BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 9, 2018) – The Warriors got off to a good start against one of the top-ranked teams in the country, scoring the first run of the ballgame in the bottom of the first inning, but in the end it would not be enough as the No. 25 Webber International University baseball team fell to No. 4 Southeastern University, 3-1, in a tightly contested game on the Heart of Florida Field.

The game featured great pitching from both sides as Zak Spivy, despite falling to 0-3 on the season, looked like the ace Webber has been expecting to see. The junior from Naples, Florida, pitched seven innings while giving up only six hits, two runs and two walks while recording five strikeouts. Spivy's counterpart, Jonathan Bermudez, got over a first inning in which he allowed two hits and a run to shut down the Warriors over the next six innings and finish with only three hits allowed, three walks and 10 strikeouts.

In the bottom half of the opening inning, Webber, now 2-5 overall and 0-1 in The Sun Conference, struck first as Tyree Austin led off by beating out an infield single to third base, stole second base a few batters later, and then came around to score on a double down the left field line by Chris Medina.

The Warriors had a chance to add to their lead in the bottom of the third as Manny Rodriguez advanced to second with nobody out, but three straight strikeouts ended the inning.

Despite strong defense by Webber in the top of the fifth, including a great diving stop and strong throw from the hole between shortstop and third base by Cristian Rivera to get the first out of the inning, Southeastern (9-0, 1-0) scored twice to take a 2-1 advantage. The inning ended on a strong throw by Austin in left field to Medina at third base to cut down a Southeastern base runner.

Looking to try and take back the momentum, Webber put a runner on third in the bottom half of the fifth but could not score the equalizer, and then the Warriors were victims of strong defense by the Fire in the bottom of the sixth as Webber hit the ball hard all three times, but could not land a hit.

After Spivy kept it close and reliever Doug Pearl set the Fire down 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, Webber made it interesting in the bottom half.

In the Warriors' final attempt, Medina, Napo Ballestero and Rivera all walked to load the bases with two outs, but Webber was again unable to break through.

Next up, the Warriors and the Fire will play a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, February 10, on the Heart of Florida Field as Webber looks to hand Southeastern its first loss of the 2018 season.

This season, the Warriors are celebrating their 25th year of Webber baseball, and during conference series all season long, will be honoring former players and teams during designated weekends. On Friday, Webber recognized players from its 1994-1997 teams while Ron Packingham (Class of 1997) was selected to throw out the first pitch.