Conway, Ark.- The Warriors dominated on both sides of the baseball in their sweep of Southern Athletic Association opponent Sewanee. Over the three-game series, the Warriors only surrendered 4 runs to the Tigers while posting a whopping 24 runs.
Game 1: The Tigers got on the board early with a two-run first inning. The Tigers held this lead into the fourth inning, however, they did not score for the rest of the contest. The starting pitcher for the Warriors, Bryson Bales, kept the Tigers at bay in innings two through six. Bales allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks while collecting nine strikeouts. John Henry Fowler came in relief of Bales in the seventh inning and shut down the Tigers for the last three innings of the game, allowing only two hits. Fowler earned the win in relief.
It took the Warriors a few innings to get the bats going in game 1. Zach Marriott was the first baserunner to score for the Warriors in the home half of the second inning on an Austin Rabago fielder's choice. Marriott was plated a second time on a Joseph Watts double in the fourth inning to tie the ballgame. Finally, Watts and Rabago were driven home by a Rail Gilliam single in the seventh to secure a lead for the Warriors that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Owen Shaw, Joseph Watts, and Zach Marriott all had two hits each. Watts and Shaw hit a double each. The Warriors earned the first win in the series in a 4-2 ballgame.
Game 2: David Blackburn started for the Warriors and went the distance in game 2. Over seven innings of work, Blackburn allowed five baserunners: three hits and two walks. This was Blackburn's first complete game of the season and the first win he has collected, advancing his record to 1-2.
The Warriors had a tremendous five-run first inning capped off with an electric Joseph Watts grand slam. The Sewanee bullpen had to work overtime in this ballgame following the starter, Jake Nevele, recording only a single out. The bats for both teams fell silent until the sixth inning when the Warriors tacked on three more runs on an Owen Shaw double followed by an Adam Bland double and a David Ripple triple. The Warriors tallied five extra-base hits, including the Watts grand slam. David Ripple and Joseph Watts recorded two hits each in this contest. The Warriors won 8-0.
Game 3: Andrei Stoyanow toed the rubber for the Warriors and absolutely dazzled. He gave up two earned runs in the first inning after a walk, an error, and a single, but he settled in and retired the Tigers in order for the next five innings. When all was said and done, Stoyanow had struck out 12 Tigers hitters in one of the best pitching performances of his career. Stoyanow earned the win in six and two-thirds innings of work.
At the plate, the Warriors posted twelve runs on thirteen hits with seven hits being for extra-bases including a Rail Gilliam three-run jack in the bottom of the seventh inning. Zach Marriott had an incredible showing in the batter's box, doubling in his first at-bat, tripling in his second, and launching a double in his last plate appearance to put the mercy rule into effect. Marriott notched three RBIs and scored twice. Adam Bland was 2-4 with two doubles and scored once. David Ripple had another multi-hit game, posting one RBI and being driven in twice. The Warriors won game 3 by a score of 12-2.
