Seward splits series with Lamar

LIBERAL, Kan. - Seward County Community College split the series with Lamar Community College as the Lopes won games one and two on Sunday and the Saints came back on Monday to win games three and four. The Saints are now 2-6 on the season and will travel to West Texas this weekend with games at Odessa Community College on Friday and at Midland Community College on Saturday. Seward County will look to continue its two-game winning streak.

GAME 1

Seward County come out and led 2-0 after the first inning after a two-run single by Jase Schneider scored Todd Baffa from third base and Reed Thomas from first base. Lamar responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. The Lopes scored one run in the fifth inning and seven runs in the sixth to take a 10-2 lead. Seward County responded with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning cutting Lamar's lead down to 10-8. The Saints went through their lineup with seven straight batters getting on base.  

 Seward County went into the bottom of the seventh inning down 10-8 with their middle of the lineup due up at the plate. The Saints Schneider reached first base, and Luke Williams connected on a single to start the inning. With runners on the corners, Jacob Masters hit a double to score both base runners as the Saints tied the game at 10-10 and forced extra innings. 

Lamar went on to score two runs in the top of the eighth inning and Seward County was held scoreless in the bottom of the inning. The Saints fell 12-10 in their home opener and had a 0-5 record. 

Brody Boisvert took the loss in his relief role for the Saints. Boisvert allowed zero hits and one run over one inning, walking one. 

Mason Martinez started on the mound for Seward County. Martinez went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out six, and walking one.

GAME 2

In the second game on Sunday afternoon the Saints fell behind 5-0 after the top of the second inning. Jase Schneider started off the bottom of the second inning with a home run for the Saints. Ranse Radtke also came around to score as Seward County trailed 5-2 to the Lopes. The Saints scored three more runs in the bottom of the third inning with Masters, Schneider, and Radtke all coming around to score to give Seward County a 6-5 lead.  

Lamar took the lead in the top of the fourth with five runs scored on three hits in the inning to lead 10-5. Seward County scored one run in the sixth with a lead-off triple by Noah Baker as Reed Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Lamar had an 11-6 lead entering the seventh inning and the Lopes added four more runs to lead 15-6. Seward County was unable to rally in the bottom of the seventh as they fell 15-6 in game two.

Francisco Cardenas started the game for the Saints and took the loss from the mound. Cardenas allowed seven hits and ten runs over four innings, striking out one. Seward County fell to 0-6 after Sunday's doubleheader and looked to bounce back on day two on Monday. 

GAME 3

Seward County trailed 1-0 after the first inning but responded in the bottom of the second as Tucker Livermore provided a two-run single. After the end of the top of the fourth inning, the Lopes took a 4-2 advantage over the Saints. Seward County added six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to regain the lead 8-4 over Lamar.

The Saints kept the Lopes scoreless in the top of the fifth inning and Seward County continued their offensive success in the bottom of the inning. With two hits the Saints scored five runs to close the game and win their first game of the season 13-4.

Tucker Livermore led the Saints from the plate going 2-for-3 for the Saints and had two RIBI's. Gannon Hardin went 1-2 from the plate with three RBI's and one triple.

Dylan Day was the winning pitcher for the Saints as he allowed two hits and four runs over four innings, striking out two. Aidan Moore threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.

The Saints improved to 1-6 on the season with one final game in the series.

GAME 4 

Seward County started off the final game of the series with Reed Thomas's double to left field and scored off of an error from third base. Gannon Hardin connected on a single in the first to score Schneider from second base as the Saints led 2-0. Jordan Crowder connected on a single that scored Jacob Masters from second base in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Saints 3-0 lead over the Lopes. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Saints were able to score seven runs on two hits to force a ten-run rule as the Lopes remained scoreless throughout the contest. 

Tristan Curless earned the victory on the mound for Seward County and he lasted five innings, allowing three hits and zero runs while striking out six and walking one.

The Saints swept day two at Brent Gould to split the series with Lamar. The Saints are now 2-6 on the season and will face Odessa on Friday followed by Midland on Saturday.