Warriors sweep the Valor

Sterling College baseball got their first sweep in conference play against Evangel University on Sunday and Monday, April 6-7.

Game 1

Sterling started with an 11-8 victory in game one which was postponed to Sunday afternoon because of weekend showers.

The game was back-and-forth with Evangel striking first in the top of the first inning with a triple from Clay Palen to give Evangel the 1-0 edge.

Emmanuel Huerta Cardenas answered back in the bottom of the first, working his way around the bases to capitalize on a passed ball and come home to tie the game 1-1.

The Valor added two more runs to their total in the top of the third to take back the lead.

Sterling got things going again in the bottom of the fifth with a single through the left side from Parmenter to bring Andrew Dutro in for the run and close the gap, 3-2.

 Evangel got another run in the top of the sixth after walking Evan Baptiste with the bases loaded.

The Warriors had a big bottom of the sixth inning starting with a single to left center from Luis Morales to bring Joshua Garcia and Ezavian Campos in for the run. Sterling continued to battle, loading the bases to take advantage of two walks to bring home two runs and take a 6-4 lead.

The Valor battled back in the top of the eighth with four runs to take back the lead and give Evangel the 8-6 cushion.

Sterling capitalized in the bottom of the eighth inning, with five runs to get the 11-8 lead and eventual win. Nehemiah House started things off with a double down the right field line to bring in Donovan Williams and Dutro for the two run RBI. Campos then singled through the left side to advance Austin Santiago for the run and Joseph Almanza put the cherry on top of the two-run homer.

Jace Phillips started things off from the mound for the Warriors. He pitched five innings, surrendering three hits which resulted in four runs, while walking seven batters and striking out two. Jackson Califono came in as relief to get the win, pitching one and two-third innings, surrendering one hit which resulted in zero runs, walking three batters and striking out three.

Jackson Parmenter came in to pitch the ninth inning to get the save for Sterling. Parmenter surrendered one hit, gave up no runs, walked one batter and struck out two.

House led the Warriors in RBIs with three while Dutro led Sterling in runs with three. Defensively, Morales, Santiago and Parmenter worked together to get a double play in the top of the third inning.

Game 2

The Warriors had a much cushier victory over the Valor in game two, the first game of a double header on Monday. Sterling came out swinging and got the 12-5 win in the nine-inning game.

Dutro started things off for Sterling with a single in the bottom of the first to bring home Campos for the score and give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

The Valor tied it up in the top of the second with a single up the middle from Parker Ellifritz to bring home Heath Perry.

Sterling retook the lead in the bottom of the second, starting with a single to left center from Morales to advance Garcia home for the run. Huerta Cardenas then grounded out to the short stop to bring home Tyler Gates and Morales took advantage of a fielding error off of a hit from Dutro to get home and give Sterling the 4-1 lead.

Evangel closed the gap with a run in the top of the fourth to make the score 4-2.

Parmenter answered back in the bottom of the fourth with a single to center field to bring in Morales for the score.

The Valor brought in another run in the top of the fifth, but two more scores from the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth extended Sterling's lead to 7-3.

Evangel hung around with another run in the top of the sixth but Sterling put the game well out of reach with a big bottom of the seventh.

Parmenter got things started off with a single down the right field line to bring Huerta Cardenas in for the score. House singled through the left side to bring in Dutro, Campos doubled to left field to bring in Santiago and Tyler gates finished things off with a sacrifice fly out to center field to bring House home for the run and put Sterling up 12-4.

The Valor tried to rally in the top of the eighth with a sacrifice fly from Baptiste to bring home Ellifritz but were unable to get anything else going and fell to the Warriors, 12-5.

Aaron Alvarado got the win from the mound for Sterling. He started the game and pitched six innings. Alvarado faced 30 batters, surrendering 10 hits which resulted in four runs, walking three batters and striking out three. Eric Villa came in as relief and finished out the game. He took on 12 batters, giving up three hits which resulted in one run, with no walks and one strikeout.

Campos led the Warriors with three RBIs and Morales led all runners with two stolen bases. The trio of Morales, Santiago and Parmenter also combined for two double plays one in the top of the third and the other in the top of the seventh.

Game 3

Sterling put the game to bed in the third and final game of the series, with a 9-1 win in the seven-inning game.

Evangel's first an only score came in the top of the first inning with a single to right center field from Justice Loflin to bring in Shane Poe for the run.

From there on out it was all Sterling, recording at least one run in every inning to follow with a big four-run inning in the bottom of the fourth.

Morales got things started, working his way around the base path and taking advantage of an errant throw by the short stop to get home in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the second, Gates doubled to left center field to bring Campos home for the score. Santiago followed this with a sacrifice fly out to left field to bring Campos home yet again in the bottom of the third.

Dutro got things started for the Warrior's in their big bottom of the fourth inning performance with a single to left field to bring home Morales and Gates for the score. Dutro then took advantage of confusion at home plate to sneak through for the run and Santiago finished off the hectic inning with a single to bring home Parmenter for the run, putting Sterling up 7-1.

Morales added to the score with a single to left center field in the bottom of the fifth to bring home Garcia for the score, and Parmenter put the cherry on top with a one-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to put the game well out of reach.

Trenton Canaan pitched the full, seven-inning game for the Warriors. He faced 26 batters, surrendering six hits which resulted in one run, with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Dutro and Santiago led all batters with two RBIs each while Gates and Parmenter worked together for the only double play of the game.

Sterling is back in action on Tuesday, April 8 in Salina, Kan. as they take on Kansas Wesleyan University.

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