Hard Hitting Fifth Cannot Push Saints Past T-Birds

Liberal, Kansas – Seward County baseball returned to the field after a rough first day against the T-Birds of New Mexico who grabbed both games to move ahead in the series 2-0 and despite some hard hitting in the fifth of game four for the Saints, SCCC fell in a sweep to NMJC as they lost game three 9-1 and game four 14-6.

New Mexico started the game off connecting with a hard swing for a home run out to left field to score the first two runs of the game and a double a few pitches later drove another two scores in to put Seward County behind 4-0 after the first inning. Another homer in the second and a single on a pop fly to center brought another four runs around the bases for the T-Birds and the Saints could not recover as they fell behind 8-0 three innings in. Seward County was finally able to find home in the top of the sixth as Kaden Juarez scored on a balk by the pitcher to make the score 8-1 before a final run for NMJC in the bottom of the inning made it 9-1 for the final score to end game three of the series.

The final game of the series began the same as game three with a home run bomb by New Mexico to take the first lead 1-0 after the first inning. However, the Saints were finally able to connect on some big swings as Trenton Rowan got things started with a double on a line drive to center to drive in Nathan Hopkins and Zane Eylar to grab their first lead since game one of the series with a 2-1 score. NMJC responded in the fourth with a single to drive in another runner to lock the score back up and a three-run home run put them back in front of Seward County 5-2 entering the fifth. SCCC had been victims of home run hits by the T-Birds throughout the series but this time it was the Saints who knocked them out of the park with Mason Hagel-Pitt homering out to right field to drive in two scores while Rowan stepped up and slugged another home run out to tie the score back up with New Mexico. A single on a ground ball by Keagon Pitton allowed Seward County to claim the lead for a final time 6-5 but nine unanswered scores from the T-Birds cost the Saints their chance to win as they fell 14-6 in game four as New Mexico completed the four-game sweep over Seward County.

The Saints now fall to 9-11 on the 2024 season to start the month of March and will now return home too Liberal for a few days before taking to the road again next week for a four-game series with Trinidad State on Saturday and Sunday.