WARDEN – An 11-run second inning surged the Warden Cougars over previously undefeated Colfax on Tuesday afternoon, winning 19-0 over the Bulldogs.

“I was surprised with the score,” Warden Head Coach Randy Wright said. “They’re a good team. I don’t know, we were just on. Maybe the sunshine and the good weather made us play better.”

Warden, now 5-0 this season, held a Colfax offense that was averaging 16.9 runs per game to zero. Cougar senior Lexi Leinweber pitched a no-hitter from the circle on Tuesday.

“Starting off I was pretty nervous going into the game because I knew (Colfax) was going to be better competition and we haven’t played them before, but once I got going I was confident,” Leinweber said. “Kept going, and it was working for me.”

Leinweber was dealing from the second inning on, ending the game on a strikeout in the top of the fifth inning.

“She’s been really good all year,” Wright said. “She came out the first inning and couldn’t find the strike zone, but then finally kicked in and she was fine. She’s been fantastic, she’s been really good. She worked really hard in the off-season, and she’s ready.”

The Cougars held a 2-0 lead after the first inning, then exploded at the plate to rally off 11 runs in the second inning. Twelve of the first 14 Cougar batters reached first base in the second inning, and both junior Liza Leinweber and freshman Jamy Pruneda hit home runs.

“It was nice to see the bats pick up,” Wright said. “They’ve been okay, but now they're starting to hit their stride a little bit with their sticks. That was nice to see, all up and down the lineup they were hitting pretty good.”

The offensive boost carried on to the Cougar defense, as only one Colfax batter got on base throughout the rest of the game.

“My confidence was up, my change-ups were doing good and I knew my pitches were hitting the spots pretty good,” Leinweber said. “I was feeling good up there.”

Lexi Leinweber said the 5-0 start is a confidence booster as the Cougars prepare for an Adna team that was the No. 1 seed in the 2B state tournament last season. The Pirates placed second in the tournament.

“It’s pretty good, it gives us confidence going into Adna this weekend,” she said. “We’re going to really take what we learned these past five games and benefit from it. Hopefully, it shows in our game against Adna.”

Warden and Adna match up on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

“That district and that area, they’re always the cream of the crop,” Wright said. “I’m expecting it to be a challenge up there, and it’s kind of a measuring stick at this point of the season to see where we’re at and what we need to work on. It’s good to see someone we might see at state and be ready for them.”

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Colfax 0-0-0-0-0: 0

Warden 2-11-4-2-X: 19