Warriors blank ninth-ranked Mustangs

PACKWOOD ? A combined 44-8 record and two conference champions cooked up an unusually good opening round match up between Van Buren and Davis County in the Class 2A district tournament.

However, after Saturday?s 3-0 win over the ninth-ranked Mustangs, the Warriors made it clear they didn?t care who the draw was. Even with a 7-5 loss to the Mustangs from May 30 working against them, Van Buren powered through Davis County to advance.

?We knew going in it was going to be tough, we knew they were good,? said Van Buren head coach Chad Scott. ?When we saw them earlier in the year, we hung tough and knew we had an opportunity to win if we played the kind of baseball we are capable of.?

Van Buren lead off hitter Tel Smith worked a nine-pitch full count at-bat as the first batter of the game before blasting a solo home run to put the Warriors on top ? on top for good as it turned out.

?Looking back Tel?s home run was all we needed and it was just a great at and really just set the tone for the rest of the game,? Scott said.

Seemingly, sophomore starting pitcher Jory Heckenberg received the biggest boost from the homer. Once he had the lead, Heckenberg went to work from the mound allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings and out-dueling Mustang starter Calvin Matthews. The Davis County freshman suffered just his first loss in 10 decisions this season.

Heckenberg also went 2-4 from the plate contributing to the seven-hit Warrior attack that also scored runs in the third and seventh innings. Michael Boyd drove in Joe Aguirre in the top of the seventh to add the final bit of insurance for Heckenberg.

With the win, the road doesn?t get any smoother for Van Buren as they are now set to take on a Pekin squad that also advanced Saturday with a 4-2 triumph against Sigourney. The Warriors are set up to take on Pekin ? a team they beat 4-2 in the only other meeting this year ? with their second ace pitcher Michael Boyd on the mound.

?Pekin is going to come to play and we need to get ready,? said Scott. ?They?re good, and we know we need to pitch and hit to come out with a win.?

The game is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Packwood.