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Warriors win EIC Tournament

VANDALIA – Patoka played as a cohesive unit last Thursday, winning the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament by beating fourth-seeded Beecher City.

The No. 2 Warriors got big hits from several players along with a near pefect game from junior Clinton Hood to help lead them to a 7-2 victory.

“The goal all along was to win the conference tournament,” said coach Joe Eddy said. “And we didn’t play our best game tonight, but we got a couple of bigs hits.”

Those hits for the Warriors (14-2) included a two-run single for senior Quinn Wadkins in the second, an RBI single for Hood in the third and and RBI triple for junior Johnnie Clift in the fourth.

Hood (6-1) tossed a complete game, allowing just one hit and one walk. A third runner reached by error, and both of Hood’s runs allowed were unearned, lowering his season earned-run average to 1.13.

Wadkins’ bases-loaded single in the bottom of the second put Patoka on the board, and Beecher City cut that lead in half in the top of third.

The Warriors fought right back in the third, however, scoring two more runs before opening up a big lead in the fourth by adding three more runs, in part due to Clift’s triple.

“The key to victory was that it was a team effort,” Eddy said. “It was a bunch of people doing what they had to do.”

Eddy said improvements for the spring season will be needed on defense – Patoka committed 35 falls this fall – and pitch selection.

But for now, since the Warriors haven’t had a team with this many wins in the past few years, Eddy is hopeful that the basketball team – which features many of the same players and the same coach – will be able to ride the momentum.

“We’re going to try,” Eddy said. “In the huddle, I said, ‘It feels nice to win now, but let’s carry it on to basketball and spring baseball.’”

at EIC Tournament
Patoka 7
Beecher City 2
B: 0-0-1-0-1-0-0—2-1-3
P: 0-2-2-3-0-0-X—7-7-2
WP: Hood (6-1); 7 IP, 10 K
LP: Rexroad
Warriors: Wadkins, 2-for-4, 2 RBI, run; Clift, 1-for-3, 3B, RBI; Hood, 1-for-3, RBI, 2 runs; Jake Orrell, 1-for-3, RBI, run; John Houston, 1-for-3, run; Shane, 1-for-2, run, SB, BB; Ryan Miller, HBP.
Record: 14-2

Patoka’s Clinton Hood allowed just three base runners last Thursday in the championship game of the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament, a 7-2 Warriors victory against Beecher City.

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