Strong pitching from Seth Hendrix, solid defense from his teammates and timely hitting were the keys to a successful 2010 opening of the WCHS Trojan baseball team.

Webster bounced Region 2 powerhouse Madisonville-North Hopkins 9-4 in both teams’ season-opener Monday night at Elmer Kelley Stadium in Madisonville.

“I’m very pleased, this is a very big win for us and I’m very excited how well we played both offensively and defensively,” noted WCHS head coach Nathan Tanner.

After surrendering three runs in the first two innings, senior righthander Seth Hendrix completely dominated the Maroons the rest of the way.

The first three batters for Madisonville went double, single, double off Hendrix for a quick 1-0. But he worked his way out of the trouble in the first inning to limit the Maroons to just the single run. Madisonville added two more runs in the second for a 3-0 lead.

Webster got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when Will Lowry and Ridge Brown were issued back-to-back walks by Maroon ace Hayden Marks. A line shot to right field by Nick Kinser loaded the bases.

“He hit it (liner) so hard, we couldn’t even score Will from second,” Tanner stated.

Trevor Shoulders then smacked a ground ball to score Lowry from third to cut the lead to 3-1.

“We were aggressive at the plate but not so much that we swinging at bad pitches. We did a good job of finding our pitch to hit. Actually we left five men on in the first two innings.”

Madisonville went on top 4-1 in the bottom of the frame on a solo homer off the bat of Marks.

“It was an 0-2 pitch that was out of the (strike) zone and he just took a whack at it,” Tanner explained. “That seemed to fire-up Seth.”

From that point, Hendrix man-handled the Maroons at the plate. He struck out six straight and shutout Madisonville the rest of the game. He earned the complete-game victory with four earned runs on seven hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters and walking just one.

“Tough is the word that best describes Seth,” Tanner said. “He worked out of the trouble in the first and then after the home run, he really took control and set the tone for the rest of the game. He hit his spots well and did a great job of changing speeds and mixing his pitches.”

Webster took the lead for good in the fourth with four runs.

Jay Edwards and Reece Johnson reached on consecutive errors by the Maroon infield to open the rally. Will Lowry then delivered a shot to the gap for a two-run double. Brown followed with a walk and Kinser chased home both Lowry and Brown with another double.

Webster made it 6-4 in the top of the fifth when Tyler Harting singled and scored on a two-out single from Hendrix.

A three-run sixth gave the Trojans all the cushion they would need. Brown singled and Shoulders drew a one-out walk. Audie Cherry blasted a two-run double to push the lead to 8-4. He later scored on a balk and passed ball to set the final score.

Kinser paced the WCHS hitting attack with a strong 3-for-5 outing while Lowry and Cherry both smacked two hits apiece and two RBI. Harting was 2-for-5 while Edwards, Hendrix and Brown all stroked one safety.

Tanner also gave praise to his defense, especially the work of third baseman Audie Cherry and shortstop Will Lowry.

“They were like vaccum cleaners over there, they sucked up everything hit to them. That really gave Seth a lot of confidence with their outstanding play,” Tanner concluded.

The Trojans will host Muhlenberg County Thursday beginning at 5:30 and then back to Trojan Field on Friday as the Rockets of Crittenden County visit Dixon. Webster will entertain Lyon County next Monday and Caldwell on Tuesday.