Saints Pick Up Sweep In Justin

JUSTIN, Kan. – The Seward County baseball team bounced back from an opening day loss by sweeping Galveston in two games on Saturday winning game one 6-3 and game two 5-4.

GAME ONE RECAP

Jake Lombardelli (1-0) earned the start on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings.  He allowed two runs off six hits, striking out four batters.  Cory Didier (1 SV) picked up his first save of the season, pitching 2.0 innings.  He struck out three batters, while giving up one run off two hits.

Galveston got on board in the first inning. Two walks put runners on the corners for the Whitecaps before a passed ball allowed the runner on third to score.

The Whitecaps scored another run in the second after two errors kept the inning alive.  A fielder's choice allowed the second run of the game for Galveston.

The Saints put their first run on the board in the third inning.  Cayde Ward and Benny Ayala walked to put runners on first and second before Jose Caraballo drove in Ward with a line drive to center field.

Seward took the lead an inning later, all with two outs. KP Werner, AJ Folds and Ward reached base to load the bases before Ayala drove in Werner and Folds with a line drive to left field, giving Seward the lead.  Two batters later, Caraballo reached on an error, allowing Ward to score, making it 4-2.

Wyatt Grant and Zane Alexander led off the fifth inning with singles.  Ward connected on a line drive to left field to push the Seward lead to four runs.

A last-ditch effort by the Whitecaps in the sixth inning put one more run on the board, but the Saints held on for the win 6-3.

GAME TWO RECAP

Cole Evans picked up the start, striking out two batters, while allowing just two hits and no runs over 3.0 innings.  Chandler Poell pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs off five hits and four walked batters.  Austin Folds (1-0) took home the win, striking out one batter in the final two-thirds inning.

Braxton Allen led the Saints with two RBI in the game, including the game winning runs. Richard Armijo finished with two hits and scored two runs.

Seward scored the first run of the day, coming off an error on a Joe Kuhn ground ball to first base, allowing Allen to score.

Galveston followed up the Saints score with a four-run inning to take a commanding 4-1 lead. All four runs were unearned after an error kept the inning alive and scored the first run. Three straight singles scored three more runs to put Seward in the hole.

The Saints made up some ground in the fourth.  Three singles by Richard Armijo, CJ Fernelius and Zane Alexander loaded the bases for Braxton Allen to hit a sac fly, scoring Armijo on the play.

An error in the bottom of the fifth made it a one score game, as Owen Martin scored off a hard ground ball to third base to make it 4-3.

Needing two runs to win, the Saints went to work in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second, Cayde Ward pinch hit and drove in the tying run with a line drive single to left field. After an intentional walk to load the bases, hit into a fielder's choice.  The Whitecaps went for the double play, but Allen outran the throw as Armijo scored from third, winning the game for the Saints 5-4.

Seward will finish their opening weekend with a game against Weatherford in Weatherford, Texas at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow (Feb. 3).