High school baseball: WARDEN 13, ROYAL 8

by Alan Dale<br> Herald Sports Writer
| March 25, 2011 6:00 AM

WARDEN - Two old rivals met up in a shootout befitting of the Old West as the Warden Cougars played host to the Royal Knights on Tuesday.

Warden jumped to an early 6-0, watched Royal rally and make the Cougars sweat it out before the hosts recorded a 14-8 win.

Both starting pitchers struggled early on as Warden (2-1) led after a six-run first inning and added three more runs in the second frame.

Cruz Pruneda pitched the last three innings and allowed only one run after Royal scored six runs themselves in the top of the second inning to tie the game.

Derek Pruneda and Cruz Pruneda both went 1-for-3 for Warden from the plate.

"We still have a lot of work to do but I think our biggest problem we have is playing consistently, Warden head coach Dan Caballero said.

Royal (1-3) was led by Danny Vermeer's 2-for-5 performance while Anthony Westcott went 2-for-3 and both boys each hit two singles.

"Our defense improved and we learned some more about people and positions," Royal head coach Daren Christensen said.