SOFTBALL: Lady Warriors 0-2 vs. tough foes at Marion Tournament

Stuck facing the eventual tournament champions, Marion, and the consolation bracket winners, Herrin, Du Quoin Middle School suffered a pair of lopsided defeats in their first two softball games of the year on Saturday afternoon in Marion, totaling just four hits while surrendering 22 runs.

"Well we struggled today," said DMS head coach Jason James. "We have a lot of new girls out there and we are learning the game. We continue to work, we will improve. When we start a season our goal is always to be better at the end then the beginning."

The Lady Warriors couldn't get a single hit against Marion in the tournament opener, falling 7-1. Their lone run came in the second when three consecutive walks to Avery Waller, Chloe Hess and Braylee Watson started the inning and a wild pitch allowed Waller to score.

Du Quoin did manage four hits at the plate against Herrin later in the day, but the Lady Tigers were too tough to tame, racking up 14 hits in their 15-0 victory.

Hess (1-2), Abby Mocaby (1-2), Ella Hirsch (1-1) and Emma Fischer (1-1) had hits for the Lady Warriors.

DMS (0-2) will try to improve on their performance when they host Benton on Monday at 4:00 p.m.