Saints Swept By Wranglers in Twinbill

The first verse of the Seward County Saints Texas Two Step didn't go very well on Saturday as Seward couldn't hold a big lead in game one and were buried from the start in game two of an 11-7, 7-3 sweep at the hands of the Odessa Wranglers. 

It was the Saints getting on the board first in game one of the twinbill when Josh Nicol singled home a pair of runs in the top half of the 2^nd inning to give Seward an early 2-0 lead.  Odessa answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning but the Saints matched that tally with another in the 3^rd on an RBI groundout from Jared Biddy to make it a 3-1 game.  Odessa tied the game at 3 in the 3^rd, but the deadlock didn't last long as Seward continued piling on runs in the 4^th as Logan Nethercot, Dylan Paul, and Biddy each picked up RBI singles to open the Saints lead to 7-3.  Saints reliever Braden Terrell locked down from there, coming out of the pen to work quick 4^th and 5^th innings against the Odessa offense to keep the game at 7-3 in favor of Seward.  However, all heck broke loose in the Odessa half of the 6^th as the Wranglers sent 12 hitters to the plate, chasing Terrell from the game and beating up on the Saints bullpen to score eight runs to flip the script and make it an 11-7 game in favor of the home squad.  The Saints never recovered from the shock of the big Wrangler inning and went down in order in their final at bats in the 7^th to give Odessa the 11-7 win in game one. 

The Saints were outhit in the game 16-8, much of that coming in the eight run Odessa 6^th.  Biddy was 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI's in the loss while Paul was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and Seward's only extra base hit of the game.  Terrell suffered the loss out of the Seward bullpen, allowing 4 hits and 5 earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of work to fall to 1-1 on the year. 

SEWARD COUNTY/ODESSA GAME ONE BOX SCORE

Game two had a much different feel for Seward as they couldn't stop the carryover momentum that the Wranglers had from game one as they found themselves in a 6-0 hole right off the bat after three innings of play.  Paul tried to spark the Saints, launching a home run to put Seward on the board in the 4^th, but that is all they would get in the inning and trailed 6-1 after 3 ½.  Odessa answered right back with a run of their own to again push their lead to six and that is where the game stood into the 6^th.  Paul again put his best effort forth with a one out double in the Saints 6^th to try to start a rally and he scored later in the inning but again that is all Seward got and they trailed 7-2 into the 7^th inning of play.  In his first career pitching performance, Seward infielder Nic Ricigliano passed the test with flying colors, keeping Odessa off the board and giving the Saints a chance in the late innings.  Seward couldn't take advantage though, managing just a single tally in the 8^th, eventually falling 7-3. 

Paul was the lone source of offense for the Saints in the loss, going 4 for 4, missing the cycle by just a triple in the contest.  Adam Keller took the loss on the mound for the Saints, going 6 innings and allowing 7 hits and 7 runs while walking 3 and striking out just 2. 

SEWARD COUNTY/ODESSA GAME TWO BOX SCORE

The Saints fall back under .500 on the year with the losses at 5-6 while Odessa improves to 4-4. 

Seward will continue their swing in the Lone Star State on Sunday with a noon double header against Midland.