Warner Robins scores nine runs in fifth inning against CFCA for third straight win

MACON — It took a little while for Warner Robins (5-4) to get going after a strong second inning, but they put Central Fellowship Christian Academy (0-7) away in five innings on Thursday.

The Demons scored nine runs in the fifth inning to invoke a mercy rule victory over the Lancers, 15-4, in their third straight win.

“We’ve had a big culture shift,” Warner Robins head coach Parker Stahlman said on the streak. “Coming into the program I was trying to build a new culture, and I’ve had a lot of guys either fight it or buy in. We finally have a lot of the upperclassmen buying into the new culture. They’re building something that they want to be a part of, definitely the mindset has changed.”

Even though the offense put up 15 runs, the defense was definitively the highlight.

In a 14-0 loss to Veterans, Warner Robins made mistakes that cost them crucial outs and runs. It wasn’t a mistake-free night — the Demons recorded three errors — but it was much improved compared to recent efforts.

“We’ve practiced a lot of defense. We’ve spent full practices putting down the bat, just going straight to the fundamentals of baseball. Field a ball, throw a ball, catch a ball. That’s helped us out a lot with confidence,” Stahlman said.

Drew White slung the ball from behind home plate out to second base for the final out of the third inning to help Warner Robins defend a 5-1 lead. But in those middle innings (in this case, the third and fourth) the offense didn’t keep up with the defense.

A lot of the Demons’ scores had help from the Lancers. Whether it be a lack of attention to runners, missed throws or dropped balls it was not a good defensive game from CFCA. Credit to Warner Robins for taking advantage of those mistakes, but they didn’t attack a low velocity pitching staff as well as they could have.

Stahlman took the blame for a less-than-perfect offensive game, he’s had his team preparing all week for the arms they’re about to see in region play. “High velocity” is certainly one way to describe the competition coming to the Demon Diamond soon.

“The hitting today is my fault. We’re preparing for region so we didn’t prepare for this game,” Stahlman said. “We played every day this week. A lot of the boys, especially if they play both ways, they’ve been playing [from] Monday even into tomorrow. But I’ve prepared them for the region, we got a lot of guys throwing hard so we’ve been hitting on the pitching machine. We’ve been getting ready for region play because that’s what our eyes are on the prize for.”

UP NEXT

Warner Robins will return home on March 6 to play Northeast at 6 p.m. Their first region game is on March 10 at 5 p.m. against Benedictine.

CFCA will look for their first win of the season on the road at Hawkinsville on March 6 at 5:30 p.m.