Rough start for Road Warriors

WASILLA -- The Alaska Road Warriors had a rough start to the 2003 legion baseball season.

Dimond rolled to a 16-0 victory over the Road Warriors at Lou McManus Field in the season opener for Alaska on Thursday.

"It was an old fashioned butt whoopin'," Alaska head coach Pete Powell said. "We weren't really ready to play,"

Road Warrior starter Jimbo Ressler failed to make it out of the first inning.

"I expected a quality start out of Ressler, he had pitched well during the high school season," Powell said. "He couldn't find the strike zone. We couldn't get out of the first inning."

Ressler, the ace of the Wasilla High School staff, surrendered six runs on three hits and three walks before being replaced with two outs in the first inning.

Mark Smith relieved Ressler, but was tagged for three runs before he was able to force Dimond's Andy Sullivan to ground out.

Dimond got on the board with an RBI single from Jeff Reed. Grant Birmingham reached on an error and drove in a run to give Dimond a 2-0 lead and Chris Reppel followed with a run-scoring single to give the Lynx a three run advantage.

Ressler walked Matt Breest with the bases loaded, scoring Birmingham.

After Ressler left the mound, it didn't get any easier for Alaska.

The first batter Smith faced, Chris Wertz, tripled deep to left center field. The hit scored a pair of Lynx runs.

Dimond added two runs in the second and fourth innings and three runs in the fifth to round out the scoring.

Dimond not only kept Alaska off the scoreboard, they kept them off the base paths.

Alaska had just five baserunners in the contest. The Road Warriors had two hits and a trio of walks.

Smith posted an infield single, Jason Semler singled to right field and John Coan walked a pair of times. Alan Morlan also got on board via the base on balls.

Four pitchers took the mound for Alaska in the contest. Ressler and Smith pitched the early innings, while Joe Hess and Walter Scott threw late in the game.

The Road Warriors will try to rebound from their loss as when they host Service at Lou McManus Field, today at 1 p.m.