ODESSA, Texas – The Seward County baseball team (7-2) came away with a sweep against Odessa on Saturday, defeating the Wranglers 3-1 in game one, before winning in comeback fashion in game two, 9-4.
GAME ONE RECAP
Ethan Earhart (2-1) got the start in game one, pitching 6.0 innings, giving up just four hits and one run in the win. Carlos Vizcaya earned his first save of the year, pitching the final inning on play.
Cayde Ward was the lone Saint to get multiple hits, going 3-for-3 on the day with one run and one RBI. Seven of the nine Saints in the lineup came away with a hit.
Following a scoreless first inning by both teams a two-out single in the 2nd inning by Jose Caraballo brought home the first run of the day. Ward reached on a leadoff double in the seond, while Joe Kuhn pushed Ward into scoring position with a ground ball single to third base, allowing Carabllo to bring Ward home.
The Saints got two more runs to go in the third inning. Braxton Allen and Spencer Sackett began the inning with singles, as Sacketts advanced Allen to third base. Dylan Paul hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Allen before Ward singled on a line drive to right field to score Sackett, bringing the game to 3-0.
The Wranglers scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth from an error. Mitch Holding led off with a walk, while Cal Pequeno singled on a line drive to left field. A hard-hit ground ball by Cade Galvan caused an error by Ward, allowing Holding to cross home plate.
Vizcaya entered the game in the seventh and retired the side to give the Saints the victory, 3-1.
GAME TWO RECAP
Tanner King started on the mound for the Saints in game two, pitching 4.0 innings, but it was Ryan Thomas (1-0) who picked up the win in relief effort, pitching 3.2 innings, giving up four hits and no runs. Isaiah Alvarenga pitched 1.2 innings in the win.
Seward came away with 12 hits on the day, with Brendan Madsen and Caraballo coming away with multiple hits. Jacob Nielsen, Cody Coontz and Caraballo each finished with 2 RBI. Cruz Shope, Madsen and Ward each came away with one RBI in the game.
The Saints started out on the right foot, with Madsen doubling to center field with the first at-bat. Shope grounded out to shortstop, but advanced Madsen to third in the process, allowing Nielsen to score Madsen on a single to left field.
The Wranglers tied up the game in the second with a ground out to third base. The leadoff batter doubled on a line drive to right field, before advancing to third on a fly ball to right field.
Odessa took the lead in the bottom of the 4th. Tresten Kennard reached on a single, before advancing to second on a wild pitch. A fielder’s choice allowed him to advance to third and he reached home from a balk by King to take a 2-1 lead. Harry Fullerton reached base on a fielder’s choice and scored on a ground out by Mason McLenna.
Seward cut the deficit to one in the top of the fifth. Tabor Johns led off with a triple to right field. Nielsen scored Johns with a sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 3-2.
The Wranglers got back on the board in the 6th inning. A walk and two singles loaded the bases for Odessa. Another walk scored the fourth run of the day for the Wranglers as they took a 4-2 lead.
It wasn’t until the 9th inning that the Saints got back on the board, but they had their rally caps on. Caraballo led off with a line drive double to left field, but two quick outs put the Saints in rally mode. Ward singled on a ground ball to second base to score Caraballo.
Brooks Williams pinch ran for Ward and a single by Paul pushed Williams to third base. Back-to-back singles by Madsen and Shope gave the Saints a 5-4 lead. Nielsen walked off five pitches to load the bases before Coontz singled to left field to score two more runs. A triple by Caraballo brought home the final two runners to complete the seven-run inning by the Saints, giving them the 9-4 win.
