Saints Come From Behind to Split Galveston Series

It took early season dramatics, but the Seward County Saints got it done, coming from behind in game four of their series with Galveston in Dallas on Sunday to win 8-7 in extra innings to split the series 2-2 with the Whitecaps. 

After dropping the series opener 3-1 to Galveston on Friday, the Saints came looking for a better result as the two teams hit the diamond Saturday in a twinbill in the Lone Star State.  Galveston jumped on top early though and took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the 1^st inning on a Seward error.  The Saints answered, getting a 1^st inning run of their own on a Whitecap wild pitch to tie the score at 1.  The sloppy play by both sides continued in the 3^rd as the Saints took advantage of a Galveston error to take their first lead of the game at 2-1.  Seward starter Hayden Howard breezed through the Whitecap order in the 4^th on just seven pitches and the Saints added to their lead with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 4-1 contest.  Both teams were quiet in the 5^th and 6^th innings and swiftly the game sailed to the 7^th and final inning with the score still Seward 4 and Galveston 1.  The Whitecaps made some noise in the top half of the 7^th, putting their first two hitters on base to bring the tying run to the plate and chase Howard from the game.  In came Chris Juracek for the Saints and after picking up two quick outs, he hit the third batter he faced to load the bases for Galveston.  Juracek regained his composure and needed just three pitches to dispose of the final hitter, getting him to ground out to end the game and secure a 4-1 victory for the Saints, their first of the 2015 season. 

Galveston outhit Seward 9-6 in the game, but it was two costly Whitecap errors allowing three Seward runs which ended up being the difference.  Howard picked up the win, pitching 6 innings, scattering 9 hits and allowing just 1 unearned run.  Juracek picked up the save, battling out of trouble to pitch a scoreless 7^th.  Alex White had 2 hits for the Saints in the victory. The Saints shortstop also scored a run and drove another run in in the victory. 

SEWARD COUNTY/GALVESTON GAME TWO BOX SCORE

In game three of the series Seward had to play catchup from the start as Galveston plated a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half of the 1^st inning to take a quick 2-0 lead.  The Saints bats were silent through three innings, managing just a two out single by Brandon Urquizo in the 3^rd as far as baserunners and Galveston took advantage tacking on a run in the bottom half of the 3^rd to go on top 3-0.  Seward finally got on the board on one swing of the bat as Justin Graff-Rowe launched the first pitch he saw in the top half of the 5^th over the wall for a two run shot to get the Saints back to within one at 3-2.  Seward couldn't keep it there though as a two out error by the Saints extended the Galveston 5^th and the Whitecaps made them pay with a run to take a 4-2 lead on Seward.  Both teams went down in order in the 6^th and the game went to the 7^th with the score still 4-2 in favor of Galveston.  Down to their last out in the top half of the 7^th, the Saints made some noise, getting two out singles from pinch hitters Logan Nethercot and Alex Issac to put the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate.  However, three pitches later the Saints flame was blown out and Galveston hung on to win game three 4-2. 

Grant Glaze and Nate Sylvester combined to give up just 5 hits and 1 earned run in the game on the mound for the Saints, but three Seward errors led to three unearned Galveston runs which turned out to be the difference in the 4-2 contest.  Graff-Rowe provided the only offense for Seward in the loss with his two run home run in the 5^th. 

SEWARD COUNTY/GALVESTON GAME THREE BOX SCORE

For the fourth straight game in the series, Seward fell behind early against the Whitecaps in the series finale as Galveston picked up three extra base hits in the top half of the 1^st inning including a two run home run to quickly jump on top of the Saints 4-0.  Alec Issac responded in the Saints next at bats, smacking a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for his first Seward home run to make it 4-1 and Brent Williams did the same for Seward in the 3^rd to make it a 4-2 game.  It remained a 4-2 game into the 4^th when Galveston struck again, this time getting two runs on two hits to go up 6-2.  The Saints offense was shut down in their next three trips to the plate, getting only a 4^th inning single and a pair of walks in the 6^th as far as baserunners to remain in the trail position.  Nathan Dockery kept Galveston in check and kept the Saints in the game in relief of Saints starter Brent Bezio and it stayed a 6-2 game into the 8^th.  Seward finally broke out in the 8^th, putting together three singles to score a run and a groundout to score another to make it 6-4.  A two out Galveston error extended the Saints half of the inning and Seward made them pay getting an RBI single by Chad Kennedy and another from Brandon Urquizo to tie the game at 6.  The Whitecaps second error of the inning scored Kennedy and allowed Seward to take their first lead of the game 7-6.  A walk and a hit batter helped Galveston get a run to get even in the bottom half of the 8^th and to the 9^th the teams went deadlocked at 7.  Neither team scored in the 9^th and to extras the Saints and 'Caps went still tied 7-7.  Dillon Drury and Kennedy walked to get things going for the Saints in the 10^th and a single by shortstop Alex White scored Drury from second with one out to put the Saints on top 8-7.  Despite the middle of their order up with two runners on, the Saints were unable to add any insurance and therefore took just an 8-7 lead to the bottom of the 10^th.  Seward reliever Thomas Garland made things interesting, hitting the first batter he faced in the 10^th, but the sidewinder got used a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball to quickly record two outs in the inning.  With the tying run just 90 feet away, Garland slammed the door, getting a three pitch strikeout to end the threat, the inning, and the game, giving Seward the 8-7 extra innings win. 

The Saints pounded out 10 hits in the 10 inning win, getting multi hit efforts from Urquizo, Williams, and Issac in the victory.  Dockery pitched 4 innings of hitless relief to give the Saints a chance and Garland closed out the final 3 innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 run to earn his first win of the season. 

SEWARD COUNTY/GALVESTON GAME FOUR BOX SCORE