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Neither team's ability to hit the ball had wavered, though. Warrenton was just unable to punch out the advancing hit and made enough fielding mistakes for its opponent to turn singles into doubles and beyond.
"They have great pitching," said Duren. "They hit him hard but once again, we couldn't put them together to bring somebody around. But I was happy with the way we hit him, because he is really good."
Warrenton gots its bats into gear during the second inning, after going three-up, three down during the first.
Nick Mack and Greg Schuknecht hit consecutive singles to open the inning. Schuknecht, who reached third, was one of six Post 122 runners left stranded during the contest.
Warrenton held up defensively until the bottom of the third. Starting pitcher Mike Govednik walked a pair of batters and Daniel Boone followed with an RBI double.
A lightning shot down the third base line helped bring in another two runs, and Daniel Boone was in control 4-0 heading into the fourth inning.
At times, Daniel Boone was placing the ball in the most difficult of locations on the field.
"They had a couple that went right down the baseline," said Duren. "If you can react to that one, you don't need to be playing on this level. They smoked it."
Post 122 got another pair of runners on base during the fourth but was unable to execute the bunt.
Daniel Boone added another run in the fifth on a left field double.
Its bats became so active in the sixth that Duren decided to pull Govednik. He had struck out a pair of batters early on but Daniel Boone began to place his pitches deep, refusing to leave anyone stranded.
"They adjusted to Mike," said Duren. "That's what good teams do, and they smacked the ball. He was starting to leave the ball up and I was hoping he'd be able to get out of that inning."
Instead, Duren called on Michael Brittain, who can be deceiving with his small stature. He was able to shut down the inning with what Duren calls a tenacious curve ball.
"They see Michael and don't think his fast ball is going to get there fast but it jumps on you," said Duren. "And I love watching his curve ball, because when it's on, they're totally baffled at the plate."
Warrenton finished the game with six hits, while surrendering eight.
Duren says perhaps the most intriguing stat was that he had the luxury of deeper dugout than usual.
"It was kind of a weird sensation," said Duren. "Having 12 in the dugout - I'm not used to that. It gave me options."
Post concluded the regular season at 8-13 and will open District 9 Tournament action on Thursday.
