Marietta - After going undefeated against Washington County competition in the regular season, Warren secured it spot as the county’s top team Saturday at Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park.
The Warriors defeated Waterford 6-2 and Marietta 7-5 in a round-robin style tournament to claim the county championship. The title didn’t come without some drama though.
Warren trailed Marietta 5-2 with one out in the bottom of the sixth when it put together a rally. Marietta reliever Dakota Miller walked Caleb Davis and gave up an infield single to Evan Gandee before getting Kurt Taylor to ground out to short for the second out. That’s when Miller lost control. Hunter Vincent walked to load the bases. Brett Gandee followed with a walk after his popup in foul territory was dropped, platinga run to make it 5-3. Dalton Higgins was hit by a pitch to make it 5-4, and then Bradyn Gerber drew a base on balls to tie things up.
Marietta head coach Josh McKitrick called on Corbin Alkire to take over on the mound. The first batter Alkire faced was Hunter Grimm. Grimm, a sophomore-to-be at Warren, muscled a blooper over a diving J.B. Wharff at shortstop to plate two runs, putting Warren up 7-5.