LATE RALLY SECURES SEASON SWEEP OF WARRIORS

Lindsborg, Kan. – After plenty of reschedules due to weather, the Swedes were finally able to host the Sterling College Warriors on Phillip Anderson Baseball Field for Game 3 of the season series. The Swedes were up 2-0 in the series going into the contest.

Things did not start off on the right foot for Bethany as Sterling would take a 5-0 after four innings of play. The Swedes would start to get the ball rolling in the bottom of the seventh. Rafael Perez would put Bethany on the board doubling home Josue Figuera. Danny Barker would step in to pinch hit and double home Zosimo Rivera who entered the game as a pinch runner. Jonathan Crist singled to right-center field to score Connor Crayton, who re-entered the game as a pinch runner for Barker, and Manny Leos, the courtesy runner for the catcher. Bethany would trail 4-5 at the end of the seventh inning.

The Warriors would tack on only one in the eighth inning, but that was a blessing being that bases were loaded with one out. Perez would make that run back up plus one more with a single up the middle scoring Devin Soto-Harris, another pinch runner, and Josue Figuera to knot the score at 6-6. In the ninth, Alex Martinez retired three of the four batters he faced to give the Swedes a chance to walk it off.

In the bottom of the ninth, and with two outs, the Swedes would get to work. Alex Cuevas drew a four-pitch walk leading to Diego Rivera pinch running for the Swedes. Josue Figuera singled to right field to put runners on first and second. Emmanuel Alicea would send a line drive down the left field line for what was a walk-off double scoring D. Rivera allowing the Swedes to win 7-6 and sweep the Warriors 3-0 for the season series.

Jonathan Crist tallied the most hits with three on the afternoon. Rafael Perez would bat in three runners to lead the team in RBI. Josue Figuera was the only Swede to touch home plate more than once with two runs scored.

Juan Melo made his debut as a starter in this one. Melo went three full innings before being relieved by Kenneth Nieves. Nieves only allowed two hits while striking out two Warriors. Alex Martinez entered in the seventh inning and finished out the final three innings to earn the win. Martinez allowed only two hits in his outing.

Up Next…

The Swedes will have a tall task coming up this weekend as they take a trip down to Hillsboro, Kan. to take on the Tabor College Bluejays. The Bluejays are currently on a two-game losing streak as last weekend, they lost the season series to York University 1-2. Game 1 is scheduled for 2:00 PM Friday, March 7. Games 2 and 3 are set for Saturday, March 8, as a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 PM.