BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 25, 2023) - After taking part in the Southeast Rumble, the Webber International University baseball team returned home to host Talladega College in a four-game series on Brad Niethammer Field. All four games were decided by two runs or less, three of which were one-run games as the Warriors and Tornadoes split the series 2-2.

Game one went into extra innings as Xavier Rodriguez started on the mound for the Warriors (14-3 overall). In his six innings of work, he allowed two runs on seven hits and punched out eight. Dawson Young entered the game in relief and ended up earning his first victory of the season after allowing just one hit and striking out four.

Talladega (8-5-1) scored one in the first and one in the fourth before Webber responded in the bottom half of the fourth with a solo home run courtesy of Luis Acevedo, his third of the year so far. The Warriors tied the game up in the sixth inning by way of an RBI-double delivered by Bryan Morales. Webber walked it off in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.

Blayne Huter got the nod in game number two on Friday, allowing five runs on seven hits and adding seven strikeouts before an inning of relief from each of Thomas Nelson and Thomas Lopez Jr.

Huter was in a groove until the fifth inning when the Tornadoes put up five runs to take a substantial lead. The Warriors battled back in the bottom of the seventh after a two-RBI bases-clearing triple from Drake Dobyanski cut the deficit to three. Acevedo then delivered a single to score Dobyanski and cut the lead to two, but Talladega was able to work themselves out of the inning and earn the win.

The first game of Saturday's doubleheader saw Dylan Martin take the mound for his fifth start of the year. He allowed four runs, only two of which were earned, on 10 hits and recorded two strikeouts in five innings of action. Nelson entered the game in the sixth inning and allowed two runs on two hits in two innings pitched.

It was not the start the Warriors were looking for as the Tornadoes' lead-off man went yard to earn them the early lead. They then tacked on two more in the second inning before Webber managed to get two across in the bottom half of the fourth, cutting the lead back down to one. A three-run bomb by Angel Diaz in the fifth inning earned the Warriors the 5-4 lead heading into inning number six. Talladega regained the lead in the seventh inning after scoring two runs, the first of which was a solo home run.

In the fourth and final game of the series, it was Mark Link who took to the mound to start the game. It was not for long, however, as it took a combination of five pitchers to earn the win in this one. Ivan Martinez-Suarez tossed 2.2 innings followed by Gabriel Dorsey who threw 1.2 and Lopez Jr. and Casey Lawson who each pitched an inning as well. Lopez Jr. picked up the win while Lawson earned his first save of the season.

The Tornadoes scored two in the first inning, but Webber responded in inning number three with four runs of its own. A pair of doubles helped to regain the lead for Talladega in the fourth inning. The Warriors then scored two on the same pass ball in the sixth inning to retake the lead, 6-5.

In total for the series, Webber was led by Acevedo who was 4-for-11 with a double, a home run, four runs scored, two RBI's, and six drawn walks. A. Diaz finished with a team-high five RBI's while going 3-for-10 with a home run, and two runs scored. Morales tied with Acevedo for the most walks drawn in the series with six and added the second-most runs scored with three.

The Warriors will now host Judson University on Monday, February 27th at 6 p.m.Then, just two short days later, Webber takes on University of Michigan-Dearborn in a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 1st.