BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 11, 2019) – The 2019 Webber International University junior varsity baseball season has gotten off to a rough start as the Warriors have begun 0-5 with three of those five loses coming by 10 or more runs. Additionally, Webber has yet to put together more than three runs in any game so far, and has been held to only one run twice.

Webber vs. South Florida State College (Tuesday, Jan. 29; Babson Park, Fla.):

• Final Score: Webber 1, South Florida 3 (10 innings).
• There was not much offense during Webber's season opener, but Luis Inoa and Orlando Pena were both 2-for-5 on the night while Cameron Belcher scored the Warriors' only run of the game on a passed ball.
• The Warrior pitching, however, was very strong with Austin Seeman throwing five shutout innings and only giving up one hit with three strikeouts.
• "Austin [Seeman] was able to keep the hitters off balance by throwing all three pitches where he wanted them at any time in an at bat," said Coach Matt Saliba.
• Jose Santiago came in after Seeman and threw three solid innings with four strikeouts and only gave up one hit and one unearned run.
• Joseph Creamons threw a shutout ninth inning with one strikeout and gave the Warriors a chance to win the game in the bottom half of the ninth or at least extend the game to extra innings.
• In the end, South Florida strung some hits together in the top of the 10th inning, leading to two runs off of Ty English to take a 3-1 lead.
• Words from Coach Matt Saliba: "Against South Florida, I think we win the game if we execute a few things offensively, but I was really pleased with our pitchers and the way they pitched. They kept us in the game the whole night and gave us a chance to win"

 
Webber vs. Palm Beach State College (Thursday, Jan. 31; Babson Park, Fla.):

• Final Score: Webber 3, Palm Beach State 21 (7 innings).
• The Warriors came out of the gates swinging the bat really well and put up three runs within the first two innings of the game.
• However, Webber fell behind after that as Palm Beach continued to put up runs until the game ended in a run rule after seven innings.
• Hitting Stats:
  • Orlando Pena: 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored.
  • Tyler Buckner: 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
  • Jordan Gonzalez: 1-for-2 with a walk.
  • Jose Santiago: 2-for-3 with a double.
  • Keyon Floyd: 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI's.
  • Paul Evans: 1-for-3 with a double.
• Pitching Stats:
  • Daniel Recinos – 4.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts and nine earned runs.
  • Jason Rewis – 1.1 innings pitched with one strikeout and four earned runs.
  • Nick Videll – one inning pitched with one strikeout and four earned runs.
  • Joseph Creamons – one inning pitched with one strikeout and four earned runs.
• Words from Coach Matt Saliba: "Despite the score, I thought our hitters looked way better and we put together some really good at bats early on but we didn't pitch well enough to keep us in the game. Palm Beach is a really good team and had a lot of talent all over the field but I think playing them was a good experience for us. We will continue to grow and learn from these two losses so we can get better".

 
Webber vs. Inspiration Academy (Monday, Feb. 4; Babson Park, Fla.):

• Final Score: Webber 1, Inspiration Academy 12.
• Words from Coach Matt Saliba: "It was a rough game and we didn't play very well on offense or on defense. Our starter Austin Seeman had to leave the game after the first inning due to an injury and Jason Rewis had to come in early and eat up some innings. He did exactly that throwing four really good innings and only allowing one run. I was really impressed with the way he threw the baseball. After that though, our bullpen didn't perform the way we wanted and we ended up giving up 11 runs because of a lot of walks and pitchers missing there spots. That resulted in a lot of free runs for Inspiration and then they had quite a few hits to add on to that. We have to pitch better if we are going to win games. Our offense struggled as well with the exception of Orlando Pena, who was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Tyler Buckner, who was 4-for-4 on the day. We didn't get enough base runners on and couldn't execute when we had runners in scoring position. Overall we have to be better than what we showed that night."

 
Webber at South Florida State College (Wednesday, Feb. 6; Avon Park, Fla.):

• Final Score: Webber 3, South Florida 5.
• Words from Coach Matt Saliba: "We played a much better all-around game on Wednesday night. Jose Santiago started the game on the mound for us and he gave up three runs in the first inning. After that, he settled in nicely throwing six solid innings and only giving up one more run to help keep it a close game. We scored three runs late in the eighth inning to tie it up but then we gave up one more run in the bottom of the eighth for South Florida to go up 5-3. The big difference in the game was not executing offensively when we had runners in scoring position. I believe if we do that, we win the game. Joseph Creamons came in the game after Santiago and I was really pleased with him. Despite giving up a run, he made his pitches and kept their hitters off balance. Once we start doing the little things better, we will start winning these close games."
• Hitting Stats:
  • Orlando Pena was 2-for-4 with a walk.
  • Jordan Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a double.
  • Caden Borders was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
• Pitching Stats:
  • Jose Santiago: seven innings pitched with earned runs.
  • Joseph Creamons: two innings pitched with one earned run.

 
Webber at IMG Academy (Thursday, Feb. 7; Bradenton, Fla.):

• Final Score: Webber 3, IMG 13.
• Words from Coach Matt Saliba: "We got a chance to play a talented team in IMG's Academy's International team. The moral story of the game though was that we did not pitch and play defense well enough to give us a chance to win. Our pitching and defense gave up 13 runs due to non-executed pitches again and quite a few errors on defense. We were better on offense but the deficit got too big for us to make a comeback. Keyon Floyd and Nick Videll were both 2-for-4 each having a double with an RBI. Others had hits throughout the game but as a lineup, we couldn't put anything together. We have to keep moving forward and once we get that first 'W', I believe that will create some momentum for us and we will take that energy throughout the rest of our season."