By: Kyle Blue
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BABSON PARK, Fla. – Today's games were every bit of what you'd expect with two really good baseball teams facing off against each other. #3 Bellevue University took game one with late inning gift, 4-3. Webber International bounced back and took game two 6-4.
GAME 1: Begg Homers, Outfield Error Costs Warriors Game
It was a beautiful day for baseball as the Warriors and Bruins faced off. Bellevue struck first blood tacking a run up in the 4
th inning.
Marcus Begg however, flexed his muscles in the bottom of the 4
th inning and smacked a solo shot tying the game 1-1. Later in the inning,
Jesse Coleman hit himself a double to the left center gap that scored
Matt Piatt giving the Warriors the lead 2-1. The Bruins answered in the top of the 6
th inning as MacDonald hit a solo homerun tying the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the 6
th inning,
Manny Rodriguez put on his clutch jeans as he singled up the middle scoring
Garrett Martin. The top of the 7
th came around and the Warriors were looking poised to take game one as there were Bruin runners on first and second with 2 outs.
Anthony Hunter was pitching for the Warriors looking to complete the game, he got Iribarren to hit a fly ball in the left center gap. The wind was playing tricks with the ball as Piatt and Rodriguez chased towards it, they collided in the outfield just as the ball entered Piatt's glove and it was jarred loose giving the Bruins the opportunity to score both runners off the error taking the lead. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the offense could not get anything started in the bottom of the 7th as they dropped the first game to Bellevue.
STAT LINE: Marcus Begg led the Warriors going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored while hitting his 5
th homerun of the year and extending his hitting streak to 14 straight games.
Mark Martinez went 2-3 at the plate keeping his season average at .500. On the mound for the Warriors was
Anthony Hunter. Hunter was an absolute stud as he threw a complete game against the #3 Bruins only surrendering 2 runs off 5 hits and striking out 9. This was his first loss on the year moving him to 2-1.
GAME 2: Warriors Offense Scores 6 in the 4th, Terron Grabs 4th Win of the Year
Following game 1, Warriors fans couldn't help but wonder how the team would react to such a key loss. It wasn't long before Warriors baseball showed up and gave the fans the answer they needed. The top of the 4
th inning rolled around and not a lot had happened as the game was still 0-0. Bellevue found a way to get 2 across the plate in in the top of the 4
th taking the lead 2-0. The bottom of the 4
th was when the Warriors said enough is enough. The 6 run onslaught started with
Matt Piatt singling up the middle scoring
Sjaghbar Martis. Then
Connor Clayton hit a sacfrifice fly deep to left field scoring Begg. Coleman then stepped up and singled down the first base line scoring Piatt. Rodriguez singled through the left side scoring Coleman. Last but not least, as a wild pitch was thrown by the Bruins,
Cristian Rivera scampered home. As
Garrett Martin was rounding third, the Bruins catcher made a costly throwing error allowing Martin to score also. The bottom of the 4
th inning saw the Warriors jump out in front 6-2. Bellevue did not give up as they got a run in each of the 5
th and 6
th innings cutting the lead to 2 runs. In the bottom of the 6
th,
Sjaghbar Martis hit a sacrifice fly out to right field that scored Rivera making it 7-4. The Bruins managed to score again in the top of the 7
th and had runners on base but
Jesse Coleman got the call to the mound for the Warriors and shut down the Bruins earning himself the save.
STAT LINE: Marcus Begg extends his hitting streak to 15 straight games.
Cristian Rivera went 2-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Juan Terron picked up his 4
th win of the year as he threw 5.2 innings giving up 8 hits and surrendering 4 runs off 6 strikeouts.
Jesse Coleman picked up his first save of the year moving him to 1-0 and 1 save with a stellar 1.04 ERA.
FINAL THOUGHTS: #3 Bellevue University came to Babson Park, Fla. carrying a record of 6-4. What that does not tell you is that 7 of the 10 games they had played were against #7 Science & Arts (Okla.), (RV) Oklahoma City and (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan. This was a huge split for the Warriors as they had a chance to go 2-0 against one of the best NAIA baseball teams in the country.
The Warriors will continue their non-conference schedule on Monday March 6
th as they face Spring Arbor University from Michigan at 6:30 p.m.