Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Witten By Will Willems Lebanon Reporter Western Boone showed the kind of baseball team they can be this week against Class 2A No. 3 Greencastle. After gutting out a 3-0 win on Tuesday night, the Stars came back on Wednesday and beat the Tiger Cubs 7-3 to improve to 10-6 and 5-3 in the Monon Athletic Conference. “The last 48 hours is who I thought we were going to be all winter long,” Western Boone head coach Michael Nance said. “We did everything we were supposed to do – we pitched the ball really well two nights in a row, we defended it pretty well and then today we came out and just jumped on the fastball and hit the way we are capable of.” While pitching was the key to the Stars’ success on Tuesday, it was a little more well-rounded on Wednesday. The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the first, getting an RBI-single from Owen Howe to get on the board. After an unearned run in the second tied the game at 1, the Stars took the lead right back with a 2-run double from Beau Sawyer. Howe (2-for-3), Sawyer (3-for-3), Quinn Westerfeld (2-for-4, home run) and Easton Nance (2-for-3), the top-4 in the Stars order, combined to go 9-of-13 with four runs scored and six RBIs. “That sets the table for everyone else and shows leadership from the front,” Nance said. “It takes the pressure off the bottom half of the line-up too, and allows them to be a little more aggressive because we aren’t only relying on them.” An error allowed a fourth run to score in the third inning, before Westerfeld led off the fourth with a solo home run to right. An RBI-double from Nance and a perfect bunt from Howe made it 7-1. That was more than enough run support for Levi Stewart on the mound. The senior allowed just two unearned runs on three hits in six innings, striking out six. “I think that was one of his best outings,” Nance said. “He was hitting spots all night, up and down the way we wanted him too and I was really proud of the way he threw the ball.” The Stars are off until Monday when they travel to Rossville. “We are going to have a practice tomorrow and work on some stuff, but we just need to keep on believing in each other,” Nance said. “We are starting to hit the ball and if we pitch and defend it the way we are, we’re really tough.”