LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward County Community College baseball team continued its hot streak with a doubleheader sweep of Garden City Community College, 11-1 in the opener and 6-5 in the nightcap, at Brent Gould Field on Friday.
The Saints have won straight four games and six of their last eight, improving to 8-14 in the Jayhawk West and 21-24 overall. Seward wraps up the series at Garden City on Saturday. Game times are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
GAME ONE
The Saints rallied for 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings and Braden Whipple tossed a complete game as Seward posted an 11-1 run-rule win over Garden City in the first game.
The Seward offense was held in check and blanked through the first four innings before coming to life. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Grant Cox singled to lead things off and reached second on a bunt by Colton Rowan. After Nathan Hopkins drew a walk, Kotaro Wakui singled, scoring Cox to tie the game and moving Hopkins to third.
The Saints took the lead when Brooks Barber followed with another walk, putting runners first and third and setting up Ryan Todd for a two-run double and a 3-1 advantage. An RBI ground out by Hayden Ramage capped the inning.
A pair of two-run doubles by Jacob Urias and Hopkins highlighted a seven-run sixth inning and ended the game on a run-rule.
Garden City scored its a run on a solo homer in the first inning. It was the only run Whipple allowed, shutting out the Broncbusters for the rest of the game. Whipple gave up just four hits, struck out five and walked two for the six-inning complete game win.
GAME TWO
In a back-and-forth battle, Seward scored three times in the sixth inning to take the lead and hold on for a 6-5 come-from-behind triumph over Garden City in game two.
The Saints were down 5-3 in the sixth inning when they mounted their comeback. With two outs and Jacob Urias on second, Colton Rowan walked and Nathan Hopkins tripled in Urias and Rowan, knotting the game at 5-5. Kotaro Wakui drove home Hopkins with a single to give Seward the lead for good at 6-5.
Stephen Brown picked up the win in relief, tossing a one-run, two-hitter over four innings while striking four and walking two. Cross Durham started for the Saints with four runs, three earned, on 10 hits, two strikeouts and one walk over five innings.
Seward struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Garden City answered in the second and third to jump ahead 3-1. The Saints tied the contest with a pair of runs in fourth inning at 3-3 when the Broncbusters opened its 5-3 advantage with runs in the fifth and sixth.
