there for the first game. Defensively, the guys were out there talking and they were able to knock the ball down and get the outs," Sawall said. "We have some work to do, though."
Darlington's next game takes the team to Mineral Point Tuesday.
