BABSON PARK, Fla. (March 16, 2019) – The nationally-recognized Webber International University baseball team split the final two games of its Sun Conference series with Florida Memorial University, winning game one on Saturday 13-3 in seven innings before falling in the series finale 6-4.

The story of game one for Webber was highlighted by Doug Pearl (1-2) earning his first win of the season with the complete game victory, pitching seven innings allowing seven hits, three total runs and two earned runs.

Pearl also struck out five batters while working around seven walks and three wild pitches, shutting out the Lions through four innings while the Webber defense turned two double plays, including a 4-6-3 double play to end the ballgame with a run-rule in the seventh.

The Webber offense, meanwhile, put up three runs in each of the first two innings, highlighted by the fourth home run of the season from senior Luis Esteban to lead off the bottom of the second inning to make it 4-0.

Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Webber put up six runs beginning with a leadoff home run by Marcus Begg and ending with a grand slam by Garrett Martin, his second career home run, to make it 12-0.

Martin finished 2-for-3 with four RBI's, two runs scored, a walk and a steal in the game while Begg was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBI's and a walk; and Carlos Pino was 3-for-3 with an RBI, a double and a walk. Carlo Mancillas was 1-for-2 with three RBI's, two runs scored, a double and a walk as well.

In game two, Webber fell behind 5-0 after two-and-a-half innings as starter Ricardo Garcia (2-4) struggled, allowing four runs and four hits in 1.2 innings before a three-run homer by Begg in bottom of the third got Webber back into it. Begg's two homers on Saturday gave him 10 on the season so far.

Gerig Blackman then pitched the next 6.1 innings and did a fantastic job, holding FMU to four hits and two runs, none of which were earned, lowering his season earned run average to 2.49.

Unfortunately, Webber was never able to get over the hump and complete a comeback like it did the night before with a 4-3 win in the series opener on Friday, March 15.

An RBI-single through the right side by Quirino Esquivel made it 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth as the Warriors had a fighting chance, but Esquivel was eventually stranded on third base before Webber left a runner in scoring position in the seventh, grounded into a double play in the eighth and went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

With the series win, Webber is now 21-11 overall and 4-5 in The Sun Conference while FMU moved to 17-11 and 5-7.

"It is always a good weekend of baseball anytime you can win a series in TSC play," said Head Coach Brad Niethammer."

Now after a week off, the Warriors will return to the Heart of Florida Field for a second straight TSC series as Webber hosts No. 17 Keiser University for a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 22, followed by the doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 23.