There were individual highlights for both teams, but the word “sloppy” was used by the head coaches in describing this season’s annual neighborhood high-school baseball showdown between the Madison Warhawks and Marshall Statesmen.
Host Madison (2-0) won the early-season March 14 seesaw contest, 8-5, rallying from a 4-3 deficit by scoring five runs in the fifth inning.
The teams combined for nine errors, with Marshall (0-2) additionally hurt by hitting three batters and having multiple wild pitches and passed balls. Marshall made four errors in Madison’s five-run fifth inning.
The Statesmen also had a runner caught stealing and two others picked off.
There wasn’t a lot of hitting, a combined nine.
“We hit OK and I feel like we put the ball in play, but we dropped a pop up and made too many errors and other mistakes,” Marshall coach Mike Noyes said.
Marshall (0-2) had five hits, with Ethan Moore doubling and Cal Alexander having an RBI single. Nathan Lake, Vince Salvo and starting pitcher Noah Grossman singled. Will Thomas stole two bases.
Lake, a tall left-hander who pitched only one inning last season because of an injury, worked four innings in relief with eight strikeouts, no walks and he allowed three hits. He was a highlight for Marshall.
Grossman was last season’s Liberty District and 6D North Region Pitcher of the Year. The right-hander started against Madison, struggling a bit in the first inning by throwing 25 pitches, hitting a batter and walking another. He retired the side in order in the second, working only two innings with two strikeouts.
Righty Cael Yates started for Madison and wasn’t his sharpest, with four walks and throwing 66 pitches in 31/3 innings.
“Cael wants to be very good and he is, and he will be,” said Madison coach Mark Gjormand, who said Yates probably overthrew a bit at times in his first start of the season.
With the bat for Madison, highlights were two hits and two RBI from Nathan Tondreault, Niko Papathanasiou’s double, two RBI and two stolen bases and Henry Novario was hit by a pitch twice and scored two runs.
The Warhawks had just four hits but took advantage of the Marshall mistakes.
Sophomore lefty James Bollini was a highlight by working the final two frames of shutout and hitless relief with two strikeouts for Madison.
Madison stole five bases and Marshall four.
“We’re a young team but we have a lot of young talent,” Gjormand said. “It’s going to take time and patience for us. The good thing was we were behind and came back again and won. Being behind doesn’t bother us.”
Madison rallied in multiple playoff games last season when the Warhawks won the Class 6 state championship.
