BASEBALL: Warriors' strong start continues

Du Quoin Middle School continued their strong start to the 2015 season with Monday's home opener, a 10-3 win over visiting Benton in which the Warriors smacked 15 hits off Ranger pitching.

DMS got solid work on the hill, too. Tyler VanZandt and Owen Bradley combined to hold Benton to just four hits.

"Every game has been a little bit different," said Du Quoin head coach Tim Craft. "We've had good pitching in all three of them, that's been the one constant. We preach to our kids to throw strikes and hopefully we can play defense behind them, and hopefully our bats come alive. They hit the ball today. It was top-to-bottom, almost everybody in the lineup had a hit."

The Warriors wasted no time in getting on the board, plating three runs in the bottom of the first inning on hits from Brian Winters (leadoff triple), Braeden Pursell (RBI single), Slade West (single), Bradley (single) and Konner Harris (RBI triple).

DMS kept piling on in the second inning, doing all of the damage with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Winters and Alex Zimmerman were followed by three consecutive doubles from Pursell, West, and Bradley, and suddenly it was a 7-0 ball game.

Benton took advantage of three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch in the top of the third to close the gap to 7-2, but could get no closer.

VanZandt worked the first three and a third innings giving up two earned runs on two hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Bradley closed it out with three and two thirds innings of work, allowing two hits and one walk with one K.

Winters (3-4, 3 R, 3B), Zimmerman (2-4, R), Pursell (2-3, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB), West (4-4, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B), Bradley (2-3, R, RBI, 2B, HBP), Harris (1-3, RBI, 3B) and Nick Depyatic (1-3) had the Warriors' hits.

DMS (3-0) travels to Chester on Thursday.