Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – It was a heck of an opener for the Warren Dragons, who scored three times in the fourth inning to rally for a 5-3 win over St. Marys on Wednesday, with the game finishing just as the snow started to fall at Legion Field.
Rewatch the game:
The Dragons trailed 3-1 going to the fourth, but Owen Blum led the innings off with a single and scored on Brady Berdine’s RBI groundout, which was followed by an RBI double from Aidan Zdarko and an RBI single from Gio Elinsky.
Warren added an insurance run in the fifth when Eric Dippold led off with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch. Konnor Hoffman also had a sacrifice fly to get Warren on the board in the second.
“We’ve only been outside three times and it felt a little like a practice in the first inning and we had to wake up,” said Warren coach Andrew Morrison. “We did spot them three to start, but the big difference was we scored the next five. Last year we make that big error, we leave some guys on base and we end up getting 10-runned. This year, we have a little bit more experience and they were able to bounce back from that.
“We’ve worked on our approach, but I think the big thing for us is our lineup consistency. You saw big hits from Aidan (Zdarko) and Gio (Elinsky) in the nine spot. That’s huge. That’s one thing we’re happy about is that we’re spread out.”
Berdine was credited with the win, going four innings and allowing three runs (one earned). He allowed five hits, struck out six, and walked two. Carson Farr tossed three scoreless innings of relief to get the save without allowing a hit. He struck out three and walked three.
“This feels good,” Farr said. “We’ve been inside for the last three weeks, so it feels good to be out here and get a win.”
See Farr’s full interview:
“I didn’t want Brady to throw more than 70 and somehow he threw exactly 70,” Morrison said. “He battles. He gave up five hits and I don’t think three of them combined went 20 feet. It was just one of those days. But his fastball was up today, he was throwing hard.”
Farr worked out of a second and third, one-out jam in the fifth by getting a strikeout and a groundout. He retired seven of the final eight batters he faced.
“Carson saved over half our games we won last year,” Morrison said. “The plan for him was one or two innings and he just locked in at the end there and we decided to leave him. It’s a good feeling to have somebody like Carson that has that confidence.”
St. Marys scored all three of its runs in the third inning. Logan Mosier’s RBI ground out got the Dutchmen on the board, which was followed by Carter Price’s 2-run single that made it 3-0.
Farr made a great defensive play in left field in the fourth inning, with his relay nabbing Tyson Beimel at second trying to stretch a single into a double, thwarting a potential St. Marys rally.
Coudriet took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) in four innings. He allowed five hits and four walks and struck out four.
Warren had seven hits by seven different players.
Ben Paul was also 1-for-2 with a run scored and Bauer was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
