Thomasville, GA – The Webber International Baseball team completed its series against the Thomas University Nighthawks Saturday afternoon by bringing out the brooms for a three-game sweep. The Warriors took care of business in the Saturday doubleheader, winning the first game 10-3 and the second one 3-0.
Deven Tedders led off the game with a single for the Warriors. After stealing second, he advanced to third on a passed ball, sitting 90 feet away with two outs. Ryan Recio would draw a walk, and with runners on the corner, Steven Nitch brought Tedders home on a single to right field, opening the scoring to make it 1-0. A flyout to the centerfielder would end the top of the first. Dalton Robinson made his Warrior debut on the mound, giving up a single to the first batter he faced. A ground out advanced the runner before a double scored him, tying the game at 1-1. Robinson also picked up a strikeout as the inning ended tied.
J'Quann Smith doubled to start the second, and after stealing third, advanced home on a throwing error by the catcher. The Warriors then went down on a flyout and a strikeout to make it 2-1 heading into the bottom of the second. Robinson picked up two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning to head to the top of the third.
Brandon Sanchez led off the third with a single, but would be out on the resulting fielder's choice off the bat of Joseph Becker who replaced him at first. A Recio double advanced Becker to third, before he scored on a groundout off the bat of Nitch. A two-out flyout then ended the top of the third. Robinson only faced four batters in the third, striking out two more while allowing another single.
Webber went down in order in the top of the fourth. After getting the first two batters out in the bottom of the fourth, Robinson found himself with the bases loaded after a walk, a hit by pitch, and a single, however he was able to induce a ground ball to get out of the inning unscathed. The top of the fifth was the same for the Warriors who went down in order again. Noah Palmese replaced Robinson in the fifth inning and immediately got a strikeout. Palmese gave up a single, and an error allowed the next batter to reach. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, but Palmese came through with a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.
The Warriors exploded in the sixth inning, with Recio starting the party with a single and advancing to second on a throwing error. After a popout, Josh Blackmore doubled, bringing Recio home. Smith was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with one out. Richard Rodriguez then reached first on an error, while also scoring both Blackmore and Smith, making it 6-1. Gabriel Cruz laid down a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Tedders then followed with a bunt single of his own, scoring Rodriguez. A Sanchez groundout advanced both runners to second and third respectively, before a wild pitch scored Cruz, making it 8-1. Becker then sent a ball over the wall for a home run, ending the scoring at 10-1 in the sixth, with a popout ending the inning. A leadoff double for the Nighthawks would immediately come around to score on a two-run home run with no outs. Palmese responded with two strikeouts, though the first batter reached on a dropped third strike. The sixth inning ended on a 5-4-3 double play with the score 10-3.
Nicholas Badillo got on first thanks to an error, before a Blackmore single put him on second. Bryan Morales came in to pinch hit with one out and was immediately hit, loading the bases. Auston Chisenhall and Tedders were both unable to score any runners as the top of the seventh ended. Palmese retired the side with a flyout, a groundout, and a strikeout to end the inning and the game, after a seven inning run rule, picking up his first save of the season.
The second game started soon after the first, with the Warriors going down in order to start the game. Brayden Matthews drew the start for the Warriors, only allowing one baserunner on a two-out single before a groundout ended the inning.
Jean Cuello was the first baserunner for the Warriors on a leadoff walk, before a throwing error put him on second with one out. Cuello was caught stealing third, but Sanchez walked before a groundout to the pitcher retired the side. Matthews went 1-2-3 in the second inning, picking up his first strikeout of the day.
Two flyouts started the third before Tedders was hit by a pitch. He proceeded to steal second, then advance to third on a wild pitch, but was not brought home as another flyout ended the top of the third. Matthews again went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the third.
Drew Stubbs was hit by a pitch with two outs in the top of the fourth. Sanchez then singled to put runners on first and second. A passed ball put both runners on second and third before Smith drew a walk to load the bases. The Warriors were kept out of the scoring column unfortunately as a groundout ended the threat. Matthews picked up two more strikeouts in the fourth, while only allowing one baserunner on a single.
Camren Carroll was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but three straight outs left his pinch runner, Cruz, stranded on second. Matthews was again perfect in the fifth inning, forcing a groundout before back-to-back looking strikeouts ended the fifth with the game still tied at 0-0.
Cuello was hit by a pitch to start the sixth, and advanced to second and third base on the same wild pitch. Sanchez brought him home on a sacrifice fly to break the tie and give Webber a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Matthews cruised through the sixth with a groundout, a strikeout, and a flyout.
A Rodriguez leadoff walk was all the Warriors could muster in the seventh, as three straight groundouts followed him. Diego Quinonez replaced Matthews in the seventh inning, but continued what his starter did in the seventh, as following a leadoff single, induced two groundouts and a flyout to strand the runner on third.
Recio was hit by a pitch to start the eighth but would be called out on a fielder's choice off the bat of Cuello. Cuello stole second on a strikeout pitch but would be stranded on a flyout. The leadoff batter for Thomas was hit by a pitch, before two flyouts had him on first base. With two outs, the Nighthawks hit a double to left center field, and the leadoff runner would be gunned down at the plate on a 9-6-2 outfield assist for Smith.
A walk and a single had Carroll and Rodriguez on first and second base respectively with one out. After a strikeout, Tedders stepped up to the plate and hit a double to centerfield, scoring both runners and making it 3-0 as the game headed to the bottom of the ninth. Palmese was nails for the Warriors as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two popouts to end the game and give the Warriors a season opening sweep of the Thomas Nighthawks.
The Warriors will be back in action on Wednesday, February 5th when they host the Lewis-Clark State Warriors at Brad Niethammer field starting at 1:00 P.M.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Warrior Athletics. Please visit www.webberathletics.com. Follow us on Twitter- @WebberAthletics, Instagram- @Webber_Athletics, and Facebook by searching Webber International University Athletics.
