BABSON PARK, Fla. (March 7, 2021) – In what was a battle between two teams receiving votes in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll, the Webber International University baseball team defeated Bellevue University 6-4 on Sunday on the Heart of Florida Baseball Field to earn its seventh straight win overall and 11th win in its last 12 games.

It was a very even game as both teams scored once in the first and third innings and then both scored twice in the seventh inning. Additionally, both teams finished with double digit hits and made at least two errors.

Down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Webber got within one at 4-3 after a sacrifice fly to center field by Luis Acevedo scoring Dominique Collie Jr., and then after a sun delay, Orlando Pena singled down the left field line to score Steven Lugo and tie the game for the third time.

Then after Thomas Lopez Jr. (3-0) got a fly out to center field and stranded a runner on third base in the top of the eighth, the Warriors took advantage of sloppy play by the Bruins in the bottom half of the eighth. It started with a leadoff single through the right side by Norberto Navarro, who then went all the way to third on a throwing error by the pitcher trying to pick him off at first.

After a walk by Angel Diaz with one out, Navarro scored on a wild pitch to give Webber the lead, and then another wild pitch moved Diaz to third base. Lugo walked, and then a passed ball scored Diaz to make it 6-4.

There would be one more wild pitch and one more walk in the inning as Webber scored twice in the frame on only one hit. In all, there were three wild pitches, one passed ball, three walks and an error in the bottom of the eighth.

Navarro finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a leadoff triple to start the bottom of the first inning, Cale Jones was 2-for-3, and Rougie Odor was 2-for-4. Diaz scored twice and walked twice, Acevedo had two RBI's and walked twice, and Lugo walked three times.

Bryce McDonald did a great job as the starting pitcher, allowing six hits, two total runs and zero earned runs through his 5.2 innings while also striking out six.

With the win, Webber improved to 16-7 overall on the season while Bellevue, which was coming off a two-game sweep over Warner the day before, fell to 11-4.

"We've had some really competitive matchups with Bellevue over the years, and tonight was no different," spoke Head Coach Collin Martin. "We missed on some easy RBI opportunities early on, and luckily, Bryce McDonald and Praxie Vigil commanded the ball well enough to keep it even. We strung together some tough at bats late to push a couple runs across, and Thomas Lopez Jr. did a great job of nailing it down."

Next up, Webber will play two games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale, Florida. First up will be Dordt College (Iowa) at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 8, followed by a matchup against NCAA Division-II Wayne State University at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10.