Warriors Gain Steam Going 3-1 Over Extended Weekend

Ozark, Mo.- The Sterling College Warriors traveled for a weekend in Ozark, Mo. to play against Baptist Bible College. An exciting three-game road series for the Warriors, bringing home two wins and one loss. The Warriors brought their A-game during the first match as they stole a 13-9 win. The second game was rough for the warriors, dropping a 3-1 loss. But the Warriors came back during the third game, swooping in for a 7-2 win as the weekend came to a close.

As for their game against Central Christian, the Warriors snuck away with a win by a final score of 3-2. This game consisted of long innings and lots of lost opportunities, but plenty of strikeouts to keep the Tigers off balance in the batter's box.

Game 1- Sterling -13 Baptist -9

The Warriors wasted no time getting the offense going in the first game. The first run going to Luis Morales in the first inning after hitting a double. The Warriors then had 4 more runs by the third inning after a string of singles. It was during the fifth inning that the Patriots got on the board, but not before the Warriors ran two more runs across the home plate. Things picked up for the Patriots during the sixth inning, but it was too little too late to be make a comeback as the Warriors gained four more runs. The seventh and eighth innings were completed with one more run each by the Warriors, finishing the game at 13-9.

Elvis Rumaldo, Lui Morales, and Aaron Johnson each had three hits for the Warriors, followed by two hits from Eduardo Tarafa, Armando Duran, Nicholas Keller, and Austin Santiago and one hit from Layne Thacker. The pitching circle was shared by Ryan Speer, Camrin Wleczyk, and Gentry Bradbury. Speer gave up 10 hits but only 4 runs and stuck out 2. Wleczyk gave up 5 runs and 2 hits. Bradbury gave up 3 hits and struck out 3.

Game 2- Sterling -1 Baptist -3

The second game was a lot tougher as the inning went fast and the Warriors couldn't find themselves on the bases. The Warriors took the first run again by Johnson in the second, but the lead did not last long as the Patriots came back in the bottom of the second inning with two runs. The innings ran short as both teams played excellent defense. The Patriots had one more run in the fifth inning, which would be the last score of the game. The Patriots stole the 3-1 win, a dramatic difference from the previous game in both score and baserunners.

Tarafa, Johnson, Speer, Albert Bisono-Rodriguez, and Elijah Howard each had one hit. Mason and Gio Ramos shared the pitching responsibilities this game. Mason, who started and played up until the bottom of the fourth inning, struck out 1 and gave up 6 hits and 3 runs. Ramos struck out 1 as well during his time on the mound.

Game 3- Sterling -7 Baptist -2

The Warriors returned with revenge, as they collected a 7-2 win in the final game against the Patriots. The Warriors started off strong scoring seven runs in the first inning, through a number of hits by Speer, Morales, Bisono-Rodriguez, Jackson Kawelo, Santos, and a homer by Santiago. The Patriots made a number of errors during this inning, giving the Warriors plenty of opportunity to score their runs. The Warriors then put up a great defense over the Patriots, only allowing a single run in the second and third innings each. The two teams then carried out the rest of the game with zero runs.

Santos, Morales, and Jackson Kawelo had 2 runs each, followed by Speer, Bisono-Rodriguez, and Santiago having 1 run each. The Warriors had a total of 9 hits for the game. Wleczyk gave up 1 hit during his time on the mound. He shared the mound with Chris Isaac, who gave 4 hits, 2 runs, and struck out 1, and Tyler Duffey, who struck out 2.

Game 4- Sterling -3 Central Christian -2

The Warriors and the Tigers knew it would be a close game by the first inning. The Tigers plated the first run in the top of the first, but the Warriors and Luis Morales were quick to respond with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored when Eduardo Tarafa reached base on an error by the second baseman. After Ryan Speer struck out the side, Austin Santiago doubled down the left field line and came around to score on a single by Morales, making the game 2-1 by the end of the second inning. The game was quiet up until the seventh inning, when Aiden Rowan, pinch running for Aaron Johnson who doubled to left, came around to score on a Speer double to right. The Tigers responded with a run of their own in the eighth inning, but they could not mount a comeback, giving the Warriors their third win of the season.

Morales and Speer each had two hits during the game, followed by one hit each from Rumaldo, Johnson, Thacker, and Santiago. It was pitching by committee in this nonconference game, as a plethera of Warrior pitchers saw the mound, each recording an inning of work each. Speer and Isaac played for two innings each. Speer gave 1 hit and 1 run, and 4 strikeouts. Isaac gave 2 hits and 1 strikeout. Turner gave 1 hit and 1 run, while Duffey gave 1 hit and 2 strikeouts. Beyale and Chartrand had 2 strikeouts each, Ramos had 3 strikeouts, and Isaac and Mason had 1 strikeout each.

Sterling is now 3-4 this season with a 4-game weekend series against Waldorf University coming up this Friday and Saturday.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch all of the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.