La Mirada, Calif. - It was the third attempt William Jessup University and Arizona Christian University have made to play each other and after two rain cancellations, the teams finally completed their doubleheader Sunday with split results.
GAME 1
Arizona Christian put up a precarious one-run lead in the day's opening contest on a solo homerun over the left field fence in the top of the third inning. Jessup's answer; though, was swift and emphatic.
Delaney Slater (Folsom, CA) led off the bottom of the fourth inning for Jessup with a single down the third base line. Kyla Cisneros (Visalia, CA) followed and kept the line moving with her own single through the middle infield. With no outs and two on Shelbi Graifman (Antioch, CA) nailed her own home run deep over the center field fence giving the Warriors a 3-1 advantage.
Arizona Christian strived to reclaim the lead loading the bases in the top of the fifth inning but Jessup's defense held their ground and retired the inning before the Firestorm could do any damage.
Graifman held the mound for the Warriors in game one and earned the win after pitching all seven innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out an impressive seven Firestorm batters. Anely Marcilla was credited the loss for the Firestorm after pitching six innings allowing three runs on five hits and striking out one.
GAME 2
The day's second game turned into an offensive thriller with Arizona Christian just edging out the Warriors 7-6.
It was the Firestorm that put up big numbers early in the game as they posted four runs in the top of the third inning. Jessup answered quickly putting up a run in the bottom of the third as Riley Williams (Orangevale, CA) crossed home plate on an Ali Medina (Galt, CA) RBI.
It was Arizona Christian's turn once more and they picked up an additional two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. Although the scoreboard looked bleak for the moment, Jessup continued their trek scoring one in the bottom of the fourth when Amanda Taylor (Rio Oso, CA) singled through the right side to send Clarissa Blaquera (Union City, CA) home.
Jessup made their emphatic comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. Slater and Cisneros started the inning with a single and double to put two runners in scoring position. After Graifman was clipped by a pitch to load the bases, Blaquera made good on the Warrior's efforts thus far with a two-RBI single, advancing to second on the throw to home plate. Taylor capped off the scoring run with a double allowing Blaquera and Graifman to reach home plate and tying the score at six.
Despite the dramatic comeback to level the game, Arizona Christian managed to squeeze in a two-out run in the top of the seventh inning and left with the 7-6 victory.
Amanda Taylor received the loss for Jessup pitching the second half of the game and allowing one run on two hits while striking out two. Jackie Aguilar earned the win for Arizona Christian pitching five innings allowing six runs on eight hits and striking out five.
Jessup returns home after a long weekend away to host Biola University at 2 p.m. this Friday, April 15 and Vanguard University at 12 p.m. the day following, April 16. Both days are scheduled doubleheaders to be held at Azevedo Park in Rocklin.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook), @WJUSports (Twitter), and @JessupAthletics (Instagram, and Snapchat).
