ShawneeDispatch.com

The Shawnee Mission Northwest baseball team is 1-1 after shaking some early-season fielding jitters in their first two games of the season.

The Cougars claimed a 7-5 victory in their season-opener against Olathe South on Thursday, March 31, but then fell victim to fielding errors and erratic pitching in an 11-4 loss to Shawnee Mission North on Saturday, April 2.

"All of our pitchers need to be more consistent," Northwest head coach Rich Kuzydym said Monday before the Cougars April 5 date with Shawnee Mission South. "If we can limit teams to just a couple of walks per game and do a better job defensively, we'll be alright. We've had a couple of kids who've come in in relief and done well, and we're hitting the ball, so our prospects look good."

Leading the hitting attack has been senior catcher Drew Madison, who is batting .750 (6-for-8), with two home runs thus far. Madison went 3-for-4, with two home runs and six RBIs -- including plating the game-winning runs in the sixth inning -- in the Cougars' opening-day victory against South.

Joining Madison in the offensive onslaught is senior rightfielder Jason Enyart, who clobbered a triple in the South game and then went three-for-three against SM North.

While pitching has been inconsistent for the Cougars through two games, Northwest's number one starter, senior Kyle Bates, has been solid despite a rocky start. In the first inning against South, Bates surrendered four runs on three hits, but then settled into a rhythm, pitching two scoreless innings to finish the victory. During his complete-game victory Bates racked up 11 strikeouts in seven innings.

"I thought he showed real good command of his fastball and curveball after the first inning," Kuzydym said of his hurler. "He shut 'em down the last two innings."

Unfortunately, pitching faltered for the Cougars in Saturday's matchup against North. Despite jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first and out-hitting the Indians 7 to 6 for the game, the Cougars fell 11-4 after giving up seven runs in the second inning -- all unearned.

"We had an error that let some guys in in that inning and then after that everything kind of snowballed," Kuzydym said. "We just gave up too many walks."

Bates and the Cougars returned to action Tuesday, April 5 against SM South, but results were not available at press time.

The Cougars' next game will come Thursday, April 7 against SM West at the 3&2 complex.